South County Bear

All about River!!

2011-09-20T20:24:00.003-05:00

So our new puppy River has been with us for 3 whole weeks!! She is happily adjusted to her new home and life. She and Loki get along great; they do play fight- like siblings. They may nip at each other but never anything serious. River got her stitches (from her spaying) out last Monday (Sept.12), we were finally able to give the little girl a bath. Which she needed. She visited the vet and got a clean bill of health, well minus the parasite but that is totally treatable and is almost gone. She goes back to the vet next Monday for another well puppy visit. River likes to follow Loki all over the place. We don't worry when she goes outside as she tends to stay close to Loki. She is still getting used to the leash. However, she can already sit on command and understands "go outside" and "bedtime". She likes her crate. Occasionally she will cry, really howl, but that's only if a) she can see people or b) she is really wound up. Most of the time we can put her in her crate and she is good.

The Vacuum Cleaner = Evil! Yes, puppy is scared to death of the vacuum cleaner. She runs out of the room and trembles. Something must have happened to her before she came to us, but she is young enough we can get her over this fear. Loki isn't afraid of it, she just doesn't like it and therefore barks at it.

River loves to play with toys, especially Loki's. Suprisingly Loki is okay with this. Often she brings a toy to River. This way River is distracted and Loki can get TLC. Loki is still spoiled rotten, we are making sure that we spend time alone with her too. Loki and I still have Loki/Jenny time- where she sits by me and I put my arm around her and rub her chest. Eventually she lays down and rolls over so I can rub her belly.

River is a lap dog...or so she thinks. She loves to run towards us and dive into our laps. Sound famliar? That's b/c Loki used to do that. Loki still thinks she is a lap dog.

Having two dogs is quite the adventure. I have to keep constant eyes on River. Two weekends ago I had to take her and Loki (b/c Loki likes to follow me too) to the bathroom with me as I was the only one home. I am constantly saying "No River!" I so did not miss those rose thorn puppy teeth. Generally where ever Loki is, River is nearby, and vice versa. Whatever River does/gets, so does Loki. We treat them equally. Although Loki doesn't get as many treats as we don't want her getting fat. River, on the other hand, we want to gain weight. Little girl is still pretty skinny. She is gaining though. She is getting bigger too. Pretty soon she will need a pinch collar (or as we call it 'power steering') and we will be able to really start training her. Loki will go through training as well. So far the Monkey See, Monkey Do theory is working quite nicely. Let's hope it continues!

Loki vs. River

2011-09-20T20:03:00.008-05:00

Since we now have two dogs I thought I would blog about both of them and do a little Since we Photnowcomparison on the two.

Loki

Breed: Labrador Retriever (pure)

Age when adopted: 7 weeks Age now: 5 years

Weight then: 8.2 lbs Weight now: 62 lbs (solid muscle)

Color: Yellow

D.O.B.- February 8, 2006

Literal Meaning of Name: Loki is the Norse God of Mischief

Story behind the name: We were searching for the perfect name for her when I suggested Loki, my parents asked "What does that mean" I explained and we all decided it was perfect for our mischievous puppy

Nickname (s): Lokilu, Little Rodent (dad's nickname),

Fave toy (s): Frankenmoo and Squeaky the squirrel

Song: I like to Move it (this is her theme song), Brown Eyed Girl (this is what I sing to her), and the Nudzzle song (silly song mom sings to her in the morning

Photo on top left is Loki when we first got her Photo top right is Loki today

River

Breed: Labrador Retriever mix (dad was pure Golden Retriever, mom was Lab mix)

Color: Black w/ white splash on chest

Age at adoption: 9 weeks Age now: 11 weeks

Weight then: 8 lbs (skinny little girl) Weight now: 16 lbs (starting to gain weight)

D.O.B- June 23, 2011

Literal Meaning of Name: a natural stream of water of fairly large size flowing in a definate course or channel or series of divering and converging channels (ty dictionary.com)

Story behind name: Again, coming up with a name was hard. I was really pushing for Sahara (as she was getting really big drinks of water), Dad came up with River b/c she was constantly peeing. River suits her perfectly as she is constantly taking in large amounts of water and then getting rid of it.

Fave Toy (s): Draco the Dragon, whatever Loki has

Nickname: Little girl, River Rat (dad's), River Pup (mine...interestingly enough that was the name of my univerisitys former mascot),

Song: None as of yet.

March to the Arch

2011-09-12T21:07:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was September 11, 2011. It was the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Back in July my friend Cindy told me about this event taking place on Sept 11th called March to the Arch. It sounded cool, but I wasn't quite sure that my schedule would allow me to do it. The week before the event, Cindy reminded me and I said "I'm in". As it was the 10th anniversary I really wanted to do something besides avoiding any and all footage of 9/11.

March to the Arch is a 21 mile long walk starting in Chesterfield, MO and ending at the Gateway Arch. I know my limits, so I decided that walking a portion of the 21 miles would be good enough. There was no way I would be able to walk all of it. So the plan was to meet up with Cindy at Art Hill in Forest Park. However upon arriving in Forest Park, parking was insane. So Cindy suggested I park and meet them at Mike Duffy's off of Clayton and Big Bend. I ended up walking from there to the Arch. It was a bit further than I originally planned, but whatever. I'm really glad that it worked out that I started out at Mike Duffy's. I was part of 400-500 people to walk up Art Hill amid all of the flags there. St. Louis did a memorial for the 9/11 victims by placing a flag for each person lost on Art Hill. What made it unique, is the fact that on each flag pole was the name, photo, their age, where they were working and the home town of each person. Words can not describe the emotions and feelings that were running through me when I walked towards Art Hill and seeing the flags in person. Walking up the hill was an amazing feeling and about half way up people started applauding us. I really didn't feel worthy of the applause then, I hadn't walked that far. The people who had started in Chesterfield, were definately deserving of the applause. At the top of the hill a small ceremony was held to place two flags; one to represent firefighters and the other to represent the workers lost. The first few miles weren't that bad. I had a few twinges but I was in continuous motion so it was easy to push it aside and focus on the walk. We were lucky in that we had beautiful weather, a bit hot but nice and sunny. The closer we got to the arch, the harder it was keep walking. I soo wanted to quit at Union Station. I won't lie; I was really tempted to hop on the Metro Link at Union Station and take it to the Arch. However, Cindy and I made a deal; neither one of us would let the other quit early. However, what kept me moving was the the thought of the firefighters and first responders charging into the burning towers, running up stairs amid toxins and smoke. The pain they willingly endured in order to save the lives of others motivated me to keep moving and ensured me that the pain I felt was for them and was worth it. I stayed hydrated (2 bottles of water and 2 12 oz of gatorade), and enjoyed 2 bananas to keep up my energy. I also had some twizzlers for sugar intake. All of that helped, believe me. Keeping hydrated really helped my joints. Once we got to the Arch grounds we followed the Marine Corp. Color Gaurd down to the Arch and were rewared to more applause. This time I felt worthy of it. Once we reached the Arch we were allowed to relax. The guy who started this march gave a short speech and another man sang The Star Spangled Banner and another moving, inspirational song (beautiful voice). Then we all sang America the Beautiful...then we were allowed to touch the Arch. Touching the Arch after that walk was an incredible feeling; I did it! Bad knees and all! I still can't believe I did it. A school bus took marchers back to their cars. It felt sooo good to sit and enjoy the ride. I came home starved, sweaty and exhausted. Most of all proud. Today I woke up with my left knee swollen and my right ankle tight. So I wrapped the knee and put the ankle in a brace. I am achy and sore, but it was worth it. So no matter how much I complain of the pain, I do not regret what I did for a second. I was able to honor those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. So for now I'm "Zombie Walkin" for the moment. I'll be fine in a few days; rest and hydration will help. For more information on March to the Arch, click here http://www.marchtothearch.com/.

River

2011-09-10T21:44:00.005-05:00

This blog was written two weeks ago and I forgot to publish it. More details about the new puppy. Enjoy!

Last week we adopted a 9 week old black labrador retriever mix. Her name at the time was Tina Turner. We named her River. River likes to drink mass amounts of water and she also pees a lot. This is how she got her name. She is 10 weeks old and gets her stitches out on Monday, which means then she can get a bath! Yay! Puppy is smelling a bit funky. Loki was groomed on Friday so she is all sweet smelling and fluffy. River and Loki are getting along better. They are playing and chasing each other a lot. It is a bit of a mad house here. River thinks everyone is a living chew toy, so we have to have something nearby to offer her as an alternative. I haven't had an opportunity to upload photos of her yet as whenever I get home from work, River takes up all of my time. Today I honestly felt like a stay at home mom to two kids. I can trust Loki, but I can't let River out of my site. I have only gone to the bathroom alone when River is a) being watched by Mark or is b) in her crate. Wherever Loki goes, River goes and vice versa. Last night, toys littered the living room and I had two crazy dogs nipping, chasing, "talking" at each other. River is doing a lot better in her crate. She only cries in it when she can see us, or when she knows you are in another room and could therefore potentially let her out. Right now I am hiding out in my room. River is sleeping in her crate, and Loki is out cold in front of my tv. I wanted to watch the baseball game and play on facebook in peace. Not possible with a 10 week old puppy who is into everything and peeing every 15 minutes (so it seems). I will post more pics of her soon. Now it is time to wake the baby up to go outside and play a bit. Then bed time for both of us. I love having 2 dogs, but at times they drive me crazy. I love my Lokilu and River tho.

10 years later

2011-09-10T21:24:00.003-05:00

T/m is the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. 10 years ago, it was Sunday night and I was recovering from knee surgery I had had on Friday. Mom was helping me get comfortable for the night at the hotel we were staying in; I was a new student at SMS, but I wanted mom around to help me for a few days while I got back on my feet. My biggest worry for the next day; how I was going to a) make it all over campus on crutches and b) make it to all of my classes. I had no idea of the horror that awaited. I woke up September 11, 2001 around 8:30 AM, my first class wasn't until 10 AM, but showering was going to be an ordeal. I remember coming out of the shower and seeing smoke coming out of a building on tv. I asked mom what was on TV, at the time she thought it was some action flick. It wasn't until we were sitting down to breakfast we relized it was live tv. We saw the second plane approach, I remember saying "There's another plane" and watching it crash into the tower. I still went to class, one let out early, I got out in time to see the towers fall. I remember that all of my classes except for math were either cancelled or let out early. My math professor was horrid, we asked him "Do you know what is going onout there?" and he replied "That's not important right now, this class is important" and kept us the entire time. I was in shock. Then I heard that a plane had crashed into the pentagon. I wanted mom to call my dad and brother and have them leave St. Louis. I didn't know what was going on, but I wanted my family out of a major city. Mom said they were fine where they were, St. Louis wasn't big enough to warrent an attack. I heard later that a friend of mine's father was supposed to have been in the pentagon that day, but for some reason (I forget) he wasn't. I remember worrying that my friend in basics was going to be called out and sent to war. I see now it was an unreasonable fear, but at the time I wanted all of my friends and family in one location: I don't know for sure, just somewhere safe. I can still close my eyes and see that second plane crash into the tower, and then see the towers fall. There is a movie out based upon the heroic actions of some of the firefighters on that day; I haven't watched it. I can't bring myself to. I close my eyes and change the channel whenever images from that day come on. T/m I am joining my friend Cindy Almon at Art Hill for March to The Arch in rememberance of those lost that day. The plan is to walk from Forrest Park to the Arch...we shall see how far I can make it. I have seen pictures of the flags that are on display at Art Hill, it is a sight to be seen. T/m is not going to be an easy day. My thoughts and prayers will be with those who lost loved ones that horrible day. Our flag is already on display out front. I will never forget the horrors of that day. I will never forget the emotions of hopelessness and sadness I felt that day. I will never forget 9/11. I hope and pray that one day justice will be served for all those who lost their life then. Until then I will continue to support our troops and remember. Always remember 9/11.

Meet Puppy Noel pt 2

2011-08-29T19:20:00.004-05:00

So our new baby is called Tina Turner for now. We will be changing her name to something that fits her personality better. What that name will be, I have no clue. So for now we call her the baby. Since we met baby on a Monday I suggested the name Luna which is Spanish for moon. Lunes is Spanish for Monday, so Luna for short. Other name ideas: Sahara (if she drinks like Loki does- that's her name for sure), Raine (it might rain t/m), Madrid, Dakota, Jubilee, Arizona, Pandora, and Persephone (Perrie for short) - in keeing with the goddess names. Now will we pick one of these names? No clue. Watch we come up with a name not even mentioned. We usually let our animals name themselves as dictated by their personalities.

Ex: Climber-adopted at shelter, cat was climbing the gate to get eye level with us

Sparkle- her eyes sparkled at me when we adopted her

Shadow- silly girl scared herself when she saw her reflection in the dishwasher

Loki- she was/is constantly mischievious.

Hints as to her personality: very curious, loves belly rubs, loves to be craddled like a baby, gives kissies, loves to play hard, was very sleepy/calm when we met her and when Loki met her.

What does that mean? Not sure. However, baby will have a name soon enough. Mom took a lot of pics when she and Loki met, so those will be posted on facebook soon enough. I can't wait until she comes home and joins our family! And now the Noel family is a family of 6!!

Meet Puppy Noel!

2011-08-29T18:58:00.003-05:00

It's official! We are adopting another dog! She comes home t/m. About a month or so ago, mom decided she wanted to adopt another dog. Dad finally agreed/ caved (however you want to look at it) So began the great search for a puppy. Mom wanted a chocolate labrador retriever, she didn't care if it was a pure bred or not. Dad still wanted a pure bred. So I began looking on the internet for puppy. Eventually, dad decided that adopting from a shelter was fine. It was decided that we would not get puppy until mid- August. This would be after mom and dad's Canadian vacation and boyscout camp. However, after some discussion, we decided to adopt a black lab puppy instead of a chocolate. As soon as I changed the parameters of our puppy search, I came upon Patti LaBelle on Adoptapet.com. Patti was a black lab mix puppy, solid black and absolutely adorable. I immeadiatly texted mom and told her I had found our dog. Mom e-mailed the shelter, which is located in St. Charles, stating that we wanted to meet Patti. So that afternoon mom picked me up from work and we drove to Five Acres Shelter, formerly the St. Charles Humane Society. We arrived there and saw some black lab puppies hanging out in the back of a truck with some people milling around it and talking. We initially went over to the truck and met Tina Turner, a black lab mix with a splash of white on her chest. When mom picked her up, she grunted...Loki grunts all the time! We learned that Patti LaBelle was inside, however someone had arrived a few minutes before us and had picked Patti. So we went back outside to take another look at Tina. Within a few moments we knew this was our puppy. She was a black lab yes, however unlike our previous Black lab Shadow; Tina had a splash of white on her. Which made her different and we didn't feel like we were replacing Shadow. Tina loves to be held/cuddled like a baby. I held her while mom filled out the application. Then we had to head home not knowing if we would be approved. The next day, mom got a phone call stating that granted our dog, Loki and the puppy got along, Tina was ours!! Unfortunately, Tina didn't have all her puppy shots yet. So we would have to wait two weeks before we could set up a meet and greet between Loki and Tina. Fast forward 2 weeks to August 29th (today), we had an appointment to meet with puppy at 5:30. I was so worried that the two would not like eachother; I was worried that Loki would eat/ attack the baby. However, when mom and dad took Loki to meet Tina, they ignored each other! Tina was more interested in sniffing his foster dad's shoes and Loki was more iterested in the foster dad. Tina and her siblings were fostered at a home instead of staying at the shelter. Loki didn't even react when dad picked up Tina an cuddled her. So that made it official. T/m morning they will spay Tina and she gets to come home at 5pm!!!!

New Look

2011-08-28T14:47:00.001-05:00

So I was bored and decided to change things up. Wonder if anyone will notice the changes besides me? Oh well. I think all the littel changes I made are more me. I stuck with the water background and colors; I am obsessed with water.

Highlights from NVC

2011-08-11T20:37:00.002-05:00

The drive there:

Cindy and I rocking out to her Disney playlist and chatting about all sorts of things.

We saw a UFO!

The conference:

Learned a lot of new stuff that I can take back to my students

Howl at the Moon!!

The drive home:

Cindy and I rocked out to my Boy Band playlist. Cindy's highlight- O-town! My highlight- Backstreet Boys!

Saw a sign for Churchill museum (this will be a road trip later) in Warrenton, MO...although I don't think the museum is about our beloved Region 8 Director Jenn Churchill :(

"Hot Tasty Butts" very interesting billboard

NVC Day 3 & 4

2011-08-11T20:12:00.003-05:00

Saturday, July 30th:

Saturday morning came waaay too early. And the rain continued until mid morning. Unfortunately, Fenton didn't get a lot of rain. The morning at breakfast, it was acknowledged that Section 49 was the section to party with!! Yea! Saturday I was in APO Leads training all day. We got out for lunch and then right back to it. I was able to leave my training session early so I could attend the Region 8 meeting. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to talk about something at the meeting or not so I asked to present first and then get out. It turned out I didn't have to talk, but it was still good that I only missed a few minutes of the meeting. There was a lot of important information discussed. Our meeting actually finished up earlier than our allotted time due to the genious thinking of Katrina and Jenn G (they insisted on typing up an itinerary with time slots- which really helped us move along) Our fabulous Region 8 Director, Jenn Churchill wasn't and still isn't a fan of it, but it worked really well. So we had time to chill before the banquet that night. The banquet food was good; we had steak (thank you Bob London!) and veggies. Our dessert that night was layered chocolate cake. We had been served dessert at our two previous lunches as well (Carrot Cake and Chocolate Cake on Friday and then a Banana Nut Cake on Sat). After the banquet we all treked over to Bdubs yet again. But first I stopped by one of the Board of Directors rooms and got a much needed glass of wine (thank you Bob London again!!). It was really hot and humid on the patio at BDubs. It felt just like St. Louis. Except this night there were no occasional drops of rain like there was on Friday night. I got a loud "Heeey!" when I walked out on the patio...this was the standard greeting to every new brother who came outside. Former president Maggie Katz got the loudest greeting. I got to hang out with a brother from Arizona and talk with Maggie. After BDubs the room to be in (hey Section 49 had a rep to protect) was Cindy and Cindy's room. Cindy, Jenn G, Bill, and myself stayed up till 4 AM that night/morning. I finally collected on the back massage that Bill owed me from Nat Con. It was great to just hang out and talk with everyone.

Sunday, July 31st:

Again morning came too early, even though we didn't have to be at breakfast until 9...staying up until 4 didn't help ;) My alarm on my phone went off and I should have gotten up and been downstairs on time...however I ignored it and slept a little longer. I still managed to walk (or stagger per Bill) in around 9:15 AM. I hadn't missed anything and I wasn't the last one in either. Our last activity before the conference ended was to think of the next big thing for APhiO. We had to come up with ideas of what the fraternity should do; my group had two really good ones. 1) Horton 1- a private jet for the National Board (we didn't present this to the group but it was liked by members of the board) and 2) an alternate APO spring break. The APO spring break would be gathering students from all over to one area to do a big service project all week. Our idea was voted number one and will be looked into!! All too soon it was time to pack up, load up my SUV, and head home :( NVC was a lot of fun and I am really glad I was able to go. I enjoyed my vacation and my time with my brothers. I can't wait until the next time I get to see my alumni brothers! Regionals in Fort Collins, CO? I don't know yet, but we shall see!

NVC Day 2

2011-08-08T22:28:00.004-05:00

Day 2, August 29th:

Day 2 had the convention in full swing. Breakfast was served b/t 7-7:45. After that we had open houses for the different programs: Scouting, Risk Management, Membership Development, Leadership/ Service, Alumni/ International Relations, and 2 others. We were encouraged to attend 4 and get an idea of what each one was doing. I got some great ideas from each one. I also learned what each one program was working on. After the open house we had our solo workshop for the day (the program directors and their staff had a lot to do that day and needed the time) and then the rest of the day was free time! Translation: (for me at least) Pool Time :) I attended a Risk Management workshop, and really got a lot out of it. It was a really good workshop and I'm very glad I chose to attend it. The National Office also had an open house 3-5.

I got about an hour in the pool (which felt wonderful) and the hot tub (awesome). Cindy and I hung out and talked. After pool time we went to the Open House at the National Office. This was my second time visiting the office, and yes I signed the wall once again :) I also got to tour the office, which is awesome. It was Cindy and Erin's (my roomie) first time there. I did pick up souvenirs. They were having a sale so I got a Volunteer Staff polo, a fitted t-shirt, and something for my dad. I love visiting that office! Maggie Katz the former National President was there. I left my camera at the hotel, but Cindy and Erin brought theirs so I have proof that I was there.

After visiting the National Office we headed back to the hotel to change and then I headed off to Howl at the Moon with Jenn G, Emily, and Scott. Howl at the Moon is a dueling piano bar in Kansas City, MO. We were only 15 min or so from KC. Jenn G won a free happy hour for 100 of her closest friends, and she decided to redeem it while all of her alumni brehtren were in town :) It was awesome to go into a bar and be able to breathe! It was smoke free!!!! The smokers had to go outside! We got two one dollar drinks, and free snack bar. It was really crowded at the bar, but it was worth it. The piano players were all very talented, all of them could sing, play the piano, drums, and guitar! Other brothers joined us later on. I got to sit at at table w/ some really awesome brothers (Cindy, Jenn G, and Bill) for a coupla hours. You wish you had friends cool as me :) We left Howl around 11ish, and headed back to the hotel. After a brief stop at Bdubs (yes we went here every night), the hang out place that night was mine and Erin's room. Oh and that night, it rained!! It was the first rain I had seen in 2 weeks, so I was excited.

National Volunteer Conference 2011- Day 1

2011-08-08T22:08:00.003-05:00

A week ago I had the hgreat opportunity of attending Alpha Phi Omega's 7th Bi-annual National Volunteer Conference. This was my second NVC and I had an absolute blast. It was also my first vacation since Nat Con in December. It was only 4 days but it was great! I took Thursday and Friday off from work so I essentially had a 4 day weekend. I got to hang out with some really awesome brothers I haven't seen since Nat Con. I also got the opportunity to gain new skills and learn new information to bring back to my section. So here is what went down:

Day 1: August 28th

Got up finished packing/ doing laundry. Got my nails done with mom. While I got a pedicure mom did some final grocery shopping. Mom and Dad left for a 2 week road trip to Canada and the 5 great lakes on Friday. Cindy was my carpool mate and got to my house about 3ish. We hit the road and enjoyed Disney music all the way down :) Independence, MO was our destination. The funny part about the drive was that Chad and Katrina (who was supposed to ride down with me, but there was a change in plans) actually left my house a half hour before Cindy and I took off and we still beat them there! We made really good time and got there about 6:30 PM. We checked into the hotel, checked into the conference and then met up with some other brothers, Jenn G, Bill, and Abigayle. We went over to Buffalo Wild Wings (Bdubs) for dinner. Good thing too: I was starving! After dinner we returned to the hotel and went to the main conference room for our opening speaker and a networking activity. Our speaker was a former FBI agent and spoke to us about Cyber security. It was very interesting and I learned some new things. Our networking activity split us up in groups based on our professions. Well my profession (Receptionist/Admin Asst.) wasn't mentioned, so I went to the group that was closest: Construction ( as my company builds modular buildings). Our first activity was to make hats out of construction paper. Ours were Construction Cones, thankfully we had some crafty people who made them. The challenge was which ever group got done first, got ice cream first from our ice cream social. We were third. It was entertaining and fun. After the activity we retreated to Cindy and Chad's room and hung out for a few hours. All in all Day 1 was pretty good :)

My life lately

2011-07-17T21:41:00.003-05:00

It is already mid- July. Good grief, where did this summer go? Time really seems to be flying by. I've been pretty busy, even though I've had time where nothing is going on. So here is what has been going on:

*Baseball: So far I've been to 4 Cardinal games! My record is 2-2. (2 wins-2 losses). I have gotten to go to these games w/ really cool friends. My last game I got to reconnect w/ my little brother from Alpha Phi Omega! It was awesome. We were in a suite, which it self was really cool, but even cooler was Rob and I got to chat and see an awesome game! Pujols hit a homerun and Tony Cruz hit a double to win the game in the ninth. All in all it was a good time.

*Metrolink- I have become quite the Metrolink traveler! So far I have used it on 6 seperate occasions. I have used it for transport to all baseball games, to check out Marine week (which was amazing!), and to see the Maroon 5 concert (which was cancelled- boo). Next week I am heading downtown again to see Barenaked Ladies for Live off the Levee. I'm excited! I like traveling downtown and am sort of getting to know it better. Don't quote me on that tho, I still could (and probaly will) get lost downtown. LOL- I have no sense of direction.

*Alpha Phi Omega- I have been able to do activities with both my chapter and my alumni group. I attended a BBQ/ meeting for my chapter. So far Gateway Alumni Association (my alumni group) has only done a May event (June was too busy, and so far July is so busy and really really hot). However, it looks like we have an August Event; trivia night for Sectionals! The Railroaders have an event too; going to the zoo! I am super excited about both and hope for a good turnout for both activies.

*National Volunteer Conference (NVC): Only 12 more days I am off to Independence, MO for an exciting conference just for alumni! 3 1/2 fun filled days w/ some really awesome brothers I haven't seen in a while. Conferences during the day, and at night? We shall see! I am really excited and nervous about the one workshop I'm doing, but I am feeling more confident about it as the days go by. I am really excited about the roadtrip there and the conference itself! I can't wait! I get to take a mini-vacation for 4 days! Whoohoo! Have I mentioned I am excited?!

*Loki: Loki is awesome and being mischievous as always. She has only gotten to go swimming once (so far!), as LVL has been way crowded.

*Weather: Oh my what a spring/ summer it has been! First we had all the tornadoes (which we are not done by the way) and now we have intense heat. There is an excessive heat warning until Friday at 8 PM! Temperatues in the upper 90's and Heat Indexes in the 100's. So glad my work and home and car have A/C. Loki has wanted to play retriever, but I only let her fetch a few times as it is so hot and she doesn't know when to quit and I really don't want her to get overheated. I would love to take her on walks at night but it is too hot for either one of us. So for now it is retrieving toys in the house will have to do.

Birds on the Bat

2011-04-27T21:37:00.002-05:00

I haven't blogged a lot lately. Work, and other things getting in the way...and I will admit laziness. However, I am now taking the time to blog about one of my favorite things: Baseball! The Boys of Summer are back!! After months of waiting baseball season is finally in full swing!! Horray!!
Spring Training started off great, Wainwright and Carpenter looked solid. And then Wainwright hurt his elbow and had season-ending Tommy John Surgery (I wish him a speedy recovery). Carpenter is doing really well, he just needs support from the bullpen. His record is 0-2 but there should be at least one win, the bullpen cost him that one. Jamie Garcia has really stepped up (3-0 record) and has been a reliable starter. Kyle Loshe is also showing more promise than he did last season- he seems to have more control of the ball and his mechanics seem improved. He also currently has the lowest ERA of the starting pitchers at 2.01 and a record of 3-1. Kyle McClellan is also doing extremly well, he also has a record of 3-0 with an ERA of 2.16.
After getting off to a slow start, the Birds on the Bat are starting to heat up! As of right now, the Cardinals are in first place in the NL Central with a 12-11 record and a .522 record. Critics have said the Cards will finish in 4th place this season. My vote: its too early to tell so the verdict is still out. Ask me again in August. We have some new Birds on the Bat (as always) this year.
First up is former Astro Lance "Puma" Berkman. Berkman was one of the Astros "Killer B's". Whenever he came up to bat, they would play that awful buzzing sounds. Berkman played firstbase while in Houston. He has transitioned to the outfield specifically right field- as we have Pujuls at first base- and seems to be doing really well. He has been hitting really good and has made some good defensive moves. All in all, he is a great addition to the team.
Ryan Theriot- a former Chicago Cub, don't hold it against him- he was one Cubbie I didn't like coming up to the plate- I knew he could hit. Theriot seems to be heating up and fitting in well with the club. The FSN announcers have compared his hiting style to that of former Cardinal David Eckstien- not a big power hitter like Pujols, but capable of producing timely hits.
There are some other new additions, but honestly these are the two I have heard the most about.
Even though we lost ace Wainwright, the rest of the starting pitchers have stepped up and are producing. It is our bullpen that needs the most work. I know, easy for me to say. Unfortunately a lot of the game is mental. I admire the players and the way they can play. I really admire the way the can stand up to all of the pressures and critisms of the game. Its only April and (thankfully) we still have a lot of baseball left! I get to go to my first game of the year on May 3rd with my baseball buddy JR and then again on May 7th (again w/ JR).
As always, all of my facts (numbers/ERA's) can be checked on the Cardinals website. My opinions are just that. At the moment, I will respectfully decline on opinions of manager Tony LaRussa.
Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!

Rising Waters

2011-04-27T21:19:00.003-05:00

St. Louis has been through some rough weather lately. And it doesn't appear we are going to get a break any time soon. Since my last posting about the tornado I have learned more about it. I found out that the tornado traveled 22 feet and was a 1/4 mile wide (the width of my street- two lanes plus a nice shoulder on each side). This tornado made the one that hit Sunset Hills and Fenton back on New Year's Eve look like nothing. Not to diminish what happend then, its just this tornado inflicted a lot more damage. Miracuously no deaths! KMOV did a fantastic job of covering the storm and it seems like everyone had a lot of warning and a lot of information about the storm! Obviously that helped. I keep reading and hearing more about the tornado. The one thing I heard that made me soo happy was that of the volunteers coming out and helping everyone! I love hearing stuff like that, proves that there are caring people in our city. Some people have been helping by reaching out to friends and asking for things. Every little bit is appreciated I am sure. Times are going to be tough, but I think we are going to come out of this okay. It appears that there really are some wonderful people in St. Louis.
Now going to the title of my post: Rising Waters. It has been raining constantly since (and even before) the tornado it. (did St. Louis turn into Seattle and I missed it?) The ground is saturated from previous rainfalls so there is nowhere for the water to go. So the rivers are cresting. One levey, in Poplar Bluff, has already failed. One road by my house has been closed because it is under water. I heard that the levey gate in Valley Park was going to close, but it remains open. News casters are saying that the Meramec River is going to crest t/m at 24 ft. I would imagine that before that the levey gate in Valley Park will close. I am really worried about this flooding. My house will not be affected; I live on top of a big hill. If my house floods somebody better be building an ark and collecting 2 of each animal (except for squirrels and geese). What I am concerned about is 141 at 44 going under. If that happens, I can still get to work, it is just going to take a lot longer to get there. I really don't want that to happen- and call me selfish if you want- I just don't want to have to use all that gas considering the gas prices! I mean really, do the oil companies think we are made of money?! All we can do now is wait and hope for the best.

EF4 Tornado Hits St. Louis

2011-04-24T13:39:00.002-05:00

Friday night, April 22nd, Good Friday, St. Louis was hit by an E4 Tornado. Lambert Airport and surrounding areas suffered the most damage.
Tornados are graded on the Fujita scale from 1 to 5. They are measured by how much they "eat" aka destroy. The higher the number, the greater the damage. This link gives you an idea of how they grade each number.
St. Louis suffered incredible damage; houses were leveled, Lambert international had a roof taken off, windows blown in, and a teriminal flooded. Debris littered the halls of Busch Stadium. The pictures of the damage I have seen are enough to break my heart. Miracuously though, there were no fatalities. All that damage and not one life lost. God was truely watching over St. Louis Friday night. Even those of you who do not believe in God, you have to admit there was something greater watching over us. I was fortuate in that all of my friends and family are safe and unharmed by the storm. Others were not as fortunate.
President Obama has promised Federal Aid to the victims. This and insurance will help. Let me repeat HELP... but not solve all the problems. It takes a long time for insurance claims to be processed. It will take time for the Federal money to arrive and be properly distributed. In the meantime, people will have to rely on the strength and love of their friends and family. The generosity of strangers will also be a booon to them. Those with Tornado insurance will have advantages of being able to rebuild faster, the insurance will provide them with money to get a hotel, get food and clothes. This will HELP, not solve. And it will take time for insurance to get the money to its customers, and while they are waiting they will have to use precious funds for the basic necessities just to survive. I am not saying all this to be cold or rude, nor am I minimizing the situation, as it has been suggested to me. There are some amazing people out there who have already stepped forward and are helping the vicitms. A friend of mine is reaching out to her facebook community and asking for small donations to help a friend of hers who lost her house. She is not asking for a lot, just small things; gift certificates for food and clothes, and donations of diapers. It may seem small but in the long run it is a lot. Remember that the tiniest ripple in the pond can produce the largest waves. Translation: even the smallest acts of kindness can make the biggest difference. KMOV asked for stories of people doing good for a special segment on Monday, so I submitted what my friend is doing. The news needs to highlight more stories like this more often. I am impressed and awed by what people are doing to help out. There are truely some amazing people in St. Louis. For those of you who want to help, click here for ideas.

Oh what fun we have in Legislative Session

2011-01-16T12:46:00.004-06:00

As I mentioned in previous posts, I spent a day and a half of my vacation in legislative session. On the day I left for Atlanta, I got a call from Marlene, our section chair, asking me to be the Section Chair Designee. What that entailed: I was to sit with the other section chairs and have a voice but no vote. Meaning I could speak my mind on issues but could not vote. I was also on the floor to make sure that the delegates from my chapters in my section were okay; were they understanding the issues, did they have any questions, or did they need anything. I was honored to be asked and really glad I was able to help out my section. I only hope that I did a good enough job. If the thanks I got from the delegates and Jenn C are any indication, I apparently did so :) I heartily thank Jenn Churchill for the mini memory card game and the mini crazy eights game as well as the activities pad for keeping me sane. I must have played that mini memory card game over a dozen times, I completed almost every activity in my activity pad and played many games of crazy eights with Travis. I did pay attention to the issues and sent/responded to notes from my delegates. I made sure everything was okay and got anything if they needed it. Big thanks goes to my awesome roommate Abigayle for saving me the first day by bringing my hoodie to me! I would have froze w/out it. Also major thanks to Jenn C for giving me meds for my insanely painful sinus headache I was annoyed by all day on the 29th. It finally went away around 6ish. It was awful! Before I found out that I was going to be on the legislative floor all day, I had planned on being a runner or doing whatever Marlene, our section chair, wanted/needed me to do. I went out before I left for ATL and got goodies for the delegates. Each chapter received a goody bag which contained the following: a toy car, crayons, and a few pieces of candy. Region staff also provided goody bags to all delegates. They gave us mini card games (I got the memory card game), an activity pad, candy, a protein bar, and a bottle of water. Even though at times I was ready to bolt or felt like I was going insane, I did enjoy my time spent. I sent encouraging notes; such as sending chocolate candies to Epsilon for voicing their opinion on an issue, a protein bar to Beta Psi (they will tell you I encouraged them to fight) with a note stating that they could either fight over it or be brothers and share it. Unfortunately I trashed all the notes I received the first day :( However, I kept the notes from the second day. Oh yea, Jenn C also provided us with BINGO cards which not only kept us entertained also kept us awake and paying attention to what was being said. President-now past president :(- Maggie Katz saying "Sacred Cows" was a square as was a brother being ruled out of order. Past President Fred Heismeyer mentioning Indy racing, Danica Patrick or showing off his tie -he failed to wear a tie on the first day when this square was on our sheet, nor did he talk that day :( Our BINGO sheets were a hit, I am predicting that next Nat Con, there will be a lot more BINGO Cards :) I only spoke once at the mic, and that was right before the session closed and that was to heartily thank Maggie Katz for her years of service and state that I was going to miss her. I also congratulated John K. Ottenad (JKO- and yes there was a square stating "a brother refers to John K. Ottenad as JKO- which I did) on his election as Vice President of the Fraternity. If you couldn't tell from all the previous posts, I had a great vacation and a fabulous time at National Convention. Hopefully I will be able to attend the 2012 National Convention which is taking place in Orange County Anaheim, California!! I have never been to the west coast. So I'm really hoping to go. Apparently the weather there in December is about 67 degrees. And according to the bidding chapter, the beach is nearby. As I have never swam in the Pacific Ocean, I will definitely be visiting the beach. Who wants to bet that I will go swimming?! For those of you who just said "yes, crazy girl will go swimming" You are correct. I might just go in just to say I have swam in the Pacific Ocean. We shall see! Hurry up Sectionals, I miss my brothers!!

Oh yea...we did use a frivolous motion to have Maggie Katz do 'I'm a Little Teapot'- it was hilarious!

New Year's Eve Atlanta Style

2011-01-15T16:08:00.005-06:00

New Year's Eve- December 31st: Nat Con was officially over, so I got to sleep until 11:30 on NYE. Wandered over to the mall (I think this was trip 6 or so) for lunch. Picked up Moe's and then headed to the Region Suite to eat and watch the parade. The Chik-Fil-A bowl was that night, so the hotel was super crowded. The hotel was booked, what with 1,800 brothers staying there for our convention, plus the bands for the football teams and attendees and other guests. Watched the parade w/ Bill. The parade was pretty good. Loved the bands. Didn't like the float that played "Baby, Baby" by Justin Bieber....really didn't like how Bill tried to keep it in my head. Visited the World of Coke w/ Chad, Abigayle (who was my awesome roommate) and Bill. It was awesome! The majority of my pics from this vacation were taken there. I have to say the Tasting room and the museum were my fave parts. I tried coke products from all over the world. I loved the coke products from Latin America (they use real sugar and less of it, so their sodas aren't as sweet as the sodas in the states). I tried a ginger ale that was really good. Picked up souvenirs for the family, shot glass for my brother, mini polar bear for mom, baseball for dad, and 2 mini contour and a holiday shirt for me. That night we went to dinner at Pacific Rim Bistro, a few blocks from the hotel. It was really good. I had a chicken breast stuffed w/ crab and cheese, covered w/ sauce, a glass of red wine, and then fried cheesecake for dessert. Tried endame for the first time, loved it! Dinner was wonderful; wonderful food and wonderful company! Hung out in JKO's suite (which was phenomenal!!) A little bit before midnight, we ventured to the 2nd floor of the hotel, circled it and at midnight welcomed the new year and sang our toast song! 300 brothers singing the toast song, it was awesome!! Went back to JKO's suite, and hung out there until about 2ish. Hotel didn't quiet down until about 3 AM.
New Years Day- January 1, 2011: Slept until 10:30 AM. Finished packing, checked out, got a hot chocolate and watched NCIS in my room until 10 till noon (official check out time). Headed downstairs, where I bid farewell to my brothers (some I won't see until Sectionals, others possibly NVC) and headed off to MARTA. Took MARTA to the airport, checked my bag, and went in search of my departure gate. This time I opted to walk all the way to Terminal C and not take the train. Work off all the calories gained from the week. Oh was I tired by the time I got to my gate! Picked up lunch at Moe's (yes I loved this place- like Chipotle but not as good). Texted brothers while I waited for my plane. My plane was on time (I flew Airtran and I have to say I was very impressed with them! I would definitely recommend them and fly with them again if I can't fly Southwest!). Flight was uneventful and again we arrived in STL early. Atlanta was wet and cold when I left. Upon arriving in STL, I noticed that all the snow had melted, thanks to high temps on NYE. Glad to be home, but sad to be finished with my vacation and away from all my brothers. My vacation was much needed and a lot of fun! Hopefully, I can take another mini-Vacay at the end of July to attend NVC in KC, MO. We shall see. Until then I will contend myself with attending chapter meetings and then sectionals in April. Remember: APO is for Life!!!! To see more pictures from my trip click here.

Nat Con Day 4

2011-01-15T15:42:00.005-06:00

Day 4- Thursday, December 30th: This was the final day of the conference :( Didn't have to be on legislative floor until 8:30 AM as we had gotten through the meatier stuff the day before. Legislation went well and we ended up finishing a lot earlier than planned :) Brother John K. Ottenad was elected & voted as Vice President of the Fraternity!!! Brother Mark Stratton was elected & voted President of the Fraternity. Brother Glen Kinder was elected & voted as one of 6 Program Directors. At the final regional meeting, it was a unanimous decision to re-elect Jenn Churchill as our Region Director. 2 of the section chairs, Travis and Megan surprised Jenn w/ a birthday cake as it was her birthday. Everyone enjoyed a nice yummy piece of b-day cake. Brother John K. Ottenad was presented with the Region DSK (Distinguished Service Key) by two Alpha Phi- Wash U (his home chapter). The girls who presented it were so cute in their presentation. JKO was shocked and humbled by this. JKO definitely deserved this award, everything he has done for our region and the sections has been much appreciated. Visited the Fraternity store where they were having a sale, unfortunately the shirt I got was not on sale, but it was worth it! Also picked up a convention pin. I sat with Jenn G and the Epsilon chapter at the Awards Banquet where I was pleased to see Beta Psi (my father's chapter) win the National Scouting Award. An award they have won for the past 8 years (Nat Con is held every other year & Beta Psi has won this award at the last 4 conventions). I also had the great pleasure of seeing Brother George Kober receive the National DSK- the highest honor! Well deserved!!!! and he is of Region 8, Section 49- my Region & Section !!! Attended the Sleepless in Atlanta pajama dance for a little while, then headed up to the region suite to hang out. Bid farewell to Steven & Keely (who drove down there) who had to leave super early the next day to be back in the STL as Keely had to work New Years Day.

Nat Con Day 2 & 3

2011-01-15T14:48:00.008-06:00

Day 2: Tuesday, December 28th: Get up around 8ish and go get Keely & Steven registered (checked in really) for Nat Con. This process ends up taking us most of the morning. My badge finally gets fixed so I can be on the legislative floor t/m. Afterwards we visited the Fraternity Store (yes I visited this place frequently) Grab subway for lunch (ty to Gilbert for walking w/ me to the food court). Get to my one and only workshop (my fault- I was lazy and didn't feel like going to the others before then-plus I needed to help my brothers). I end up leaving early as my stupid allergies decide to act up. Head over to mall to drug store to pick up claritin (thank goodness for that drugstore!), then back to the hotel to chill until the Fellowship Banquet. The Fellowship Banquet was great! Sat w/ Jenn C, Jenn G, Katrina, Bill, Keely, Steven, Chad, Glen and Kevin. Dinner was great, with the exception of the green beans which were over cooked (a bit chewy for my tastes). Classic cheesecake for desert :) So far this convention is awesome! After dinner there is the swing dance w/ a live 17 piece orchestra! Only stayed for a little while as I had security duty 10- 12. Chilled in my hotel room until it was time to go downstairs and report. End up getting a call from Scott (brother from SLU now living in GA) wondering where I am...I still had 5 min before my shift started and I was exiting the elevator. Was team Bravo- patrol went great! Love doing security detail. No real problems, one of the brothers mentioned eating jelly beans and we all began demanding that security get us jelly beans! We did get jelly beans thanks to Bravo Whiskey :) Again ended up in bed after midnight
Day 3- Wed, December 29th: Get up really early to be on Legislative floor by 8 AM. Legislative session doesn't start until 8:30 AM, which allowed me to go to the coffee shop in the hotel & get hot chocolate and a banana. Legislative session goes well, get to enjoy lunch w/ the Great Maggie Katz and Beta Psi :) Return to legislative session, and manage to finish early around 4 :) Head off to Regional Meeting. Get dinner at the Mandarin place across the street w/ Steven & Keely. Chill in Region Suite for a while (yes this was the place to be and many times I hung out there). 11Pm I head off down to the Make-A-Wish Carnival (where we ended up raised $7,000!!) with Bill & Steven. I only planned on staying for a little while either bounce in the Bounce House like an idiot or play laser tag. Ended up getting thrown in "jail"- you could put brothers in "jail" after setting a bail price, and then brothers had to raise enough money to "free" them. Thank you brother Tom! Many pics on facebook for your viewing pleasure of yours truly in "jail". Quite entertaining as many of my brothers will tell you. My jail cell was a black tarp wrapped around 4 posts, w/ the "bars" made of duct tape. There were 2 chairs inside so I was able to sit down for a while. In my time in "jail" I chanted "Attica, Attica, Attica, Attica!!", sang 'Sweet Caroline' and helped a brother escape :) The jail break was fun! I didn't partake in the escape but I helped lift part of our "jail cell" so the brother could "dig" his way out. Got out in time to see Jenn C (who by the way is our fabulous Region Director) get pied :) Travis and Larry were also pied. It was great! I didn't get to bounce around or play laser tag as I gave my tickets up to bail myself out. Big thanks to all brothers who donated tickets (esp Steven who gave all four of his free tickets up- upon entering the carnival we were given 4 free tickets after that tickets were 25 cents each). Originally planned on staying to see Jenn get pied and then go, but my imprisonment changed that. All in all it was fun. I had a great time! Again ended up in bed well after midnight. This was a common thing among most brothers.

A Phi O's National Convention Day 1

2011-01-15T14:06:00.008-06:00

Two weeks ago (wow, has it really been that long?!) I was blessed with the opportunity to be able to attend Alpha Phi Omega's 41st National Convention in Atlanta, GA from Dec 27- 30. I arrived in Atlanta around 12:40ish on December 27th and left in the late afternoon on the 1st of the new year! I had an absolute blast in Atlanta! This was my first real vacation in 4 years and it was amazing! I got to fly for the first time in 4 years and live in a hotel for a week! This was my second National Convention; I attended the Nat Con in 2004 when it was in Denver, CO. I served as one of my chapters voting delegates and had a blast. This time around I figured 'I'm alumna, I don't to sit on the legislative floor all day, I can attend workshops!' Well that was not to be, but it worked out in the end. So here is my experience at Nationals:
Sunday, December 26h: Go out and run errands w/ mom. Get my nails done, come home and start packing for my vacation. I check in online for my flight. Around 7ish I get at call from one of my alumni brethren; Katrina, she calls and tells me to check my flight as Marlene's (Our current Section Chair) flight got cancelled and can't get re-booked until Wed. We had a white Christmas this year and received about 3 inches of snow. The roads were much better on Sunday and mom and I had no problems driving. However, Atlanta was being hit by a snow storm and the airport shut down. I checked Airtran (my airline) and everything was okay. Monday morning the roads will be better, flights will resume and everything will be good.
Day 1: Monday, December 27th: Wake up at 6 AM after getting about 3 hours of sleep (was way too excited to sleep), I don't have to leave the house for the airport until about 8ish as my flight doesn't leave Lambert until 10:13 AM. I am too excited to get back to sleep, so I get up, check my flight- flight is on time, no cancellations :)- shower, and finish packing. Arrive at airport about 8:40ish after a detour to McDonald's (mom must have her Egg McMuffin...and I want a Sausage Biscuit). Check my bag, bid farewell to parents, go through security without a hitch (no body scanner just a metal detector) and head off to my departure gate. While waiting for my flight, I get a call from Marlene who asks me to represent the section as the Section Chair Designee at Nationals. I am beyond honored to be asked and readily agree. Board flight, enjoy free wi-fi on flight, arrive in Atlanta after a smooth and speedy flight (we actually arrived 10 min early). Start walking towards baggage claim, took me 3 terminals to figure out that the train in the airport actually went to BC. Haul my bag of the carousel, head towards MARTA (think Metrolink only with lots more connections), meet up some brothers :) and head off to the hotel. After checking into the hotel, I wander downstairs to register. Come off the elevator, see tons of brothers and exclaim "Brothers!"...one actually had the audacity to call me 'Sister', started walking off, but came back and pointed and said "Brother!" and went in search of registration. Register, even tho I have to change my badge so I can get on legislative floor (this doesn't happen until Tuesday morning). Venture into the Fraternity store and purchase my first souvenir: a APO teddy bear :) Encounter Jenn Churchill and go up to Region 8 Suite where we chill until the Region 8 meeting (me alternately calling & checking on my chapter (The great Sigma Alpha) to see where my brothers (Keely & Steven are). The Region meeting goes off well (Discover Jenn C is referred to as Octomom by her home chapter hehe), get to see many more brothers I have missed and meet new ones :) and after the meeting: Dinner! I am starving as I did not eat lunch (but I had breakfast which is odd as I usually don't eat breakfast). So Chad, Bill, Jenn G, Jenn Churchill, Lindsay, Travis, Larry Ent and myself (& others whose names I can't remember at the moment-sry) head over to the attached mall's food court for dinner where I discover the awesomeness that is Moe's Southwest Grill (for evidence that it is awesome, I ate there at least 4 times during my stay in ATL). This is the first of many trips to the mall; it was a long walk. So I ended up getting a lot of exercise at Nat ConKeely & Steven arrive 15 or so min before OC. Attended the Opening Ceremonies that night where Nat Con opened w/ a bang: the Atlanta drum line performed for us- they were incredible!! The Convention Staff gives us glow sticks and the convention begins! Keely & Steven are starving so I take my second trip to the food court only to discover it is closed (apparently it closed at 6PM). They go in search of food elsewhere and I head up to the Region Suite to figure out the game plan and chill. End up going to bed around midnight or so.

Bienvenido a 2011!

2011-01-07T23:15:00.002-06:00

So 2010 is over and 2011 is here! 2010 was one of my best years ever! I got a job, a new car, got active w/ my chapter, Sigma Alpha, again, went to National Convention (will go into detail about that on a later blog), and just really felt like this was my year. I loved 2010 and am even more excited to see what 2011 has in store for me! So Happy New Year, Feliz Ano Nuevo and Welcome to 2011. Beinvenido a 2011!!

2010 in Review

2010-12-23T18:13:00.005-06:00

2011 is right around the corner- literally! One more week and it will be a new year. 2010 has been an amazing year for me. Sad to see it end, but really excited to see what 2011 has in store for me!

*January: My assignment at Portafab Corporation is extended. Mark turns 26. I take my first session of Zumba- love it love it! Lose a great friend: Tom Meyers Jr. Spend a few days in the hospital thanks to gastritous (all better now).

*February: Loki celebrates her 4th birthday on the 8th! Attend Jenny's Baby Shower. Enjoy the fact that my assignment w/ Kelly Temps at Portafab has been extended yet again.

*March: Portafab hires me on! 2 days later I get a new car. I make my biggest purchase to date: a 2010 Ford Escape in Sangria Red. I call her Ruby! Enjoy time w/ friend Sarah (who lives in Cali) when she visits St. Louis by getting our nails done. Get to meet her beautiful daughter, Hayden for the fist time.

*April: Froggiegirl & Gimlet (aka Jenny & Tom) welcome their beautiful daughter Jillian Nicole into the world on April 5th. I get to meet her a few weeks later. I attended a wonderful sectionals held by Alpha Phi at Washington University.

*May: I turn 28 on the 5th. EMAA holds a meeting at Ted Drews where I become the Vice President.

*June: EMAA holds a great bbq. Jillian is baptised on the 5th, and a party is held in her honor at the Kyle house. Get to spend more time w/ Jillain :) Attend a baseball game w/ JR. Start taking Pilates w/ mom and friends

*July: Pilates finishes up at the end of the month :( See Titantic at the Muny w/ Amy Rose & her mother. Start up Zumba again. Slip and fall, landing on my knee after a drs appt at St. Clares- end up dropping Zumba :( Parents leave for annual gambling trip next day.

*August: Dad celebrates his 61st birthday. Mom and dad take a road trip to the Smokey Mountains. Parents celebrate their 39th wedding anniversary! Attend a Cards/ Cubs game w/ Dad.

*September: Mom celebrates her 39th birthday (she began counting backwards once she hit the big 5-0). Mom & I check out the Hispanic Heritage Festival downtown, plan on making it a yearly tradition. Attend my 3rd (and last) Cardinal game w/ a friend, Michael Mulqueeny. Cards (finally) win (they had lost the other games I had attended)

*October: Hispanic Heritage Month!! I attend my first Taste of St. Louis w/ Jennifer Francis & Friends. Take care of the Kyle's Chinchillas as they take a roadtrip to Chicago for a wedding. Hang out w/ Erin & Kelly at Erin's new apartment and celebrate their birthday- get to see some friends I haven't seen in a while. Friends Veronica & Kyle celebrate their 2nd wedding anniversary.

* November: Celebrate Jenny's b-day at Chipotle w/ friends. Start attending weekly meetings for my chapter, Sigma Alpha. Participated in SIUE's Fall Service Day. Participated in Scouting for Food Collection Day. Attend Guns 'n' Hoses (Cops vs Firefighters) Boxing Match w/ JR. Experience a white Thanksgiving (we only got a dusting but it was pretty). Enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving w/ my family. Grateful for another year together and yummy food.

* December: More snow fell on St. Louis on December 12th. Experience the shortest elections in a long while with Sigma Alpha. Mark falls and breaks his elbow, and has surgery (doing fantastic). Enjoy a lovely evening at Zia's w/ EMAA. Then enjoy Tilles Park's Winter Wonderland w/ Andy K, Sonalee, and Stephanie. Mom recieves the Vigil Award for Order of the Arrow (the highest award). Possibly going to enjoy a white Christmas. Enjoying my first real vacation in four years. Going to fly on a plane for the first time in 4 years on the 27th- super exciting. Flying to Atlanta, GA to attend my 2nd National Convention for my Fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega.

Nationals 2010- Atlanta, GA

2010-12-23T17:53:00.002-06:00

Nationals are 5 days away. In 5 days I will take my first flight in 4 years! I am soo excited! Dad got my suitcase down from the attic. Took awhile to find it. We looked in the attic, found mom's which is similar to mine, looked downstaris, and then looked in the attic again and found it. It was partially covered by a white trashbag. Why? I don't know. I have my luggage tag and ribbons on it. I also put a ribbon and luggage tag on my laptop bag which is my carry-on. Went out this afternoon with dad to complete his Christmas shopping; people were insane! They were not at all in the Christmas spirit. It was all me, me, me! Cars would block the intersection just so they wouldn't have to wait for the next light. The shopping areas were nuts. Apparently everyone is out and about today getting those last items. Snow is coming- we might have a white Christmas! They are saying that we will get anywhere from 2 to 4 inches. All I care is that Sunday afternoon (when I get my nails done) and Monday morning (when mom & dad take me to the airport) the roads are nice and clear!
Christmas Eve is t/m. Where has the time gone?! Here is some stuff that has occured since I last blogged:
* Congress passed the (much needed) Bush Tax cuts and Obama signed it into law.
* Congress also passed the DADT (Don't Ask, Don't Tell) Bill. Finally!
* I have unofficially been working at Portafab Corporation for a year. This time last year I was working as a temp and praying my assignment would get extended. March 1st will be my year anniversary there! I love my work! My co-workers are really nice and I like going into work everyday. Although by the time 4:30 rolls around I am ready to go home! I am extremly grateful for my job. Portafab is closed today and t/m (of course), and then closed again on the 30th & 31st. Thanks to my job, I am able to take my first vacation in 4 years. My first day of vacation started off wonderful- I slept til noonish :) Monday morning I fly to Atlanta and return to St. Louis on January 1st.
* Last Wed, we got a glazing of ice. This made our driveway a skating rink, and unfortunately my brother discovered this when he slipped and fell and broke his elbow. Mark had surgery yesterday morning and it went great. He is doing really well. I am suprised by how well he is doing- he is actually out with a friend! Instead of a hard cast his arm is wrapped in an ace-bandage which allows him to move his elbow. Suprisingly the more he moves his elbow, the better. So his recovery should be a lot shorter than we orginally thought. Which would be fantastic!

Atlanta or Bust!

2010-10-29T20:32:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I officially registered for Alpha Phi Omega's National Convention. This time Nationals is taking place in Atlanta, GA! Today I got the official word that I have the 3 days off I needed to attend Nationals. Nationals goes from Dec. 27th- 30th. My company is closed on the day before New Year's Eve and of course on New Year's eve. So I am going to Atlanta!! This will be my second National Convention. I attended the 2004 National Convention in Denver, CO. An extra perk about Nationals in Denver, was that my uncle Milton lives in Denver. I had the opportunity to see my Uncle, my Aunt Angie, and my cousin Duke for the first time in over a decade. I had a great time at Nationals, I served as the voting delegate for my chapter, I got to see family and ring in the new year surrounded by hundreds of brothers. Normally, I have no clue what I am doing for New Year's until a few days before. This year I know what I'm doing, I will be surrounded by my brothers! Now I don't have family (blood family that is) in Atlanta, but I will have my brothers. I am sooo excited about this. I can't wait to go! I don't want to wish away the time, but I want to go now! I am going as an alumna, so not sure what my role will be. I know I will be volunteering to help out in whatever capacity I am needed. I am definately volunteering for "security patrol". It was called 'Ski Patrol' in Denver. Basically, its brothers patrolling the hallways of the hotels and keeping the peace. Doing things so the hotel doesn't have to worry about it and so we won't upset other visitors. Each shift is two hours long. When I volunteered I got to wander around 3 floors with two other guys talking/joking on the walkie-talkies with other brothers who were on different floors. I remember one brother reporting that an ice machine was leaking and there was a small puddle on the floor. We started trading jokes about it...a tiny puddle became a giant lake within minutes as we asked the brother if he needed a boat to get accross it. It was very funny. The shift was 10 to midnight and we needed something to keep us awake. Not all of us broke up parties. I look forward to seeing brothers I haven't seen in a while, meeting new brothers, and having a great time! Atlanta watch out! Alpha Phi Omega is coming and we are going to rock the city!!

My Heritage Part 2

2010-10-29T20:12:00.004-05:00

Okay so now everyone knows I am Hispanic: Puerto Rican to be exact. The large part of my heritage is German ancestry. I am half German, I've never really looked into this side of my heritage b/c I don't feel the pull towards it like I do with my Puerto Rican heritage. I chose to learn Spanish in an effort to get closer to my roots. Another reason I didn't chose German: it doesn't sound as romantic as Spanish does. Some people may beg to differ but that was my reason, German has harsh sounds and is more guttural. Spanish flows and is kinda musical. Both of my parents have German heritage; Mom's mom was German (not sure on the percentage but she had a very German last name) and my grandma (dad's mom) was of German descent. Not sure about Grandpa- I think he was of German descent. Abuelo Milton (mom's dad) is my Puerto Rican connection. I know my dad's side of the family has been in the United States since before the 1900's as my grandmother was born in 1911 and always talked about her dad in his odd jobs, she never talked about him talking about where he was from. My great-grandfather had a lot of odd jobs; he sold fruit, he sold ice, he even sold cars and some of his customers paid in diamonds! Some of the diamonds went into my grandmother's wedding ring. When I was a teenager, my grandmother decided to break up the diamonds in the wedding ring and give each of her grandchildren one. My brother and I received diamonds which were turned into necklaces. My three cousins; Heather, Holly, and Heidi received diamond earrings. For the moment my mother has my brother's diamond. I wear the necklace on special occasions, its very special. Another item that I have of my grandmothers that I absolutely love is her opal ring. It is a small blue opal in a classic high set ring. This ring is more precious to me than I could describe. A friend found this ring while we were moving grandma out of her assisted living home. She found this opal mixed in with all of grandma's costume jewelery. Unlike the other jewelery or items my grandmother gave me, we don't know the back story on it. She didn't even know that we found it and that I started wearing it. Note, I did not steal this from her, her memory was fading due to dementia and Alzheimer's. Her short term memory was gone, so even if we told her she wouldn't remember. I know she would want me to have it, grandma was a very kind, loving person and wanted to make me and my family happy. She liked giving us little gifts. One time she gave me a ring that her father gave her upon her graduation from 8th grade, the completion of her education). The ring is a black rectangle (not sure of the stone), with a tiny diamond (I think) in the center. I felt really special when she gave it to me, and loved hearing her tell me the story behind it. I loved all of my grandma's stories; she told us all about growing up, stories about my dad when he was a kid. She had an exceptional memory, even when she got Alzheimer's, her long term memory was as good as it was a few years before the disease set in.
I am a mix of nationalities; German, Puerto Rican, English, and French. Those four we are certain of. We know of the English blood because we found a Noel family crest when we visited England. French because our last name is Christmas in French. Other than that I don't know. Maybe one day I will really delve deep into my heritage and get more details, when I have the time and the money. For now, I think I will settle for hearing stories about my family; both sides; the German and the Puerto Rican side.

My Heritage- Part 1

2010-09-15T21:33:00.004-05:00

Just looking at me with my golden blonde hair and green eyes (and not knowing me) you wouldn't believe me if I told you I am Hispanic. However I am. I am 25% Puerto Rican to be exact and extremly proud of my heritage. I am half German, and the other 25% is a mix of English and French. English because we found a Noel family crest in England, and French as Noel is Christmas in French. My mother's maiden name is Gonzales. Here is the story behind my unique heritage:

In December of 1929, mi bisabuela Florence Ernest (for whom I am named) (great-great grandmother) moved her husband, her daughter Iris- who was pregnant with my grandfater, and Iris's two sons (Charles and Cecil) from Puerto Rico (where exactly in Puerto Rico we are not sure- we think San Jaun which is the capital city) to New York, New York. They came in through Ellis Island where Iris's last name was changed from Gonzalez to Gonzales. Why we don't know, this is what my grandfather (Pop) told my mom. In January 1930, my grandfather Milton Selvin Gonzales was born. Upon entering the U.S. mi bisabuela said "We are in America now, we speak English" and that was it. No more talk of Puerto Rico or anything. Back then, it wasn't like it is now; where you tell everyone where you are from and are proud of it. In the 1930's everyone just wanted to blend in and be accepted. Most people didn't even know what a Puerto Rican was (take for example my paternal grandfather, Red). The jobs for Puerto Ricans were few and did not pay a lot, but they were jobs and they supported the family. Mi bisabuela was the matriarch of her family and was a very great lady. To me, she is very inspiring. She had the guts to move her family from everything they knew to a place where they knew nothing and didn't fit it. She did it because she wanted a better life for them. My mother was named for her; in fact at first Pop thought mom's name was Florence Jacqueline not Jacqueline Florence as it is- he was very excited to tell his abuela that his daughter was named after her. Mom named me for her as well; Jennifer Florence. One day if I am blessed to have a daughter her middle name will be Florence (not negotiable- its tradition). At first I didn't like it because it was long and different from everyone else's (ex- Jennifer Marie, Jennifer Ann, etc). By high school I realized how unique and special it is and now take pride in its uniqueness.

Times have changed and now if you hail from a different land, you make sure everyone knows it and take pride in it. I am extremly proud of my heritage and one day I hope to learn more about my roots. I learned Spanish in an effort to get closer to it and understand it better.

Loki!

2010-09-15T21:07:00.003-05:00

I haven't blogged about my puppy (dog really as she is 4 but she still acts like she is 3 months old!) Loki in forever, so I thought I would share some updates about her (in an effort to blog more too). As I said before, Loki is now 4 and will be 5 in February- wait I don't want to even think about that one! Loki is still the same rambuctious animal she was when we first got her, although her manners have improved greatly. She listens better (she still has her moments), isn't a complete goober brain all the time. Loki is still nuts about swimming and retrieving. She isn't as enthusiastic about a tennis ball as she is about her retriever. She still has endless amounts of energy. She does have a bad habit of barking a lot when someone comes to the door. Mom likes it b/c then ppl know we have a big dog in the house. I like the intial barking, then I'm ready for her to shut up. Lately, Loki has decided that 9-9:30ish pm is bedtime, and will trot off to my room where she sleeps. She will nudge my door open (if she can) and then flop on the floor and snooze. If she can't open my door, she comes back to the living room with her sad eyes until you open the door or she lays back down in the living room. Last night I went to my room to put something away and I told Loki "bedtime" she got right up and pranced right to my room. Loki has gotten used to riding in my new car- the first time she wasn't so sure b/c of the different smells, but now she is golden. She gets in and takes a nap. I always put a blanket over the back seat to prevent fur getting on my seats. I have noticed recently that she won't come out of the car until you invite her out or give her permission, which is great. That way I can have a hold of her leash, so that when she gets out she won't run in front of anyone unexpectedly. She still has her moments when we wonder if her obedience training even sunk in, but for the most part she is good. She is 62 lbs of solid musle,not an ounce of fat on her. The vet is very happy with her health, and is impressed by her muscle tone. This is a big difference from our last lab, Shadow, who was overweight at 100 lbs and healthy but still some fat at 90 lbs. Loki we have maintained her weight b/c it is far easier to maintain her weight than get her to lose it. Labs are notorious over eaters and will eat anthing in site so its important to make sure they eat the right amount. I love it when we go to the vet and hear that we are doing every thing right. Makes me feel like a better owner :) That's all for the Loki report as of now. Stay tuned, as I'm sure I'll have more Loki Adventures! -cheesy I know, but hey I gotta have fun :)

Hispanic Heritage

2010-09-15T20:49:00.002-05:00

As many of you are unaware October is Hispanic Heritage Month. As I am Puerto Rican, and I want this month to be well known, I am going to be posting stuff about Hispanics/Latinos and other related Hispanic information. I want to spread awareness of this month. Hopefully I won't annoy anyone although if I do feel free to block my statuses for the month of October b/c the majority of my tweets and status updates will be about Hispanic Heritage.
This past Sunday, mom and I went to Soldier's Memorial Park off of 14th and Market for the Hispanic Heritage Festival. We had plans to go Saturday night as we figured when a lot of the bands and salsa music would be played. However, I caught mom's cold and was not in shape to go. So we went Sunday, and our first thing to do: find food. We were starving! So we found Rice and beans with beef and plantains (arroz y frijoles con ropa de viega y platanos) from a Cuban stand. It was sooo good (muy sabroso). We split the plate and listened to some band and then later a girl singing Selena songs (I love Selena and this girl had a great voice). Later we found a Nicaraguan stand and got a Spinich Empanada (Empanada con espinca) and split that...oh that was yummy. For dessert we had tres leches (3 milks) with strawberries. Once we had eaten, we listened to some music and checked out the booths. It was a good festival and we are going to make it a yearly tradition as the festival is yearly. This was our second time and the festivals 5th year. The first year dad went with us, this year he was too tired to go. Otherwise he would have gone as he loves Hispanic food and the culture. Yesterday when I got home from work, mom suprised me by making a Puerto Rican dish- Arroz con pollo (chicken with rice). It was sooo good. She has a family recipe but this particular one is from my Latina magazine that I get monthly. We have lots of leftovers which is great. Next dish I am wanting is Red rice and beans (Arroz y frijoles rojos)- another Puerto Rican recipes of mom's that she got from her family when she lived in New York. Now I know, Arroz con Pollo and Rice and beans is not soley a Puerto Rican dish, they are common all over Latin America; I first had Arroz con Pollo when I was a foreign exchange student in Costa Rica. I lived off of Arroz con Pollo y elote (corn)! Every meal was Arroz con Pollo y elote y Fanta (the best orange soda ever). However each country adds their own spin to the dish, which makes each dish unique. It is mid September, (scary!) yet October is right around the corner and I am ready for Hispanic Heritage month! I will use this to blog more often...as I have been slacking in that area.

North Pointe Aquatic Center

2010-08-07T21:31:00.002-05:00

Today I finally visited the North Pointe Aquatic Center in Ballwin. It has a lazy river that goes around the majority of the complex. It sooo relaxing and doesn't move too fast or too slow. There are two pools, one is a kiddie pool that has a "beach" where you can ease into the water. Then there is a big pool that boasts two diving boards, two lap lanes, an Aquaclimb where climbers can climb a slanted wall and if they reach the top they can fall/jump back into the water. There was also a rope swing. There are two big slides; one dark (covered) and one open. I did the dark slide and it was awesome! For the kiddies there is a pretty nice splash ground and a kiddie area. The kiddie area has a tower w/ two slides a bucket on top that spills when it fills up and other fun things to entertain the little ones. There are lockers available however the center does not provide locks. I had a lot of fun floating in the lazy river and treading water in the big pool. I didn't bring a lock, I had my back pack which I thought would be fine however I was right next to the lazy river and it got splashed and my clothes got really wet. So next time I will bring a lock; that way I don't have to worry about my stuff or worry about wet clothes. There is also a cafe that provides the usual fare; burgers, dogs, chips, soda, etc etc... The shower/dressing room has three private showers and three open shower heads. There are no benches and only 4 things to hang stuff from. Hot water is non existant, the best is luke warm, however there is nice pressure. There are three changing rooms where there is a bench. That was nice. I normally go to the Riverchase Complex in Fenton, however it is closed until Tuesday for major cleaning. That provided the perfect excuse for me to explore a new pool. If it wasn't so expensive $7 a person I would go a lot. Now a comparrison:
Pluses for North Pointe: Awesome lazy river, aqua climb, rope swing, big kiddie play area, spash ground, two slides, Life guards Very attentive!
Negatives: Price, lack of hot water, lack of benches, lack of privacy (in the shower house), lack of locks, Open only Memorial Day through Labor day

Pluses for Riverchase: Has an indoor and outdoor pool w/ two kiddie play areas, has a nice hot tub, great pressure and lots of hot water in showers. Lockerroom is nice and spacious/ and private with electrical outlets so you can hook up a hairdryer. Locks are provided. Also there is a machine in the locker room that drys your suit- really neat. Indoor pool open year round.
Negatives: Lazy river is a joke, scratch that there is no lazy river, Price ($7 a person although they are advertising a new discount for 63026 residents-aka me), life gaurds are airheads w/ no authority and too worried about ruining their hair or getting their clothes wet to provide adequate protection ( I do not trust those gaurds!)

All in all, I really enjoyed my time at North Pointe and will definately be visiting again soon (I hope).

Jenny goes Ka-boom!

2010-08-01T13:54:00.004-05:00

Okay I have been getting some questions as to why I'm on crutches and what happened. So here goes:

Friday morning I went to the doctor at St. Clares Hospital for an appt and to turn in some papework for medical bills. After my doc appt and getting even more paperwork, mom and I headed back to my car. Mom is helping me w/ the bills and paperwork, and thank God she was with me then! It was raining and mom and I were joking that we were going to shrink b/c we were getting wet. I was about a foot from the drivers door when I slipped. Long story short my left knee hit the ground first and hit the hardest. Falling and landing on my knees has been a nightmare scenario for me for a while now. I was in shock when I got up from my fall. Thank God for my mother- she ran and got me a wheelchair and convinced me to check into the ER. A cop took a report of the accident b/c I fell on the hospital parking lot. He took pics of my torn up knees and my dirty shoes (now covered in mud thanks to my fall). Once in the ER, they cleaned up my left knee, took some X-rays, and gave me some pain meds. I wasn't in real pain until we were waiting to get checked out. I opted to have my knee wrapped instead of an imobilizer b/c I just bruised it, I don't think I tore anything. Thanks to my lack of grace I had to call in to work late, then after some convincing from momma I called and said I wasn't coming in. As we were leaving (I think I was starting to feel the effects of the meds) I was asking mom if we could still go to my eye doc appt (which I had to cancel when I fell). I ended up taking a long nap when I got home. I was (and still am) upset about dirting up my cute red tennis shoes (I had just washed them the week before).
Right now I am home icing both my knees b/c the right one is protesting after having to have all my weight on it. I had to replace the pads on the crutches as the old ones were practically falling apart. So now I have new pads on the crutches which I may or may not use when I go into work t/m. I will more than likely be missing Zumba again (booo!) thanks to this. The first 24 hours sucked. My knee is feeling better and I've done some walking w/o the crutches, little unsteady but doing okay. So I'm feeling alright and am recovering nicely. I am trying to rest...not easy as I don't like to admit that I need help or take it easy.

Pilates/ Zumba

2010-07-25T14:58:00.003-05:00

As many of you know (or may not know) I have been taking Pilates classes throughout June and July. My last class is this Wed :( I really love Pilates. It is a gentle workout, you don't really feel like you are working out but you feel it later. I have improved my flexibility and the strength in my core (stomach). Another plus of this class is that I feel better about myself b/c I am more comfortable with my body. I am in better shape and better for it. I am definitely signing up for fall classes as this is something I want to continue. I can do a lot of these exercises at home; I bought a little toy ball for a workout tool. Only problem is that my dog thinks its for her. So I have to hide the ball when I'm using it. I am taking Pilates through St. Louis Community College Continuing Education. Right now we are at the South County Center. The instructors name is Kat and the classes are on Monday or Wed ( I go on Mondays) at 6:30 pm. The fall classes will be at Mehlville HS ( I think).
I also started a new session of Zumba; I started doing this last winter, but due to health complications and a hospitalization (I'm better now) I was unable to continue. So I have started it up again, as it is soo much fun. I've attended two of three classes (I skipped last week as my knees were really hurting). I love how I feel after the class. Parking has been a bit of a nightmare as the place where I take Zumba (Riverchase RexPlex) also has a summer swim team and they have hosted some meets. This creates a big problem; even though they open up a place for ppl to park on the grass, a lot of people think they are too good for that and create their own spots. Never mind that these spots are illegal and create potentially dangerous situations. Last time there was supposedly a cop out in front. I hope every single driver who parked illegally got a ticket.
Overall I am healthier and happier. These classes also provide a nice escape from the daily stress of life.

Products I love!!

2010-06-19T17:54:00.005-05:00

Sometimes I run accross a product that I absolutely love and just have to share with others. A lot of the products are name brand- I usually buy them on sale or use coupons. I hate paying full price.

Deep Water Bath by Better Bath
This gadget I am absolutely in love with!! You place it over the overflow drain on your bathtub and you are able to get a few more inches of water in the bathtub. Hence deeper water :) I love taking long hot bubble baths. This is my ultimate de-stresser. Now I can get the water up to my ears. The product advertises that not only does allow inches more water, the water stays hotter longer. I'm a bit skeptical of this...however in according to physics (yes I'm using physics) the larger the body of water it is the longer it takes to heat up or cool down. So since you are able to add more water, it takes longer for the water to cool down.

Aromatherapy Luxery Bath in Lavender Chamomile by Bath and Body Works
I love, love, love this bubble bath! It is a very soothing refreshing scent and creates amazing bubbles that last a long time. At little bit creates a ton of bubbles! Right now Bath and Body works is having their Yellow Sale- where everything is on sale and all aromatherapy items are buy 2 and get 2 free! The only downside to this product is that it is in a glass bottle, other than that its amazing!

Pantene Nature Fusion Moisture Balance Conditioner
This stuff is amazing. It smells clean; not a floral scent. It aslo leaves my hair shiny and soft. Very happy with this product!

Haircare
Bed Head TIGI Maxxed Out Hairspray-It has amazing hold & smells like grapefruit. no helmet hair feel. I bought new hairspray sometime last spring and two hairsprays were packaged together (buy one, get one free deal). Just finishing up the first bottle, so the product lasts a long time.

Garnier Fructis- Fiber Gum I use this stuff to hold my part and add some volume and texture to my hair. I love the fresh semi fruity smell. It also helps against frizz and helps hold your style. I just use a tiny bit and it goes a long way- I've had the original container for over a year now.

Fekkai Glossing Creme-I put this in my hair before I dry it. Cuts down on the frizz big time! Gives hair a smoother texture. Again a little bit goes a long way- you just use the amount of a pea. Lasts a long time so its worth the price. Of course having coupons for Bath and Body works helps a lot too! Especially those buy one item and get a 10 dollar item free! I love those coupons!

Eyes
Opti-Free Replenish Contact Solution-My eye doctor got me hooked on this. I just put my contacts in this solution and they are clean. Last year I got a ton of samples from my eye doctor so I haven't had to purchase this stuff in over a year!! Also, if you do buy these most of the time inside or on the box its in there is a coupon for a dollar or so off the next purchase.

Blink Eyedrops-I got this sample from my eye doctor and the past few weeks I have been very grateful for these! My allergies have been acting up (thanks to an outrageous mold count), and these drops help stop my eyes from feeling on fire. This is particulary great b/c its sensitive enough that I can use it w/ and w/o contacts.

Beauty/ Cleansers
Olay Daily Facials Express Wet Cleansing Colths (Sensative skin)-My mom and I use this to take our makeup off at the end of the day. It gently removes all the makeup and dirt accumulated during the day. We prefer the sensitive skin formula b/c my skin is extremly senstive- all of my face wash stuff has to be sensitve otherwise I break out. Your face feels clean and fresh after using them.

Clinique- 3 step-I love Clinique- personally I think they make the best makeup. They also have a really good skin care line. I have been using this for years and am very happy with the results. My skin is clean and clear. The Dramatically different face lotion has been ranked consumers fave face moisturizer for 5 years in a row! The main reason I love clinique so much is b/c it works with my sensitive skin. I've tried other products and they have caused rashes or break outs.

Clean & Clear Deep Action Cream Cleanser- just switched to this for the winter, love how my face feels "cool" after using it.
Clean & Clear- Morning Burst- My other face wash- like it b/c it wakes me up (could be the shock of water on my face) and its sensitve enough for me.
St. Ives Apricot Skin (gentle)- I use this exfoliater once a week, really cleans my face and gets rid of dead, and dry skin. Again my skin likes this.

Milk-Bone Dog Biscuits- Loki loves these! We usually get no name brand, but then I found out that Milk-Bone donates a percentage of their profits to an organization that helps pair people with helper animals. So we alternate b/t no name and Milk-Bone (Loki doesn't know nor does she care).

and finally:
QuikTrip - how could I not include this?! I love QT- this is the only place I go for gas. Their stations are always well lit, clean and the workers are very friendly. Plus I love their 32 oz fountain drinks :)

For those of you who read the entire blog: thank you- hope it wasn't too boring and helps you out; giving you new products to try or a good laugh.

Change it up

2010-06-19T17:37:00.003-05:00

Okay so blogger made some changes to refresh and enable users to personalize their blogs more (probably a long time ago so I'm a little behind but whatever). So I have made some changes. I changed my background, the text, and the color. I also added a few gadgets- my latest twitter postings and the weather forecast (I'm a weather nut like my momma). They made it super easy to do these changes too! Previously I had my friend, froggiegirl (the web guru) make my blog look cool. Now I am able to do it. Although froggiegirl's blog looks snazzier, I like my changes :)

All in a Day's Work

2010-06-05T17:32:00.004-05:00

After a lazy start to the weekend; I sleept 'til about 11:30 AM, I suddenly got motivated. So I donned my bikini and washed my car. Not only did I wash it, I cleaned all the windows, and vaccumed it. Then since I was on a roll and wanted more sun (I did put sunscreen on) I washed my mom's car. I gave it the same treatment as mine; it is now clean inside and out. I also frebreezed her car. My car still has the new car smell and I like it so I didn't febreeze mine. After cleaning up outside, and putting both cars in the garage -bring it on rain- my cars will stay clean! :) I continued laundry-which I had been doing while cleaning the cars- I am a multitasker! :) I made my bed, then vaccumed the living room, the office, my room and Loki's bed. Loki even helped; for those of you who are wondering "How did the dog help?!" Loki's version of helping translates to following me around everywhere, getting in my way, and trying to trip me up. Loki did not help wash the cars. Loki loves water, and since she just got groomed on Wed, I so didn't feel like washing the dog and then dealing w/ wet puppy. So now the house is clean. The last load of laundry (excluding the whites which I will bleach t/m) is in the washer and I have tri colored rotini noodles on the stove for the Pasta Salad I am making. Loki was such a good dog, she waited patiently for both her meals today- first she let me sleep in (thank you- I apparently needed it) and then she let me clean and then feed her. Now she has her cow- Frankenmoo and is squeaking him while trotting around the house. Now she is showing her towel who is boss- yea Loki take it out on the towel... I have to go out later and get broccoli and cauliflower. I am feeling the after effects of cleaning 2 cars and the house.. I am tired but happy. I feel accomplished. I love how I feel when the house is clean- plus it looks good. Leftover Yellow Chicken and rice for dinner and then I'll hit the grocery store. It's all in a days work! I love the weekend! Normally I would clean on Sunday's but as I have a baptism to go to and then the after party, I won't get a chance, so I took advantage of the sun.

Personalized Plates

2010-05-09T20:46:00.003-05:00

One of the things I wanted to do when I got a new car was to get personalized plates. I decided to get Cardinals plates, as I am an avid baseball fan. So I submitted the forms and necessary paperwork and so forth. My first choice was Bear82- combining the nickname given to me by my father when I was 5 seconds old and my birth year. If I couldn't get that I chose JOSO82- Oso is Spanish for bear, so it would have been (in english) JBear82. My third choice (and ultimaley the one I got as the other two are taken-boo) was 82Bear. I have also put up Birds on the Bat decals on the back two windows, a Darwin decal and a Cardinals atena ball. All that is missing is my APO sticker...had one but lost it (after I put it in a safe place so I wouldn't do that). So I have to order the one I want off the National website. I have had my car for 3 months now, and I am loving it! I love sitting higher up and feeling more secure. Almost 3000 miles on it (probally will have that by June). One thing I don't like about my new SUV: paying the monthly bill. Le sigh, such is the price of a new toy.

My new Car

2010-03-04T20:12:00.002-06:00

I have a new car!! Last night, I bought my very first car! I am now the proud owner of a 2010 Sangria Red Ford Escape!
I didn't tell anyone about the possiblilty of getting a new car b/c I wasn't sure it was going to turn out like this. So I kept quiet about it. Here is the deal, we played a game of musical cars. My brother's car (which was my mother's originally) was a 1999 Chevy Cavalier and on its last legs. So we traded in the 99 Cavalier and my brother now has my 2000 Chevy Cavalier. So now I own a SUV, which I've been dreaming about for a few years now- one of my dreams came true!
My Escape has keyless entry (a pointy- clicky thing as I call it)- a first for me, power windows and locks-again a first for me, a sunroof (one of my must haves), solar tinted back windows (standard if you can believe that), and an iPod jack (again standard!). For me this car has everything I wanted. I am shocked that I now own a Ford (after years of badmouthing Ford). I was shocked by the things that are now standard on cars. So the only thing I got on my SUV that isn't standard is the sunroof. I got my SUV at Dave Sinclair Ford- I highly recommend them. They found the red, dark interior, SUV w/ a sunroof- exactly what I wanted. Even tho the day I came out to look, they couldn't find it. They looked for an hour and still no SUV. Apparently my SUV was in the body shop! The mileage on the SUV when I got it was 22.2- 2 is my fave number so I took it as a sign that it was meant to be!
Other relevant news: I got a job!! I work part time (for now, could gain more hrs later) as an Admin Asst at Portafab Corporation in Chesterfield. The company is really good and the employees are awesome. The drive is nice, and I know back roads in case the highways are bad. The back roads mean a longer drive, but its more peaceful.
So far 2010 is appearing to be my year. It is only the 3rd month and I have a job, and a new car. I wonder what else is in store for me this year. I am hopefull that I have more good things coming to me.

Twitter and other updates

2010-02-19T21:52:00.003-06:00

*Okay so I am officially entering the 21st Century....I am going to start texting and tweeting. Aye! I found out I can upgrade my phone so I will upgrade my plan upon getting my new phone. I am highly suprised that I haven't had any major probs with this one. I will miss my red phone. Le sigh, but hey I have a red iPod so it's all good.
*Missed another Zumba class due to my stomach. I am going to attend my last class next Tuesday and then instead of signing up again as planned I am taking a break until my stomach and gastritus are under control. This makes sense as I don't want to waste money on classes I am unable to attend. I'm not happy about making this decision but sometimes you have to be an adult and make decisions like this. Once my stomach is back to normal I will sign up again, as I love Zumba.
*The water is starting to call me. I want to go swimming soo bad, but with my stomach I can't. Hopefully I will feel good enough this weekend to hit the pool and do some laps... I can use my new goggles (I broke down and bought new ones a few months ago- the old ones had scratches and were begining to leak-so yea I had to get new ones). Gotta remember to bring a bottle of water and my pull bouy.
*Baseball season is around the corner!!!! Pitchers and catchers reported to Jupiter this Monday :) I can't wait for the season to start. Thank goodness for the Olympics which allows me to get my sports fix. Otherwise I'd be going batty or watch hockey....which I'm not to fond of. The St. Louis Cardinals are looking to have a good team this year. As long as our players stay healthy I think they stand a chance. As always I hope they win lots of games and for the Chicago Cubs to lose lots of games and NOT win the World Series...hehehe.
*Speaking of the Olympics, I have been highly entertained. My favorite moments so far have been watching Apolo Ohno on Short Track and watching Shawn White decimate the field on the Snowboard Half-pipe. Shawn White's first run in the finals was amazing, he got massive air and landed all of his tricks clean. Then his second run, which was his "victory" lap as he knew he had the gold before he snowbaorded, was even better. He did his new trick which was soo cool. The thing I like about Short track is how fast they can go and then how they defy gravity by nearly getting horizontal to the ice. Of course, the ability to skate fast is impressive to me as I can't ice skate. I prefer to be in the water, than on the water. So go Team USA!!

Zumba Week 5

2010-02-03T18:41:00.002-06:00

No, I didn't slack off and not blog about week 4. I didn't make it to week 4. I didn't make it because I was sick/ still recovering from my bout with gastritus. Gastritus is where everything in the stomach is inflamed. I ended up going to St. Clare's ER)Thursday night (Jan 21) for shortness of breath and nausea. I ended up being admitted to the hospital, got up to my room (a private suite!) a little after midnight. I was released around 4 on Saturday. Unfortunately, I missed Friday's work b/c I was in the hospital, thankfully my employer understood. Long story short: I am all right, and am doing better.
Okay now to Zumba. Well the class I missed last week, two new songs w/ new moves were added. Lucky for me I pick up choreography pretty fast, so I had few problems with the new routines. My fave songs were still there. I had a lot of fun even tho the class worked me over big time b/c my energy level is still not at 100%. Only 3 more classes left :( I am definately signing up for up for another class. Our Zumba instructor told us that she is being certified in AquaZumba, which is Zumba in the water and that Riverchase (where I take Zumba) is interested!! So AquaZumba might be featured there around May or June!! I seriously hope so!

Zumba Week 3

2010-01-20T18:56:00.002-06:00

So I was a little late Zumba due to spacing out before class, but I came in before the first song ended. I got an even better work out as I finally caved in and wore my left knee brace. I have a love/hate relationship with knee braces.....I hate wearing them with a passion, but I love the support they provide. Next week the music is changing up a bit, so the routines that I have now got down (minus a few steps) are are going bye-bye. Oh well, I am sure that I will enjoy the new music and new moves. Some I can add to my dance moves :) Tuesdays are definately becoming my favorite days. I get excited on Mondays thinking "Zumba t/m night!!". Tuesdays I am almost dancing around chanting "Zumba, Zumba, Zum-Ba!!! Zumba, Zumba, Zum-Ba!!" . I am definately signing up for another session, I am having soo much fun and want to continue. Plus I love how I feel after class, even though I am all hot and sweaty, I am tired but its a good tired. Also condsidering exercise releases endorphins which makes you happy. Its also a good escape from the "real world" for an hour. Everyone could use that! Come on Tuesday! I want to Zumba again!!

Zumba - Week 2

2010-01-12T21:59:00.002-06:00

Well I survived my second class of Zumba. Once again I had a blast and it kicked my butt. Learned some more stuff 1)Bring a larger bottle of water (worked up a big thirst), 2) apparently there is a clock in the room...however it is analog so I can't read it, 3) Still need to get those songs to download. Concentrated more on my abs this time, keeping them contracted and imagining my belly button pushed against my back. So as a result, they are a bit sore. But its a good feeling. I am exhausted, but feel awesome. Tuesdays are becoming my favorite days! I get so excited about class! The class was a lot smaller this time, I'm guessing some ppl thought it was too much. Yes it pushes you but thats what you want. You are supposed to work up a sweat and be tired. I would love it if Zumba was twice a week :) Tuesdays and Thursdays....that would be awesome!! However, I'm going to start swimming on the weekend to get more exercise.

Zumba- Week One

2010-01-05T21:09:00.003-06:00

Today was my first Zumba class. For those who don't know, Zumba is a fusion of latin dance moves, hip hop and aerobics. I signed up for an eight week session, and today was class one. I was super excited. Within the first few minutes, I learned the following: 1) bring a water bottle (hydration is muy importante- the instructor kept saying "keep hydrated"), 2) my knees don't like some of the moves, but this will help stregthen them which in the long run is great, 3) you don't really need to get a locker- if you get there early enough you can snag a hook for your coat, 4) my salsa abilities help a little, 5) ditch the watch, time is irrelevant, class ends when class ends (besides I was the only one wearing one), 6) this class is going to kick my butt. So the next class I will definately be bringing a bottle of water- although finding a water bottle might be a problem j/k we have an overflow of water bottles in the house as a few years ago they were all the rage as participation gifts. Between scouts and APO we accumulated quite a few within a short period. The instructor warned us that our legs will be burning t/m morning. I hope so, that means that I'm working hard. I'll just stretch it out. Also, I might have to ge the names of the songs played so I can download them :) some of them I already have. The music is a variety of latin, hip hop, and raggaeton songs. I heard a new Daddy Yankee song- must get this :) I am already thinking of signing up for another session when this is over. It is a lot of fun but a lot of work, within the first ten minutes you are sweating.

Bienvenido a 2010!! (Welcome to 2010)

2010-01-01T00:16:00.000-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! FELIZ ANO NUEVO!! 2010 is finally here, 2009 is finally gone! I survived 2009! There were moments this year that tested my strength, but I pulled through! I am sooo excited to start 2010! Every new year people are supposed to come up with new years resolutions...not usually a big fan of that. Didn't come up with one for 09. However, since it is the dawn of a new decade I have decided to make a resolution. I am keeping it simple. Here are my resolutions for 2010
1) Eating healthier- making sure every dinner meal has at least 2 veggies. This has already started and mom is on board so this is a family resoultion. We are also planning out our menu for the week, so we know what we are making each night ahead of time.
2) Making smarter choices. Food wise: switching to whole grain whereever we can. Exercise wise: getting more active- already got a jump start on that. I signed up for Zumba classes at Riverchase. My eight week session starts this Tuesday, Jan 5th. So every Tuesday until Feb 23rd, I will be dancing for an hour. I have always wanted to do this but have always come up with excuses not to. This year I'm not making any excuses, I am doing it! My motivation- the fee I paid for the classes. I paid for the classes so I have to go to get my money's worth. Who knows? Maybe after the first session I will sign up for another one or a different class, just to keep active. We shall see. I also will be taking the dog on more walks. Loki is in great shape and we need to keep her there. It is far easier to keep a Lab at a good weight than try to get them to lose weight.
3) Try not to be so pesimistic. This is my hardest. I will need help on this one. For the past few years I have been pesimistic instead of optimistic. Time for that to change. However, in order for me to achieve this goal I will have to focus on it and have some outside help.
4) Upping my skills in the kitchen: I can cook, but I need more practice and need to expand my repitore. So I am going to take turns with my parents on cooking family meals. As we plan out the weeks meals on Sundays; I will know ahead of time what I will be cooking. Also this will be a big plus when I'm finally out on my own. Mom got a food processor for Christmas, so I will get to learn how to use that too :)
Another thing I will be doing this year is I will blog after my Zumba classes. So heading your way are 8 blogs about my trials and tribulations in Zumba. Should be entertaining, possibly producing some chuckles. Again, we shall see.
Final Thoughts: May your new year be filled with joy, laughter and love. Never take anything for granted, and count your blessings. Try to live each day to the fullest, and appreciate the time you have with your friends and loved ones. So once again Happy New Year!! Feliz Ano Nuevo!! Here's hoping 2010 will be the best year yet!

Looking back at the last decade.

2009-12-31T21:28:00.001-06:00

Tonight is the last night of 2009. The decade is almost over! I for one am thrilled that 2010 is coming!! 2008 and 2009 were my worst years!. I am so ready for a new decade and all it has to offer!! Below are what I consider high points of each year.

2000: Perfomed at the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio, Texas. Discovered my second favorite city! Competed in my first 500 (20 Laps) race; discovered that this was my event. Vote for first time- the presidential elecitons. George W. Bush (son of George H. Bush) takes office. :)

2001: January- had my first knee surgery. Enjoyed my last swim season :( Graduated high school!!!!! Second generation in my family to do so :) Adopted Phantom Menace from Vet- first pet of my own- my complete responsibility. Was the Day Shift Lead for B-Flats (Brittania Flats, Area 2) which consisted of Highland Fling and Grand Ole Carosel at Six Flags St. Louis.

2002: Attened Meremec Community College, join SAC and meet incredible friends who will impact my life. Mark graduates from high school!! Witness two miracles, stregthens my faith in God. Have second knee surgery- this time on the left knee.

2003: Transfer to University of Missouri-St. Louis and join my father's fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega- a National Co-Ed Service Fraternity. Meet more incredible friends who impact my life. Forever Remembered: my best friend and cat, Sparkle- mi angel.

2004: Attend first Regional Conference in Omaha with my fraternity. Attend first Sectionals. Begining of my obession for all conferences and all things APO. Attend first National Conference in Denver, Co. Visit and see my Uncle Milton, Aunt Angie, and Cousin Duke for first time in 13 years. Have 3rd and 4th knee surgery (both knees). Go on Carribean Cruise (best vaccation ever) with amazing friends from Six Flags St. Louis and see Cozumel and Costa de Mayo, Mexico, Belize and the Grand Cayman Islands. George W. Bush is re-elected :) Republicans have control of the sentate :)

2005: Announce my minor in Spanish. Attend 2nd Sectionals :) See my all time favorite artist in concert: Carlos Santana. Mom and I agree it is the best concert of all time. Start blogging :) Hurricane Katrina devestates and destroys New Orleans. Good friend Liz welcomes son Andy to the world! Hurricane Rita devestates Texas. Enjoy a white Christmas!

2006: Attend second Regional Conference in St. Louis. Best friend Froggiegirl marries her sweetheart Gimlet, acted as one of her bridesmaids :) Graduated college with double major in International Business and Managment, with a minor in Spanish. Become second generation in family to attend and graduate college. Attend 3rd Sectionals. St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series for the first time since I was born in 1982. Pittsburgh Steelers win Superbowl!! Mom and I both have our gall bladders removed with in months of eachother. Mom retires from teaching after 33 and 1/2 years!! Forever Remembered: beloved Grandma Lorraine Noel and my first dog, Shadow. New puppy Loki makes grand enterance into Noel family- I learn first hand what it takes to train a dog.

2007: Get first "real job" at Wolfgang Puck Catering- only part time, but its a job. Attend sectionals again -anyone noticing a pattern here :) Help pick out new living room furniture, new kitchen table and chairs, new carpet for living room and new tile for kitchen. Forever Remembered: my first pet, Climber aka King Tut.

2008: Get first "real full time job". Get laid off for first time. Kitchen floods requiring new kitchen cabinets, floor and trim. Inside house- living room, hall, entry way, kitchen, and living room re-painted. Repaint office and garage door. Also get new siding for house and new gutters-whew! Another best friend Veronica marries her sweetheart Kyle, get to be an attendent!! :) Barak Obama becomes the first African- American President- big moment in U.S. History :) Pittsburgh Steelers win their 6th Superbowl :) Have 5th and 6th Knee surgeries.

2009: Another good friend Suzanne marries her sweetheart Marshal. Dealt with unemployment most of the year. Learned new computer system: Worldpsan at new job as domestic travel coordinator. Enjoy first White Christmas since 2005. Mark moves into his own apartment!! Good for him!! Forever Remembered: My (personal) first adopted Cat and best friend, Phantom.

To all those friends and family I have lost and gained: I love you all and thank you for beinga part of my life. I look forward to spending the next decade with you enriching my life! Looking forward to the next decade and what it may bring!! Happy New Year everone!!!!

We got a White Christmas!!!!

2009-12-25T19:15:00.001-06:00

That's right, we had a White Christmas this year. I woke up to see snow on the ground and lots of snow swirling around and falling down. It was beautiful. This is our first White Christmas since 2005. Per our family tradition, the 4 of us celebrated at home, and then enjoyed dinner at 6.
Loki was really happy with the torn wrapping paper....she proceed to get the zoomies. Then we gave her a new squirrel, as hers was almost 4 years old and absolutely disgusting. She went nuts when I unwrapped it. Dad had to cut it free pretty fast to appease her. She also got her yearly giant chew bone. She didn't know where to start, but finally settled down and didn't come up for air until one pm. Dad will cut it into more reasonable pieces later.
Santa did really well this year. Here's the loot: 2 Arizona Thermal Shirts (with the thumbholes- my faves), Glee 1 and 2 CD's, The Fast and the Furious (2009 Edition), Two tone bracelet (which I've been wearing for the past month), an Infiniti Con-Air iron (will have to return as my hair is too short to work the curler part), and a 3-piece pj set. The biggest surprise for me was a new 26" flat screen HD tv. Completely out of left field. However, there were some amazing deals to be had and Santa took full advantage of them. T/m I will be heading out (briefly) to see what deals there are to be had.

Merry Christmas Everyone. I hope yours was as wonderful as mine :)

St. Louis is the new Seattle?

2009-11-15T16:58:00.000-06:00

*October didn't go as planned. First the Cards got taken out of the playoffs in the first round. Instead the Yankees ended up winning the World Series (evil empire strikes back).
* October went down as the wettest October in St. Louis History. We got a grand total of 8.55 inches of rain! This beat the total rain fall of 8.52 in 1919. The weather records in St. Louis go back to 1874. At least Halloween was nice and dry for the kiddos. Now it is mid November.
*Next Sat. is Scouting for Food Collection Day. So be sure to put out the bag of food on your front porch before 10 AM. That's the official pick up time. I will be spending my day at the firehouse, unloading vechicles, sorting, and boxing foot. This is my 8th year working at the firehouse! I am super excited. Scouting for Food Collection Day is my favorite service project ever!!
*Monday morning the rain begins yet again. There is an 80% chance of rain in the St. Louis area. Rain will continue until mid-week. So that brings to mind the question: Has St. Louis become the new Seattle? I hope not. I know we are in the fall season, and we don't see the sun as often/strong, but going longer than 10 days w/o sun? Not fun. So hopefully the rain will last a day or two. Pray for the sun!

Hunt for a Red October

2009-09-29T14:38:00.001-05:00

No, this isn't a post about the movie starring Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin. (Although that was a great movie). This is about the St. Louis Cardinals!!! Duh! Well, the Birds on the Bat did it!! They clinched the Central Division League Championship title! After 3 LONG days of having the magic number at 1, the Cards finally clinched the division. And in spectacular fashion too. Coming from behind to defeat the Colorado Rockies (who are vying for the wild card spot) 6 to 3. Adam Wainwright was fantastic going 8 innings. Yadier Molina was lifted from the game after taking a foul ball on his left knee. Backup Catcher Jason LaRue entered the game and went on to hit a solo homeun which broke the tie in the 7th inning. This solo home run was the game-winning hit, and secured Wainwrights 19th win!! It was fate, although I was upset (as were many Cards fans) that Molina was hurt. LaRue came in and got the job done. Brendan Ryan went on to hit a double in the ninth which paid off when Ryan Ludwick hit a 2 run homerun which added a nice cushion to keep the Cards ahead When John Mozeliak took over as the new General Manager for the Cards, I was a little dubious in regards to his ability in handling the Birds on the Bat. However, Mozeliak has made some major moves that have paid off big time. He started off by trading Chris Duncan for shortstop Julio Lugo. Then came Mark DeRosa, Matt Holliday, and vetran starting pitcher John Smoltz. Mozeliak has made all the right moves at the right time. Although I miss our former GM Walt Jocketty, Mozeliak has demonstrated the agressiveness towards making the right trades that the Cards needed. When spring training started, nobody saw this particular team going to the playoffs. Skip Schumaker was no longer an outfielder, he was going to start at second base. Brendan Ryan also made a change from second base to shortstop; now he is recognized as one of the best defenisve shortstops in both leagues!! Chris Carpenter went from not pitching for nearly 2 seasons to having a phenominal season with 16 wins! Joel Pinero has 15 wins! Most teams have one star pitcher, the Cardinals have 3!! First baseman Albert Pujols now has some backup in the line up in the form of Matt Holliday. Before Holliday came, a lot of pitchers would intentionally walk Pujols to get to the 4th batter. They can't do that now, as Holliday is just a big of a hitter as Pujols. Now with a great team, the St. Louis Cardinals are entering the playoffs for the 8th time in the 14 years under Manager Tony LaRussa. The goal: to go deep into October with a World Series win as the ultimate goal!
Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!!!

September

2009-09-17T16:32:00.000-05:00

Aye! It's September already! Where did the summer go? Haven't blogged in forever b/c I was working so much. Here are some updates:
*Job Front: Got laid off in August, so I'm back to collecting unemployment and applying to jobs like crazy. I hate sitting around doing nothing; I feel like a drain on the economy. I like to work. My job at QRT was the worst job I've ever had, I will never do a call center again. Seriously, I feel like I'm being insulted and slapped in the face when I get those offers. Um, hello I have a college degree, can't you find something on my level? Anyways, I've got a new head hunter/recruiter, so hopefully that will help.
*Family: Family is good. Mark is still out in Florrisant (thank goodness), and still working part time here in Fenton- not much luck on the job front for him either. Dad is out of work too, so sometimes if mom isn't working (as a substitute for the day), the three of us are home with the dog. Day time tv sucks. All of us would so much rather spend the day at work, and being productive. Although dad has done a lot of work on the basement. It looks good. The project goes in spurts. When its done, it will look great.
*Loki: Loki is good, although she did have an ear infection that took 3 weeks to get over with. I always feel like a lousy owner when she gets those. She is calming down, I hardly believe it myself but I've seen her.
*Cardinals: The Birds on the Bat are RED HOT!!! The magic number to clinch the central division title is 8 :) The additions of Julio Lugo, Mark DeRosa, Matt Holliday, and John Smoltz have really boosted the team. Holliday is amazaing!! The moves management has made this year is awesome. In the past, we wouldn't have gotten these amazing players, but this year. WOW! This is the Cardinals year! I serioulsy believe that the Cards will win the World Series this year. I have a theory on it: in 2006 the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Superbowl (yay), that same year the Cardinals won the World Series. Well, this year (2009) the Steelers won the Superbowl again (Six time Champions!!! Whoot!), so I think the Cards will win the World Series.
*Steelers: My favorite football team (current Superbowl Champs- The Pittsburgh Steelers) won their opening game :) It looks to be a promising season. I ordered a Steelers shirt, and it arrived today :) I am soo excited, hopefully the weather will be cool enough for me to wear it on Sunday when they play next. The shirt is a long sleeve shirt that says "Six Time Superbowl Champions" I love it!!
Fall is almost here and I am excited. I am ready for the cooler weather. I can't wait to start wearing long sleeve shirts, hoodies and sweaters and boots again! The mums and asters are blooming; speaking of which I have some to plant t/m. I like the daisy like mums and the different or two toned colored ones.
Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!!!
and... Let's Go Steelers!!!!

My Life Lately

2009-05-24T22:37:00.000-05:00

So I haven't blogged since Phantom's death. I still miss him soo much. Its odd not having a cat around. It didn't really hit me that he was gone until a few days after his death. I still look for him when I go downstairs. It's weird not seeing the food box and litter box in "Phantom's area", its just an empty spot. We will not be getting another cat. At least not at this house. When I eventually move out, I will be adopting two kittens (cats do better when they have a friend/playmate). Right now if I adopted another cat, it would live downstairs like Phantom did b/c thats where the litter box would have to be kept b/c of Loki. I won't do that to another cat. Phantom deserved to be upstairs and given more attention but with Loki so bouncy and Phantom so skittish...it didn't work out that way. So now its just Loki in the house. And one dog is all we can handle, trust me, Loki has not really grown up. She is still a crazy puppy at times. Anyways....here is a brief rundown of whats been going on in my life lately.
*I am still working at the call center. Now I am full time, fully trained and on my own for 2 weeks now. I work at Quality Reward Travel booking flights. I like the people I work with, and the supervisors are super nice and helpful. I have come to relized that while I may not like my job...I am lucky to have this job and it is better than nothing. Prior to this I was sitting around at home relying on unemployement wages (a very tiny check) to pay bills and doing nothing but daily looking online for jobs. A lot of peopel are unemployed and deserperately trying to find a job; the job market really sucks. I went to a job fair about a month and half ago and relized that when I apply for a job I am up against HUNDREDS of other applicants, all vying to get this job. There are people with Master's degrees who can't find jobs. Obama reported on his 100th day of office that things were getting better; not really. Unfortunately this is giong to take a while.
*My financial situation is getting better with a full time job. While I could afford a new car, I can't go out and purchase one as my job is not garuenteed. The program I'm working on is going away...they just haven't given notice...so it could be a month from now or six months from now. We don't know. All we do know is that if there are layoffs, the temps aka me, will be the first to go. So long story short, while I could afford car payments now, further down the road I might not be able to and my parents can't afford to either, what with dad being forced to retire come July. So it is better to save up and wait until either a) I get a better full time job or b) my job at the call center becomes secure. I am hoping to replace my car this summer tho. And right now is the best time to buy a car; the deals are unreal. I just wish I could take advantage of it. This next car is going to be MY car, meaning I will pay for it, not the parents. This is going to be my toy and I'm not comprimising, so if I have to wait I will. I thought last summer I was going to be able to get a new car but then I got laid off. I can be extremly patient when I want to be, which is a good thing.
*Family: The family is doing good. My mother is finishing up a 6 week subbing assignment, so that has been keeping her busy. Dad is still working for Maritz, only until July. He is being forced into retirement, that is all I will say, the rest is his business. Mark is still living in Florissant. No luck for him on the job front either. Hopefully, he will find a job and won't have to move back home. I am using a section of his closet for my long sleeve work shirts to have more room in my closet. I sooo need more closet space. The walk in closet my brother had downstairs was totally wasted on him. My closet, tho organized to the nines, is jam packed with clothes, shoes, and other things.
Loki: Ah yes, my crazy little puppy. Loki has been plagued with spring allergies once again. Fortunately, we have been able to avoid costly trips to the vet. We have been giving her Benadryl and that seems to be doing the job. Luckily, summer is right around the corner and allergy season for the puppy will be done. Loki is still a hyper little thing. She has her moments of saneness, but mostly she is still very much a puppy. She keeps us entertained thats for sure. Loki will have her yearly check up in June, where I'm sure the vet will tell us she is doing fantastic. Loki has put on some weight, but she is still solid muscle. That dog is sooo strong. Much stronger and smarter than Shadow ever was. Although at times we wonder about her intelligence. LOL. We love her for all of her crazy ways.
That's all for now folks. I have been busy with work lately, and will continue to be what with two days of 2 hour mandatory overtime. I have the late shift for the second week in a row (10:40 to 7:10), a shift which really kills your day. Thankfully, after this week, I won't have that shift for at least 3 weeks. I just finished a 6 day (50 hour week), two of them had two hour mandatory overtime. Oh, and I watered the garden today, got all hot and sweaty and then it rained. Grrrr!

R.I.P Phantom 2000- April 17, 2009

2009-04-17T14:00:00.000-05:00

Today is a very sad day for me; my cat Phantom died today or possibly yesterday. He didn't show up for breakfast this morning and my parnets couldn't find him. So when I got up we went looking for him, and found him. Curled up inside the loveseat downstairs. He must have died in his sleep. Phantom had a very good life, at least the 8 years he was with me. I adopted Phantom from the Animal Hospital where I shadowed a vet during my junior year of high school. His story was sad and naturally my heart went out to him. His previous owners had abandoned him as their child was allergic to him. So instead of giving him to a friend or to a shelter they gave him to the vet. Where he spent roughly a week listening to all the other animals sick or dying in the back. He had stopped eating and responding to the vets assistants attention. By the time I got there, he had just started eating and head butting (pushing his head into their hands). He was alreaedy neutered, de-clawed and up to date on his shots...I remarked how he was a perfect canidate for adoption, which he was getting prepped for. Something about him stuck at me b/c I went home raving about him and begging to be allowed to adopt him. They called him "the big guy" as he was quite large. At first my parents were reluctant; we already had two cats and a dog. Eventually, I wore them down, signed a contract (one clause being I would drive my brother to school on Mondays for the rest of the school year- I had kicked him out of my car when he began talking about me driving him and his little friends all over- wasn't gonna happen). and adopted Phantom. Phantom was a real sweatheart, very shy and very much a scaredy cat...he jumped and ran at loud noises. If he was on your lap when you sneezed, he would leave scratch marks behind in his hurry to leave. A few weeks after I brought him home, I was typing on my computer talking on AIM, when he suddenly appeared and suprised me by jumping into my lap. He lovedd the sound of the clicking the keys made. Phantom went by Big Guy until he had been with us for a month. He got named during a thunderstorm when I nervously asked mom if I could keep the cat. Mom asked "what cat?" He had been hiding in my room the enitre first "trial" month. Phantom could live with us granted he got along w/ our two other cats; he did- he rarely interacted with them. Sparkle hated him b/c he was my cat and I was her human. Climber was okay with him; an occasional sparing buddy. Phantom was named thus as we never saw him and it was like having a Phantom cat. Menace b/c when he lived in my room he would knock stuff over including water glasses to get me up and feed him. Phantom Menace spent 8 wonderful years as a member of the Noel Family. He was an odd cat; he didn't know how to meow- he had a half/halting meow kinda like me-ow, he drooled- no seriously- he drooled, and he liked to sing. He would sing late at night hoping we would go downstairs and feed him. Food was his favorite thing in the world, besides me....I think. Phantom loved to eat, and eat...and be brushed. I will miss my odd scardey cat. He just turned 12 (or 13) on April 2nd- my made up birthday for him. He didn't suffer from any pain. He just closed his eyes and went to sleep...and didn't wake up. He is being cremated and will be buried in the back garden next to Sparkle, Shadow and Climber. I will always love my big guy....he will be terribly missed.

New Laptop

2009-04-16T17:43:00.000-05:00

I finally got a new laptop!!!! Thanks to working (kind of), and my upcoming Federal Tax refund, I was finally able to purchase a new laptop. I got an HP from Best Buy (who has my old computer getting my data off it). The battery sticks out but the tech at Best Buy told me to charge my battery to 100% and then take it out if I'm plugging my laptop into an outlet. Apparently if you have the battery in and plug into an outlet, it overcharges the battery. This way I am adding a year of life to my laptop. Sounds good to me. Hopefully t/m I will be able to upload my data (photos, proffesional documents, music) and then I will be good to go. I had the geek squad optimize my laptop to get it to run faster, I had this done w/ my desktop and it was great. Right now theres not a whole lot of programs on here so its running pretty fast. Working on getting my product key from Microsoft so I don't have to purchase it again. Other than that I am very happy with my purchase.

April 2009 Updates

2009-04-11T16:51:00.000-05:00

Wow its already April!! Easter is t/m! Oh wow, time has really flown by. Here are some random updates:
* Laptop died a few weeks ago, using parents laptop b/c I can't afford a new one. Hopefully I should be able to buy one in a few more weeks.
*Remember how I was complaining about my insurance? Yea, now I don't have any...I missed one month's payment for COBRA and I'm done. So no health insurance really sucks, working on getting insurance now.
* Job: I have a temp job making flight reservations in a call center. I have survived two weeks of training and have another two to go. This is not a perm job for me; I am actively job hunting and hoping to get a new job before the next two weeks are up. Otherwise I have to give two weeks; as it is right now I can leave asap b/c I'm still in training. Its not the best in the world but its not the worst in the world; it pays and thats important.
* My little brother moved out!!! He is now living in Florissant w/ two other guys. He still comes home on weekends for his job at Ruby Tuesdays. Hopefully he will get a full time job up there soon.
* Attended Truman's Sectionals last weekend; had an absolute blast!! Sigma Alpha, my chapter, got 2 awards!!!! 2 brothers from that chapter also became Railroaders :) Got to see some brothers I haven't seen in forver (Jen G for one), had fabulous time hanging out w/ alumni and active brothers. Can't wait for Spring Service Day at SIUE next Sat :)
* Cardinals baseball season is offiicially in full swing!! The record stands at 3-2. So far I am going to games on May 4th and May 5th (my bday) :) Very excited. Hoping to go to a lot more!!
*Lost my iPod....its somewhere around the house. Hopefully it will show up soon. I know its in the house, its a matter of where in the house.
* Re-painted the garage door and entry doors a nice red. Also re-painted the office- Sahara Sunset. Looks great. Also rearranged the furniture in the office, much better. Can open the window a lot easier. As much as we'd like to take Loki's crate down, we can't- its her safe zone and its nice when we have company and she is too hyper for guests.
Other than that nothing else to report. I'm hanging in there, family is doing great. Hopefully the next time I blog I'll have good news to impart.

Updates 2009

2009-02-21T16:41:00.001-06:00

I haven't blogged in forever b/c my internet decided to lose all of my bookmarks. So here are all the updates in my life.
* Rang 2009 in w/ a bunch of APO friends at Kyle and Veronica's. Had an absolute blast. Met V and Kyle's new puppy; Atticus! Such a cutie.
* Attended Marshall and Suzanne's wedding (another APO wedding), it was sooo beautiful. Suzanne looked amazing! The Church and the reception were beautifully decorated.
* Laptop is on its last legs. I am going to have to break down and buy a new one. Already have the one I want picked out. Just don't have money. So I am hanging in there until I get my tax rebates back. Half will pay for laptop (or at least nice down payment) and the other half will pay medical bills. The new laptop is an HP, dual processor, 12 cell battery, 4GB hardrive...and other specs I like. Going to be a few months until I can get it tho...
* Speaking of medical bills; my insurance sucks (majorly). I have big time bills, luckily I have another credit card (medical one) to help pay it off.
* Job front: Still no job. Just temp work and even that is scarce. The job market sucks and is getting worse. President Obama just signed a new stimulus bill (which won't work b/c there is too much pork on it). Supposedly Missouri is getting 8 million. Yea, well we'll see how that turns out. I am applying like crazy and trying to be hopeful.
* Loki celebrated her 3rd birthday on February 8th. She is still rambuctious as ever...now mom is saying that some labs take 4 years to mature! FOUR Years! That is insane! She still goes nuts when people come over to visit. I love her, but I think its time she calmed down.
* A year ago I was 17 lbs heavier. My total weight loss was 30 lbs. Unfortunatley, I have gained 13 of it back. However, on the bright side, I have managed to keep 17 lbs off! I feel better. Of course I will feel a lot better when I drop some more lbs. I did the weight loss for me, not anyone else. I'm happy how I look but I could be happier.
* I had three Orthovisc shots; kinda like cartilidge for my knee (chicken fat if you will). They are supposed to help my knees track better and lower the pain level. Unfortunatley it takes 6 to 8 weeks to feel a difference. Its too early to tell how its going to turn out. I am hopeful tho. If this doesn't work I don't know what the next step is; although I think the only other option is partial knee replacement. Which the doctor doesn't even want to consider due to my age. I don't want to either. I still have a few more weeks for the shots to do their work, so join me in crossing your fingers in hopes the shots work. And that my insurance will reasonably cover them too.
* Cell phone is also on the fritz, I can't get a new phone until April...seriously thinking about going to AT & T and begging for a new phone now. Can't afford to not get calls b/c the phone is wonky.
* Other than that. Nothing really exciting going on here. I'll try to be better about blogging in the future...no promises tho...I'll try.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-27T15:44:00.000-06:00

Christmas this year was great. All of us were together and in good health (minus mom who has bronchitus). This year I received the following: a new printer (which I needed desperately condsidering mine died a few months ago) which is a photo printer, copier and a scanner, a tea kettle, Major League 3 Back to the Minors on DVD, a new robe (from Bath and Body works), some printable cds, and some comfy lounge socks that match my robe.
Loki got a huge bone, silly puppy was soo excited and did not know where to start. We have since cut up the bone in smaller portions. She loved the bone, and let us unwrap our presents in peace.
I hit the mall day after christmas and picked up a few more things. Two cowl neck sweaters from NY and Co, some lotion from Bath and Body Works, two DVD's from Target (Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, and Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian), and a new tea kettle (mom got me a black one, but I wanted blue). Going to return the black tea kettle t/m. Today I went back to Bath and Body Works and exchanged my perfume for the cheaper version Bath and Body Works is going for a new look and is selling off their older look and so its on sale. I picked up the newer style of the perfume, and then saw the sale online. So I exchanged it, and got some money back! I also placed an order online for another perfume which wasn't available in the stores (Sweet Pea- very popular scent). I also ordered a discontinued scent last night, along with some new shoes (they are grey and adorable).

Boots w/ da Fur!!

2008-11-28T15:06:00.002-06:00

Today is Black Friday, and boy oh boy are there some deals to be had!
Sales, Glorious Sales!! I did half of my Christmas shopping today. I got my brothers and my dad's gifts, and part of my mom's gift. Best Buy- I got a nice protective cover for my iPod w/ an arm band, 3 iTunes cards-packaged together, normally $30 got it for $25 (got the last one too!!!!). Also picked up a nice GPS System (esp for me as I get lost ALL THE TIME!!), a Garmin , plus a nice case to carry it in, that was on sale too.Target- found Mark's present, along with Night at the Museum for $6. Payless- got my boots w/ da fur and a pair of heels for half off (except they weren't wide width and they were on sale for $9....but I got them for half off!)
Dad also did good on sales; he bought a saw last week, and it was on sale for 40 off this week, so he went to Lowe's where he got it and got money back. With that money that he got back he got a shop vac (that was on sale) and a storage unit for the garage...I am so proud of him!
All in all, it was a very successful day!

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-11-28T15:06:00.001-06:00

Happy Thankgiving to all! Hope yours was as good as mine!!

Scouting for Food 2008

2008-11-23T17:30:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the annual Scouting for Food. Last year we collected 1154 boxes of cans, and this year we collected 1212 boxes of canned goods (at the Fenton Firehouse)!!!! This was my 6th year doing this, and I had a blast! We not only had boxes soley of tuna, we also had mac'n'cheese boxes. We had 12 boxes of tuna, and 8 boxes of mac'n'cheese (that I am aware of). I did a little bit of everything again; making boxes, getting cans out of the cars, putting cans on the table, boxing dry goods, plastic, glass, cans, labling the boxes, and carrying it over to the truck. We took our annual family picture in front of the piles of cans; minus Mark as he was unable to attend. The weather was decent; cold but dry.
This year I left Scouting for Food earlier than usual as I had a bridal shower to go to. So I went to Suzanne's Bridal Shower and had a lot of fun! Then V, Sarah and I booked it over to the movie theater to see Twilight. V and Sarah ended up paying the adult price of $9, whereas I paid the student price of $8 (the student price). I didn't ask for the student price, however that's what I paid. It pays to have good genes ;) I did enjoy Twilight and will purchase it when it comes out on DVD. It wasn't as good as it could have been, but it was a nice escape. All in all Saturday was a lot of fun, tiring but fun! I can't wait until next year's Scouting for Food!

Change for the better?

2008-11-05T11:20:00.000-06:00

History was made last night. Barack Obama became the first Afrian-American to be elected president. The final results were: Obama w/ 349 electoral votes and McCain with 173. One happy note: Missouri did remain red by going w/ McCain :) This was perhaps the most important election in years. Either way history was going to be made; either a female VP or a black president. Personally, I voted for McCain, and think that the wrong candidate is heading to the White House. Voting turn outs were amazing. I spent about 45 minutes in line; I brought a lawn chair and the line moved well so the wait wasn't that bad. After voting I collected my free donugt from Krispy Kreme (yummy), and mom and Mark got free coffe from Starbucks. I hate coffee so I got a frappuchino. Dad said he saw on the news that some Black Panthers (whom I have absolutely no respect for) were standing outside of a polling place, blocking the entrance to McCain voters,stating that either way an African American would be president. (Don't they know by doing that they are pushing us years back- come on ppl drop the race issue). Kudos to the man who said "I'm former Army, you don't scare me." and pushed them aside and voted. I know that Obama does not support this action in any way. So change is on its way... or so people say. But will this change be for the good or bad? No one is exactly sure. Hopefully, America got it right, and Obama will pull us out of this economic mess. As long as my taxes are not raised and goverment doesn't control my healthcare (as were mentioned on Obama's platform) I'll be happy. So congratulations to Barack Obama, I wish you luck- I'm going to remain a Republican and support McCain but I accept Obama's victory.
Note: Security had better be double for Obama, we unfortunately have some sickos out there who can't see beyond the color of someone's skin.

Updates

2008-10-19T20:27:00.000-05:00

Here is the latest in JBear's world:
*Home Repairs: The kitchen is 98% done; we are waiting for the rest of the cabinet handles, and a new door. It looks awesome! The new floor is fantastic; it looks like a ceramic floor but its not. Its called Dura Ceramic. Its really neat. The whole house is more earthy and open. The siding and roof are done. The gutters are being installed t/m! Hopefully that won't take too long. I will be glad when all of the hammering is done. We are repainting the front and back doors as well as the garage door a nice red color. The next room to be re-done is our office. We have to de-junk it first and then re-paint it. Should be interesting.
*Apartment: Isn't going to happen anytime soon unless I get a job. I got layed off (really don't feel like going into it). So I'm back with Office Team, hopefully I will get some temp work soon. Meanwhile, I need to call the apartment comlplex and explain the situation to them and see if we can push the move in date back a few more months.
*Knees: I am in physical therapy at the moment. My knees are still hurting, most of it comes from my knees not tracking right. So we are taping my right knee so that it does that. I have my good and bad days with my knees. As it is I am limlited on the temp jobs I can accept. I can not stand for longer than 5 minutes without pain; so there goes the idea of me working at any retail place.

*Random Note: The store Linens'n'Things is closing for good. They went bankrupt and were sold last week. They are having liquidation sales right now. So if you need house stuff, go there and get it for a decent price.

What a mess!

2008-09-18T17:18:00.000-05:00

Okay so the past month, our kitchen has been a mess. Our icebox leaked and flooded our kitchen. Luckily we caught it before it got to the carpet. So the floor in the kitchen was ruined, the wallpaper got messed up, the lower cabinets got warped. So we filed an insurance claim, figuring we would get a new floor.....we are and then some.... Because the lower cabinets are 20 years old and we can't match them we are getting new cabinets. We are also getting a new counter top b/c they can't fit the old one on the new cabinets. That also means new sink and faucet too. We also got our kitchen repainted and wallpapered. B/c our kitchen opens up so much to the living room, our living room, hallway, entry wall, and stair well got painted too. So we had to pick out a color. Mom wanted to keep the green color but she wanted to go a bit deeper in color. While, we were debating color choices, the painters suggested having an accent wall. So thats how we ended up with two different colors. We now have accent walls in Honeycomb, and the other walls are Vegan (or sea mist as I call them). Mom and I picked out a new wall paper that has a nice trim at the top. The Honeycomb color makes the room warmer, earthier and opens it up more. The deeper green looks great. So they started painting on Tuesday, and now the living room and 3/4 of the kitchen are painted. The wallpaper will be done next Thursday. Another great thing; our insurance paid to have a crew come in and pack all of our living room and kitchen up for us. Not only did they pack it up, they will (and have) put everything back where it belongs (give or take a few things that we re-arrange to make it personal). The DVD shelves I have to re-organize; I categorize and then alphabetize the DVD's (for those who know me, this shouldn't suprise you), one unit down, one to go. Our new cabinets and counter will be installed w/in the next two weeks. When that happens, the crew will come back and pack up our stuff and then put it back when they're done. Then the floor guys will come and put our floor in. Then life and the house will return to normal! So by mid October or so our house will look amazing. Did I mention last week we had our new roof put on, and we should be getting new siding and guttering put on soon as well? The roof and siding were expected and planned. The whole kitchen fiasco was an unpleasant suprise, but it turned out for the better. Mom had been wanting a new counter (the current one has super glue on it from my tower making days). Unfortunately, we had to choose a new kitchen floor b/c the design we have has been disconintued...and we only had this floor installed last October! Oh, we are also getting new curtains. I will probally make an album of the event with plenty of before and after pics. I soo can not wait until things return to normal...or as normal as things get around here.

One Step At a Time

2008-08-24T20:54:00.000-05:00

One step at a time...really good advice...I just gotta take it. My knees, especially my right knee, have been really hurting lately. So this weekend I tried resting and icing my knees. My little brother, Mark, reminded me that I am in recovering and I need to let myself do exactly that; recover. Its just hard, I want so badly to be back to my normal self. But he's right, I have to slow down and take it easy and recover. My stitches come out t/m, and the doc will check out my knees and let me know how I'm doing. However, I am the one who really knows how my body is. So I am going to do my best and try to slow down and recover. I am going to try to take things one step at a time, one day at a time. Eventually, I will get back on track, but I gotta be patient. As hard as that is. And its easier said than done, but I will do my best. So....I will try to take it slow, allow my knees time to recover and be patient.

I'm moving out!

2008-08-23T16:03:00.001-05:00

Yep that's right! I am moving...well not until November 7th. I signed a lease today for a two bedroom apartment in Park Meadows in Manchester. The second bedroom is really small so that will be my office. The master bedroom has a walk-in closet!! So I will have plenty of room for my clothes and shoes. The office/den (2nd bedroom) also has a closet, so I can put my dresses and sweaters there. I have a nice little dinning room, a linen closet in the bathroom, a nice living room, and a patio! Of course my patio will have lots of flowers. I will have hanging baskets, flower pots, wind chimes, and some little patio lights. I got a really good move-in deal, so my rent is actually lower. My cat, Phantom, will move in two weeks after I move in when everything is settled and no more loud noises. Hopefully, he will adjust and be able to stay there with me. Otherwise he will have to return home, which will break my heart. I am hoping Phantom will love it there and will become King of the Apartment....or at least the den where I'll put his litter box and a tunnel for him to hide in (so he can have a hiding place). I signed a 13th month lease, one month free (the first full month). So December I won't have to pay rent:) My apartment will only be 10-15 minutes away from my office (when the Fenton office opens up). So I will be saving a lot on gas money. I am close to home, so I can do laundry there and visit the family. I will be close to Froggiegirl and Gimlet, and I know Manchester very well; so I know where to do my shopping and banking. I am sooo excited about moving in. I will def. have a little party when I'm all settled. I am excited for November to get here, meanwhile I will be saving my money, looking for a bedroom set, and getting other little things for my apartment. The bedroom furniture will be the most expensive thing. I already have a great entertainment center, I'm taking the old loveseat and rocker (which are in great condition) from downstairs, grandma's kitchen table and chairs (its small but perfect), and my corner desk from the office here at home. I picked up another sphere chair for my apartment, so now I have two courderoy chairs; the faded one will go on the patio and the other will probally go in the office or the living room. That's all for now, so stay tuned for more news!!

Olympics 2008

2008-08-13T14:45:00.000-05:00

The Summer Olympic Games in Bejing, China 2008 started last Friday and I am officially addicted. I have been watching swimming, gymnastics, syncronized diving, beach volleyball, and waterpolo. Mostly I have been watching Michael Phelps in swimming. The guy is amazing! He has already won 4 Gold medals and is on pace to win 4 more! He was part of the 4x100 men's relay, which had an amazing finish! The Bejing games are amazing. As always swimming and gymnastics hold my main attention. The men's gymnastics team took bronze and the Women's gymnastics team took silver. They were both great. The judges however need to stop kissing China's butt. Seriously, the Chinese athletes can do no wrong (even when they obiviously do), and everyone else is full of flaws. It is majorly apparent in gymnastics. The judges need to be replaced with more impartial judges. All of the athletes are incredible, and the judges need to realize that. At least the swimming judges are impartial and focusing on the performance by the individual athlete and not the country they are representing. Phelps is not the only amazing swimmer there, Matt Grevers is another one. He stands 6'8" and has an amazing stroke! Not to mention he is really HOTT! Kudos to all of the US Swimmers; they are all amazing and very disciplined. So I will be watching the Olympics until it is over. There are still a lot of events left. So go team U.S.A!!

Look Ma, No Crutches

2008-08-13T14:41:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, JBear had bilateral arthiscopic surgery. Translation Double knee surgery; I had my knees scopped and cleaned. I am doing great. I am already moving around w/o crutches for short distances. I am eating (major suprise for me b/c usually I can't eat anything for a few days until the drugs are out of my system). My ankles are normal size and not swelling, and I can move them around w/o pain. I am resting and taking it easy. Surgery went great and I'm on the road to recovery.

Ode to Tax Free Weekend

2008-08-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

There is a very special event that comes once a year, every year. No, not Christmas. Something almost as good. It is Tax Free Weekend!!!! This means you can purchase clothes, shoes, back-to-school supplies, and supplies without paying taxes!! It is awesome. Every year, fewer and fewer cities participate (the loosers). However, South County Mall and Crestwood Mall (which should already admit its dead and just give up) participated. I went to South County in search of a dress for my dear friend V's wedding, a pair of shoes, and whatever else I fancied. I went to JCPenney, and voila! I found the perfect dress, and it was on sale. However, it came up even cheaper when it was wrung up. Plus it was tax free!!!! Then I ventured to Payless, in search of the perfect shoes to match. I had seen a pair the other night when I was shopping w/ V, Sarah, and Meghan. Luckily, I found those shoes, in my size, and another pair of shoes. Unfortunately, the second pair of shoes were a 1/2 size too big. So the store called the Crestwood store, and put the right size on hold for me. Plus I got a coupon for $3 off when I exchanged the shoes. Long story short, the final price on the shoes were $4!! So now I have these kickin' red shoes! I also got some bubble bath stuff from Bath and Body Works. Buy one, get one 50% off. Plus I had a coupon, so I got a free aromatherapy lotion for my mom. All in all it was a sucessful shopping trip. I love Tax Free Weekend!!

JBear got a new job!!

2008-07-26T11:44:00.001-05:00

After 3 years of searching, I have finally found a REAL job!! It is a full time job w/ benefits, paid sick days, paid vacattion, and the potential for bonuses!! I am going to be a Staffing Coordinator for ProLogistix. ProLogistix is a staffing company for manufacturing, factories, and warehouses. Right now I am going to be doing a catch-all posistion. I will be learning the Staffing Coordinator position, and the Front Desk Coordinator posistion. For three months I will be working in the Bridgeton office, it will be an annoying long drive, but in Novemeber (hopefully) they will be opening an office in Fenton (my hometown), and I will be moving to that office!!!! I am sooo excited about this job. The guy who hired me is excited about me joining the team, and thinks that I will be a great addition. I start training on Monday, and I put my two weeks notice for Pucks. My new boss is willing to work around my Puck's schedule (which isn't much). And he is willing to work around my surgery too. So I'm going to train for 2 weeks and a day, have my surgery, come back Friday or the next Monday, and resume training. My awesome mother is going to drive me until I can drive again. So for three months, I will be dealing with the nightmare that is 270 traffic, however, it will be worth it when I relocate to the Fenton office.

Update

2008-07-20T15:56:00.000-05:00

It is already the middle of July; where has the summer gone?! I am amazed at how fast this summer is going. Here is what's going on in SoCo Bear's world:
* The 4th of July was spent in St. Charles w/ one of my fave, fave, fave brothers Erin. We enjoyed sweet tea, gossip, and a fantastic display of fireworks. After the fireworks we returned to Erin's dorm and met up w/ another fave brother of mine; Kelly. We then went to Dennys to eat and chat.
* My book club is on our third book; this month we are reading The Princess Bride. Previous Books were Sickened, and Emma. We have met twice and are planning on meeting at Denny's in Early August for our third meeting.
* Another group, Kyle's Killer B Movies, has also begun meeting. We enjoyed our first night of horror movies. The theme was 'When Animals Attack'. We discussed future themes, and are trying to figure out when we can meet again.
*Saturday, July 26th OneRepublic will perform for Live off the Levee. Hopefully I will be in attendence w/ several friends.
*The 5th Annual National Volunteer Coference for Alpha Phi Omega will take place on July 31st thru August 3rd in Independence, MO. I will be once again attending this. I am sooo excited!! This conference provides an excellent opportunity for me to a) escape St. Louis (if only for a few days), b) catch up w/ my alumni brethren, and c) gain more skills that will not only help me as an APO Alumni, but aslo as an employee. Not all of the workshops are about APO, a few are directed towards obtaining employment and making yourself more valuable as an employee. Last year I had the former APO president (who helps people w/ resumes and cover letters proffessionally) customize my resume and cover letter; it worked great!!.
*I had two cortizone shots on Wed for my knees; one each. Those hurt! Hopefully they will help out my knees which have been bothering me for quite some time now. I saw a new knee doctor last week and had X-rays and MRI's done (fun fun). The end result: surgery. Not to worry, its just orthoscopic surgery; basically going in and cleaning things up. I am having both knees done at once (what I call a double whammy). This shortens the recovery time to 3 months. I have done this before, back in 2004. D-Day is August 12th. No worries, I'll be up and about and causing mischeif within no time!

Cardinals start off the Second Half right

2008-07-20T15:39:00.001-05:00

The second half of the baseball season is under way. The Cardinals have started things off right; they have won their first three games. The are currently playing the San Diego Padres (the series stands 3-0 at the moment). It is the bottom of the eight inning, and the score is 5-3 Cards (Third Baseman Troy Glaus just hit a three-run homerun!!).
Ryan Ludwick and Albert Pujols made their first and seventh, respecively, appearences at the 2008 All Stars Game. Pujols went 2 for 3 and Ludwick made an impressive catch. Sadly the National League fell 40-3 to the American League. But the game went 15 innings, so we at least gave them a run for their money. Mark Mulder's highly anticipated return was cut short after 20 pitches. Mulder started experiencing elbow pains, and it is likely his season is over, and quite possibly his career. Adam Wainwright is progressing nicely and should rejoin the club in August. Chris Carpenter began his 30 day rehab assignment in Double A; and reports are looking good. The Cardinals are 2 games behind Central Divison leaders the Chicago Cubs (boo), and three games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers (better known as the Brew Crew). The Brew Crew comes to Busch Stadium next for a 4 games series. The Cards then head to New York for a 3 games series against the Mets, and then they head South for a 4 game series against the Atlanta Braves.
The July 31st trading deadline is fast approaching;pitching- thats what the Cardinals need. The Cubs and the Brew Crew have recently obtained high octane pitchers. The Cards need to follow suit. General Manager John Mozeliak is waiting until the end to better address the needs of the team. Mozeliak is saying that Carpenter will return before Wainwright. Say what?! However, he does admit that outcome is a bit fuzzy yet. What the Cards need to do is keep playing good baseball and focus on what they have rather than what they don't. There is still a lot of baseball left to play, so the Birds on the Bat need to remain focused.
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cards!!

Happy Independence Day!!

2008-07-04T16:42:00.001-05:00

Happy 4th of July to all! I am off to St. Charles tonight to hang out w/ one of my favorite brothers, Erin, and see some fireworks!! Enjoy our nations birthday and see some fireworks tonight!! Happy Independence Day!!

Random

2008-06-25T13:55:00.001-05:00

Okay so I haven't blogged in a while (yes I am well aware that it has been a long while froggiegirl), so here's whats up with me:
EMAA- We had our second annual EMAA BBQ on June 7th, and it was a great success! We had chicken and beef kabobs, plus veggies, chips, fruit, brownies, cookies, and much more! JKO was the grill master, with Marlene and Courtney prepping the Kabobs. Tonight we are meeting up again at the Missouri Botanical Gardens for a concert. Tonight we'll be hearing some jazz, funk and motown! We are also having a little picnic. We are going to a Cards game on August 22nd (my dad is joining us for this one). I am officially registered for the National Volunteer Conference!! I am soo excited; I can't wait to see all my alumni brothers again!!
Cardinals: So far I have been to 4 games; 2 wins and 2 losses. I will be going again w/ the family on July 1st to see the Birds on the Bat take on the Mets. Since mom is origninaly from NYC and a reformed Mets fan, this will be an interesting game. Cards won the series against the Boston Red Sox, and smashed the Detroit Tigers last night 8-4. Cheating pitcher Kenny Rogers (think the tar incident). Aaron Miles is on fire; he has the highest batting average in interleague play. Yadier Molina is back behind the plate after missing a few games after a scary collision at home plate. Albert Pujols is looking to start tonight after being on the 15 day disabled list for a left calf strain on June 10th. Mark Mulder is making some progress: he might be pitching for us soon!!!
Let's Go Cards!!
Loki: Loki is back to her hyper puppy self. Poor baby suffered from severe spring allergies that put her on steriods for 3 weeks. Poor baby was sluggish and wasn't her playful self. She is back to stealing things, playing with her toys (she now has a stuffed fox), and swimming in the lake. She continues to provide us with daily entertainment.
General: I picked up a new swimsuit from Sports Authority on Sat, a two piece I could do laps in and still get a tan (that is if I don't burn first, suprise, surprise). I also got a sleeveless top to work out it, I am going to start getting serious about working out again. My knees are in bad shape and I'm seeing a knee doc soon, so I want to get my legs strong. Plus I want to be more in shape and healthier. I am finally comfortable with the way I look again, and want to keep it that way and still enjoy fatty foods (ie ice cream, chocolate and other stuff that is bad for you but sooo good). The summer is flying by soo quickly, its almost July!! That's crazy! I am going to try to hit the pool as often as I can, as I love swimming. Froggiegirl and I have already made one trip to Chesterfield pool, the first of many I'm sure. It was so refreshing to be in the water and relax! That is all for now. I hope do to a guest blog by my dad soon!

New Camera!!

2008-05-13T20:12:00.000-05:00

I have a new camera!! My old one had been acting up and I could no longer take a decent picture. So I upgraded. Big time. I got a Blue Nikon Coopix 10.0 Megapixel camera. However, getting a new camera was not as easy as it seems:
April 30th: The camera goes on sale at Best Buy online; so I order it.

May 8th: I order a 2 GB memory card online (yet another good price-technically paid same amount for 1GB for a 2 GB), try tracking my camera order- can't do it so I call Best Buy help; apparently my particular camera (I wanted a blue coolpix) is sold out and they do not know when they will get it in. I am told I might have to wait until June 7th to get my camera! Ack! However, I got a good price on the camera and I want the blue one, so I extend my order.

May 9th: I recieve an email stating my camera is on its way!! The email also provides a link to UPS where I can track the progress of my camera. I also get an email stating that my memory card is at best buy. I pick up my memory card.

May 10th: My camera arrives in Hodgkins, IL where it will sit for two days....

May 12th: My camera arrives in Earth City. My economic suprlus check (which is providing most of the means to get this camera) comes in the mail!

May 13th: My camera arrives to my house!!! I have taken some pics with it, and am enjoying my new toy.

Birthday Recap

2008-05-07T21:26:00.001-05:00

So on May 5th, JBear turned 26. Yikes, I'm getting up there in years. Well since my bday was on a Monday (I'm rather like Garfield in hating Mondays), I decided to celebrate my birthday all weekend. Saturday night I went to dinner at Chevy's. I was joined by Froggiegirl, Gimlet, Liz and her son Andy, and my friend Adam (who I hadn't seen in almost 5 years!). Of course, I recieved a sombrero and an ice cream treat as the restaurant waiters sang Happy Birthday to me. Adam suprised me by giving me not only a card but a bag of chocolate (yay!), and a gift certificate to Best Buy (I got a nice camera case for my new camera- more on that later). After Chevy's we decided to go to Fritz's for ice cream (and so I could spend more time w/ Adam b/c he showed up late). I had a delicious Strawberry Cheesecake Sundae (ty Froggiegirl). Sunday night the family and I went out to Outback where I enjoyed a nice ceasar salad, steak and baked potato w/ butter and cheese. I had the Chocolate Thunder from Down Under (Brownie w/ ice cream and choc sauce) for dessert. When we got home, we played "birthday" b/c mom is spending the week at 6th grade camp. I got a docking station stereo for my ipod w/ a remote control and a iTunes card from the parents. From my brother I recieved a teapot. I hate coffee, so I drink tea. Originally, I thought I wanted a crazy daisy teapot from Harney and Sons. However, upon discovering the brown betty at World Market, I changed my mind. However, mom had already ordered the teapot along with some Spiced Plum tea (which is quite yummy). So I got to choose which teapot I liked best. Ultimately the brown betty won. Today, I went to World Market to buy some tea strainers and a tin of Paradise Mate tea (another yummy tea I discovered). On my actualy bday, Monday, May 5th, my brother and I went to the zoo. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time. That night, dad and I went to Cold Stone Creamery for my free ice cream (I signed up for their bday ice cream club). It was Dad's first time there, and he enjoyed it. Oh and to cap it off, the Cardinals defeated the Rockies 6-5. All in all my birthday was very good. What made it even better was all the people wishing me "Happy Birthday". Oh, and Froggiegirl (and I suppose Gimlet) got me a card, bottle of Vanilla Bean Lotion (a seasonal fave of mine), and an iTunes Card. Much love to all of my friends and I loved all the well wishes and presents!! Now I am typing this and enjoying my first cup of Spiced Plum tea w/ honey. I am quite pleased w/ the outcome. My new teapot works great!

Weight Loss 2008

2008-04-27T15:48:00.000-05:00

As many of you were unaware, I went on a diet starting in January of the new year. First off let me state that no one pushed me to diet. It was my choice. Not because I wanted to be pin thin like Hollywood seems to think is so great. I went on a diet to feel better about myself and my health; my knee doctor told me to keep my weight down to keep my knees in good shape. Plus some of my clothes for work were not fitting me, so it was either get a new warddrobe or diet. I chose the less expensive route. So I started dieting and exercising. The first 15 pounds came off easily. So far I have lost 20 lbs!! I am now eating better, exercising regularly, and am generally healthier. My clothes fit much better and I am comfortable with the way I look again. My curves are back (real curves not the curves created by clothes), a very important thing to me. I am happy with my appearance and that is the important part. I dieted because I needed to change the way I felt about my self and the way I was eating. I am still losing weight, its just more of a maitenence mode now.

Santana, Santana, Santana!!!

2008-04-27T15:35:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday, April 23rd, my mother and I had the opportunity to see Carlos Santana (my fave artist) in concert! It was awesome!!! The music was incredible. Santana really knows how to play that guitar! The level of playing the instruments was out of this world; the bongo players had a duel and at one time one of them was using his elbows to play! The keyboarder was in a world of his own, the drummer was awesome. The vocalists (besides Santana) were really good; good, clear, stong voices. I knew the majority of the songs, only a few I didn't recognize but enjoyed. Songs played were: Black Magic Woman, Maria Maria, Oye Como Va, Smooth, (De Le)Yalleo, Foo Foo, Corazon Espinado, and the night was finished with one of my new favorites: Into the Night!! I was salsa and merengue dancing in the aisles; we were on the floor, row 22, seats 11 and 12 (right on the aisle). We had great seats!!! Mom and I enjoyed ourselves. Dad was oringally going to go w/ me but he had a boyscout event that he had to attend. So dad's loss was mom's gain. I picked up a Santana shirt that had the concert cities on the back and a CD called Food for Thought. Mom and I enjoyed dinner at Hard Rock Cafe at Union Station prior to the concert. This was by far the best concert I have ever been to! Carlos Santana really knows how to put on a good show!!

200th Post!!!

2008-04-27T15:19:00.000-05:00

Like the title says this is my 200th post, so I thought I would do something. So here are some general updates on JBear's life:
Flood 2008: The water receeded and 141 was open Monday morning, mere hours after it was completely underwater. The new levee in Valley Park held and officials were pleased. A bar in Fenton was saved from the rising waters.
The tax man cometh: Daddy finished the family taxes the weekend before April 15th, even tho we were grnated an extra month to do taxes. Why? B/c we live in St. Louis county and St. Louis County was declared a federal disaster area (even tho the water never touched our home), so we got extra time. Amazingly I am getting some money back! I am getting $300 for the Economic Stimulus thing- that is going towards a new digital camera! I also get some money from State and Federal (whoohoo).
APO: I attended my 5th Section 49 Sectionas (what can I say? I'm addicted) which was held at Wash U on April 3rd -5th. Andy and I taught our 4th (and possible last) Salsa class. It went great. We added some new moves and did some more freestyle. Sectionals were awesome and I got to hang out w/ my fave brothers from Lindenwood and E Pi. Not to mention other brothers from Beta Psi and Epsilon. Two weekends later I attended E Pi's Spring Service Day- April 19th. The service event was at the YWCA in Alton, IL. It was a youth service project. E Pi had a full day planned for the youngers. I assisted brother Sloane in the pool, so I got to float in the pool most of the day :). That of course made me happy. That night I was present as new brothers were welcomed into the E Pi chapter, and then danced the night away. I got to meet some fab new brothers and had an awesome time! I of course got to spend some time with one of my favorite favorite favorite brothers, Erin K. I love that girl! :)
Loki: Loki continues to do well and find new ways to stir up mischeif. Currently the poor baby is suffering from spring allergies. So we are constantly washing her face and paws, putting lotion on her face and giving her benadryl every 6 hours. As a result, she is sleeping a lot. As the weather turns warmer, Loki will be getting more exercise via walks, swimming, retrieving and general Lokiness.
Home: As a result from the last big snowstorm, our mailbox and post had to be replaced. However, mom is picky on her mailbox so the post was replaced first and we tried to salvage our barn house mailbox. Alas, we were unable to save it. So we have a new cedar mailbox that sort of resembles a barn. New numbers are on the post and all in all it looks good.

The Great Flood of 2008

2008-03-22T14:36:00.000-05:00

Okay so everyone knows (or should know) that the rivers are cresting. The Meramec River near my house has risen so high that the intersection of 141 & 44 is completely underwater! Yesterday I went around and took lots of pictures of the flooding. I have uploaded those photos and you can view the pics from my back road here. Also click here and here for pics of 141 at 44 and downtown Fenton. I played "mountain goat" yesterday, hiking all over to get pictures and am now paying the price. I went back earlier this afternoon to get more pictures. I will probaly be going out again around 4ish to take more pictures and see how high the water has gotten. This is crazy! It is like 1993 all over again! Just getting to the other side of 141 took me a half an hour where as it usually takes me like 2 minutes or less. Traffic on Westbound 44 is bumper to bumper b/c 109 at Eureka is now closed in both directions. Weathermen are forcasting that this flood is going to be worse than 1993. Luckily I live on really elevated ground, so I don't have to worry about being flooded myself. If I do, then somebody had better build an ark! I will upload my video on here as soon as it uploads on facebook.

10"+ Snow

2008-03-04T14:20:00.000-06:00

Well, today St. Louis and other nearby cities got hit by a BIG snow storm. As of 45 minutes ago, we had 10 inches in our front yard. It took me an hour to get from The Saint Louis Art Museum (work) to home. I dont' think I did over 30 mph the entire way. It was an interesting, hair-raising journey home; I almost got stuck going up a hill, I fish tailed a lot, I ended up going sideways while going down Smizer Mill to enter my street. Thank goodness there were no other cars nearby. I made it up our hill to our house by encouraging my car (I kid you not), I down shifted and prayed I'd make it. I made it into our driveway (thankfully it was shoveled), and noticed that our mailbox was crooked (apparently dad took it out trying to get into the driveway himself. Dad and Golum (hermanito) were down a few houses helping a neighbor get unstuck so they too could get into their driveway. So now I am safely ensconsed in my warm house, watching the snow continue to fall heavily. Snow is supposed to tapper off around 6ish or so the weatherman says. Loki has already played in the snow once, and I'm sure she'll play in it some more before the day is done.

New Features

2008-02-21T09:11:00.000-06:00

Okay so I have decided to add a new feature to my blog: Guest Blogging. I have spoken to my dad (my hero, baseball guru, and all around great and knowledgable guy), and he has agreed to do some guest blogging here. This has be in the works for a few months now. Mainly he will be contributing to my baseball blogging, but he may blog about other things. So stay tuned, I don't know when I'll get him to blog but it will be soon.

A Blog from Froggiegirl

2008-02-21T09:08:00.000-06:00

Okay so I regularly read my friend froggiegirl's blog, and today I found the following blog and decided to copy it. Special thanks to froggiegirl for sharing this. Froggiegirl recieved the following in an email:

All you animal lovers-this is pretty simple... Please tell ten friends to tell ten today! The Animal Rescue Site is having trouble getting enough people to click on it daily to meet their quota of getting free food donated every day to abused and neglected animals.It takes less than a minute (How about 20 seconds) to go to their site and click on the purple box 'fund food for animals' for free. This doesn't cost you a thing.Their corporate sponsors/advertisers use the number of daily visits to donate food to abandoned/neglected animals in exchange for advertising.Here's the web site!
www.theanimalrescuesite.com
*I have visited the site and clicked. It will be added to my faves and will become one of my daily websites that I visit.

Tragedy in Kirkwood

2008-02-09T21:09:00.000-06:00

Thursday night, tragedy struck Kirkwood, Missouri. A man Charles Lee "Cookie" Thorton, walked into a city council meeting with a loaded gun and killed 5 people before he was killed too. Thorton walked in, killed a cop- took his gun and then started shooting. The five victims of Thorton's rampage are Kirkwood City Council members Connie Karr (apparently she worked at Maritz- one floor beneath my dad) and Michael H.T. Lynch, Kirkwood Public Works Director Kenneth Yost, and Kirkwood Police Officer Tom Ballman and Sgt. William Biggs. Thorton shot the town's mayor twice in the head. Mayor Mike Swoboda is currently in critical condition at St. Johns Hospital. He aslo shot Suburban Journals reporter Todd Smith in the hand. Smith was covering the meeting. One person managed to get out of city hall unhurt; City Attorney John Hessel. Hessel had both guns pointed at him, and thought he was dead. Then he threw a chair at him, and the guns aimed to the right, he then threw 2 more chairs. So he started running. He saw Thorton coming after him, then Thorton tripped over one of the dead bodies. He managed to get out after cops, responding to the gunfire, entered the building and shot the gunman dead. According the the survivor, Thorton was aiming specifically at Councilman Yost, Mayor Swoboda, and himself. Click here to read his story. Apparently a fued had been going on between Thorton and Kirkwood for years. It all started off with parking tickets for his parking of his trucks on the street for his construction business. A total of 150 tickets, Kirkwood let these tickets slide- forgetting about them. These tickets escalted to several lawsuits, resulting in denials, going to appeals. Thorton felt his rights were being denied. Though what made him snap is a mystery. One of Thorton's brothers said that Thortons actions were justified and that "he went to war". Justified! How can you justify the murders of 5, maybe 6 (hopefully not) innocent people! Sick, thats what that is. There is no justification for the actions of Thorton. What he did was wrong, evil, and unjust. Everyone on the news and people interviewed keep refering to Thorton as "Cookie", a nickname of his. Don't call him "Cookie", hes not a cookie, hes an insane murderer, a jerk, a destroyer of lives, etc...
Some people are calling this a "race" issue. It's not a race issue or a black vs white issue. It has nothing to do with race! Get over it! One reverend in Kirkwood said it best "This is not a race issue, this is a people issue". This was a horrible event. It was not a race issue.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims families as well as Mayor Swoboda and his family.

Cleaning house

2008-01-30T16:50:00.000-06:00

So on my off day I was quiet busy. I took Loki to the groomer, gave Phantom a bath (he is not mad at me-suprisingly), had lunch with dad, and then started cleaning. I cleaned my bathroom, dusted the living room, vaccumed the living room, cleaned the fireplace, placed Climber's cat statue on his grave, picked up the big branchs the crazy wind knocked down in our yard (some bigger than me), did laundry, dejunked some, and FINALLY got enrolled for my company's insurance!!! I called again today, after calling last week, and finally got a resolution. I have been trying to enroll since January 6th. Now I will have insurance again...good thing to, after this pair, I'll be down to my last pair of contacts, I need some of my prescriptions refilled, and I need to go to the knee doctor and get them fixed (be it physical therapy, surgery, or a shot). Loki is home from the groomer, and she is all fluffy(her tail is fluffier than usual!) and sweet smelling! She is soo happy, she got to play w/ all those other dogs, and then she got home and I washed all her squeaky toys and blankets and they taste different!! All in all it was a good day, busy but successful.

New Birds on the Bat

2008-01-16T22:24:00.000-06:00

Here are the New Cardinals:
Troy Glaus- 3rd Base- from Toronto Blue Jays
Jason LaRue- Catcher- from Kasas City Royals
Matt Clement- Starting Pitcher- from Boston Red Sox- he had shoulder surgery and subsequently did not pitch in 2007- welcome to the National League (the real league), now learn to bat.
Cesar Izturis- Shortstop- from the Chicago Cubs (booo!)- welcome to a winning team.
There were some call ups from the minor leagues. Spring Training Starts soon (February!!!) and the end of that will finalize the active roster. Who knows, maybe there will be some more players to leave or to become a Cardinal. Maybe some good starting pitchers! That's what we need!
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!

And Playing for the Cardinals is....?

2008-01-16T22:06:00.000-06:00

These days its hard to know who is playing for the Cardinals what with all the line up changes. First there was David Eckstien (mom's favortite player) who was released. He has signed on with the Toronto BLue Jays. Why: Cards want younger players, less of a paycheck. Then Jim Edmonds (the best center fielder ever!) was traded to the San Diego Padres. So Taguchi was let go. Also departing the Birds on the Bat; backup catcher Gary Bennet, infielder Miguel , infielder/offensive player Russel Branyan, pitcher Mike Maroth, pitcher Troy Percival, catcher Kelly Stinett, pitcher Kip Wells (should have traded him long time ago), and offensive player Preston Wilson. Now Scott Rolen has been traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for 3rd Baseman Troy Glaus. Why did Rolen leave; differences with manager Tony LaRussa. The departure of General Manager Walt Jocketty should have been a sign of the changes to come. Why they let Jocketty go, I don't know. Right now, the Cards are cleaning house. Getting rid of vetrans, opting for younger players (who get much smaller paychecks). Personally, I think they are nuts. But who knows, maybe this is what we need.
At least Pujols (signed until 2010), Molina (there until at least 2011), and Chris Carpetner (at least another year or two left on his contract) are staying.
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!

Labrador Retrievers #1 Dog in US- again!!

2008-01-16T21:54:00.000-06:00

Further proof that Loki is the best dog in the world:
According to The American Kennel Club, the Labrador Retriever is the most popular dog in the United States! Is this a suprise, hardly. You can't beat a Lab's temperment; I used to use my old dog Shadow as a pillow all the time and as long as you petted her she was fine. They are great with kids; endless amount of patience. And the picture if you click on the link is of a White/Blonde Lab. This color is the most popular color now. When we got our Black Lab Shadow, black was the "in" color, then Chocolate. The AKC recoginzes 3 colors of labs; Black, Chocolate, or Yellow. There are some "silver" labs, but AKC does not acknowledge that color. Golden Retrievers came in 4th. The German Shepard came in 3rd. Suprisingly, the Yorkshire Terrier came in 2nd. I woudn't have thought they would even make the top ten. They are the most anoying dogs ever. There are two that live accross the street and all they do all day is bark! And their owners never do a darn thing to shut them up! Personally I would put them on a list of worst dogs. I would have placed Golden Retrievers as 2nd or 3rd and German Shepards in 2nd or 3rd. Both breeds are great dogs.

Good-bye 2007, Hello 2008!!

2007-12-31T16:13:00.000-06:00

It is New Year's Eve and I am patiently waiting for 2007 to go byebye! 2007 wasn't the greatest year for me...I was unemployed most of the time, I lost my cat Climber (he led a great life for 20 years), and there were other low points. However, I currently happily employed (Wolfgang Pucks at St. Louis Art Museum- come visit me and have lunch!!), I have money in my back account :), everybody is healthy, and so far 2008 looks to start off w/ a bang. Granted I'm not feeling too hot at the moment(nothing major), so I will be lounging around for New Year's Eve, but hey other than that 2008 is looking good from this side! For those of you who are healthy and have plans for tonight, drink something for me, and have lots of fun (but be safe) and I'll see ya in 2008!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Changes for 2008

2007-12-25T16:16:00.001-06:00

New in 2008
*A change of address. This will be the biggest change for me (that I know of-however I would love for some bigger and better changes to happen too). Now that I have a job and money, I am on the search for an Apartment!! I am looking for a 1 or 2 bedroom place in Kirkwood or some place close to 44, as I take 44 to work everyday. I am looking online at the moment, I am going to start going to places and touring soon. I am thinking February as my moving month; get a coupla more paychecks in my bank account. Phantom (my scardey cat) will be moving with me, other than him I don't think I will be looking for a roommate. It will be nice having a place of my own, even tho I will miss Loki. I look forward to the new independence. Any tips on apartment searching, living or any other relevant tips will be appreciated.
*New editions (the furry kind!) to my family: After a month or so of Phantom being the king of the roost, I will be adopting another cat or two. One will be a black kitten (they are not bad luck and need love too) and then the other will be a mix of Maine Coon or Norweigen Forest (they supposedly like water), plus I like their long fur. I will be looking at the Humane Society for my new furry friends.
*I am also going to start working out more; I need to drop a few pounds. Don't start; I need to do this for my knees- the less weight on them the better (This comes from my knee doctor). Plus I'm not happy with my weight; it has increased waaay to much for me. I also want to get in better shape.
*Possibly starting on my Masters. I have always said that I would go back for my masters and I fully intend to do that. However, I am paying for it this time around. So I have to consider other financial responsibilities first; regular bills and rent. So we'll see how things go and possibly enroll in the Spring Semester. If not then, the Fall Semester. Only a few classes, have to balance work with school.
*That's all that I know of. However, I'm sure God has plans for me. Whatever they may be. I hope that he continues to bless me and my family with good health. 2007 hasn't been the greatest of years for me; being unemployed- in a constant search for a job, broke most of the time, not to mention my negative attitude based on my situation. I am hopeful that 2008 will be better, not only for me but for everyone else; family and friends. I have absolutely no clue how I'm going to be ringing in the new year (typical but whatever).
So Merry Christmas too all and Happy New Year!!

Christmas 2007

2007-12-25T15:46:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to all!! Santa was very good to the Noel family this Christmas. The happiest it seems is my dad. Mom and I went in together and got an ipod nano (4 GB silver) for him. He is estatic! He has been downloading songs from albums all day. As I type he is dancing around the house, literally. I think he is extremly happy with his gift. Even Loki is happy with her present from Santa Dog; a new squeaky cow (aka Frankenmoo b/c the old one was too beat up). She was making us throw it while we were unwrapping presents. I have already had to stitch Frankenmoo up, his neck ripped.

We opened presents around 9ish, Mark played his new Wii game (I watched my new movie Bring It On: In it to Win it- I don't like video games), Mom and I set up my new Jewelery Armoire (its really big!), then we watched Hairspray (finally, our DVD player doesn't like it so we hooked another DVD player so Dad and Mark could see it), then we finished March of The Wooden Soldiers (started it last night but parents went to bed before finishing it). There is a Marathon of Stargate SG1 today on SciFi. Whoohoo!

Mom has started to cook Christmas dinner. The ham isn't in the oven yet b/c my little turkey is in there. Mom is prepping it tho. I hate Ham, so I get a mini turkey and everyone eats ham and everybody is happy. I had yesterday off (yay!) as well as today. T/m is back to work, shouldn't be too bad. Going a bit stir crazy here.

Let it Snow and Snow and Snow!!

2007-12-17T20:58:00.000-06:00

This weekend we got our first snowstorm for the first time in years!! I doubted the newscasters up until I woke up Saturday morning and discovered the front lawn blanketed with the fluffy white stuff and more coming down. Thankfully, my parents had the foresight to park my car in the driveway so that my car wouldn't get trapped. However, since I didn't move my car until Sunday afternoon, I got both doses of the snow storm on my car. We got a total of 7 inches!!!!! Whoohooo!! And my car was under it all....not fun uncovering it. This is the earliest we have been hit with snow in a long time, and the most snow we have gotten in years! I am hoping this is a preview of what's to come. I would love a white Christmas and a white New Years!! I am absolutly loving this snow!! I am not enjoying the ice underneath tho. But for the most part I am loving this weather! So Bring on The Snow! As the song goes, Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!!!

Shop 'Til Ya Drop, Then Shop Some More!

2007-11-25T14:59:00.000-06:00

This past weekend I went down to the Lake of the Ozarks w/ my mother and some of her friends. Girls only weekend!! We stayed in a nice condo and shopped in the Outlet malls and some side stores. Our shopping expedition started on Friday, November 23rd; (Yes, I know; Black Friday). But there were some awesome deals to be had. I got some great deals! My best (and first) find were these brown ankle boots. They were originally 60 bucks, but on sale for 30, plus I had a 15% coupon for them! They are awesome!!!! I found them at the Naturalizer Store. My next find was a jacket w/ a detachable hood (not a formal one like I was looking for but still nice) at Bass. It was on sale for 50% off, and I had an additional 20% off coupon!! It's a nice navy blue w/ four pockets on the front and one hidden pocket on the inside of the jacket. Then onto Bath and Body Works (of course!) where I got an Orange Ginger lotion for mom, a Lavender Vanilla (for sleep) lotion for me, both Aromatherapy. I had another coupon :) so I got a free bottle of Cucumber Melon body lotion, and the I picked up a antibacterial lotion (Country Apple) so I could get the gift they were giving if you spent $30 or more. The gift itself is worth almost $40!! We shopped all afternoon on Friday. We had Outback for dinner, then watched Hairspray and Knocked up that night. Saturday morning we were at it again. I picked up a three set of gold hoops in various sizes (20% off coupon). Then I finally found some cute sketchers shoes I liked, went in w/ another gal and got one pair at 50% off, split the bill even. We went to Mikasa (a glass store), that unfortunately is closing. Mom picked out a tulip glass vase, and then three bud vases of various colors. We then went on to little antique stores where I picked up a simple blue glass vase. I also got some choc. covered raisens at one store. I also found my Christmas Ornament for this year, a little snowman w/ the Cardinals Logo on it, that lights up. All in all, I did very well.
*Oh yea, another big highlight of the weekend was I got my first paycheck from work!!!! My biggest paycheck yet!! I was soooo excited to get it!!

Turkey Day 2007

2007-11-22T19:50:00.000-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all!! Today is (obviously) Thanksgiving Day. We have already enjoyed our wonderful dinner and now are watching 'Evan Almighty'. We watched 'Big Trouble In Little China' earlier. We were planning on watching 'Hairspray', however the stupid disk does not work! Grrr, I've been looking forward to watching this since we picked it up Tuesday. Anyways...back to the dinner; We of course had turkey, which my brother named Charlie. Don't ask me why, cause I have no idea. We also had hasbrown casserole, corn, stuffing, cranberries (which I didn't eat), and noodles w/ cheese (long noodles w/ velveetta cheese- grandma's tradition). Pumpkie Pie and Apple Pie are sitting on the counter waiting for us to enjoy. Which will be soon. T/m mom and I leave for Lake of the Ozarks to do shopping at the Outlet Malls. Yes, we are going to go shopping on Black Friday. We are sharing a condo with a group of friends; just the girls. Be back on Sunday; hopefully with some bargains. I am really looking for a long formal coat. One that would look nice over suits and dresses. Loki is snoozing at dad's feet. She had the zoomies earlier while Dad was laying on the floor; we have a video to proove this. It is quite entertaining. Work has been going well, I am really enjoying it. Especially since the Chefs can make me whatever I want to eat for lunch! So far I've only asked for pasta and chicken ceasar salad. Well the movie is getting to be quite entertaining, so I will once again wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!! Thank you to all of my friends and brothers; you are all amazing in your own way! Love you all!

JBear got a job!!

2007-11-05T19:18:00.000-06:00

That's right, I got a job!! Granted it is a part time job, but it has the potential to grow to full time. I got the job on Halloween. I am a Catering Admin. Asst for the Wolfgang Puck Restaurant at the St. Louis Art Museum. I first interviewed w/ them 2 weeks ago, and didn't hear anything so I assumed I didn't get the job, but then I got a phone call on Tuesday to set up a second interview on Wed (Halloween!). I ended up getting hired a few hours after my interview. I am doing a variety of things, booking reservations for events at the Museum, setting up staff sheets (who does what and when), invoices, thank you letters, and so on. My boss told me that the more events I attend and help out w/ the more I'll learn and the more I'll be able to do (which could lead to more hours). Also it could lead to a promotion faster! I am assisting the Catering Event Coordinator essentially. This is a pretty good fit for me; I like to work with pppl and plan stuff. Granted I'm not planning anything at the moment but maybe eventually I will.

Ode to a new Hairdryer

2007-10-24T15:27:00.001-05:00

So yesterday my hair dryer decided to not work; the low speed worked but not the high speed. Not good, it took me twice as long to dry my hair. So last night, I went to Walmart w/ dad and got a new hair dryer. I purchased a ConAir (a very good brand for hair styling tools) Tourmaline Ceramic styling system. Its an Ion shine 1875 watts. It came with three styling tools; a Straightneing Pic for smoothing and straightening, a Diffuser for curly and wavy styles, and my new fave a Concentrator for pinpoint styling. I was very happy when I dried my hair this morning; I used the Concentrator and was extremly happy with the results. I was able to style my hair a lot easier. It came out looking like how my hair stylist styled it when I got it cut on Friday. Lots of volume and it curled easier. I am very happy with this purchase.
*On a side note, Conair is my brand for stlying tools. I used to have this cordless curling iron from them and it was the BEST curling iron!! Unfortunately it wasn't working so great and I didn't replace it when I saw others, then I left it at a friends and told him to get rid of it, not relizing that these things are impossible to find at stores. However, I checked out the Conair site and have found it! It costs more than I want to pay for it, but I might just splurge b/c it is sooo worth it!!

Go Rockies

2007-10-24T15:20:00.000-05:00

Sadly the Cardinals did not make the playoffs this year. The Chicago Cubs were the NL Central Division Champs. Luckily, The Arizona Diamondbacks also made the playoffs; they swept the Cubbies 3-0 in the first round. Then the D'backs went on to the NL Division Championship vs. the Colorado Rockies. Rockies sweept them, the D'backs did their job; they knocked the Cubbies out! Whoohoo! The Rockies are in the World Series for the very first time! Hence I want them to win. Even more reason for them to win; the Boston Red Sox- who swept the Cards in the '04 series, are their opponents. I do not want the Red Sox to win. I would really like the Rockies to win. The first World Series game starts today October 24th! So root for the Rockies!!

Jocketty out, LaRussa in

2007-10-24T15:15:00.000-05:00

Well, as many of you already may know, the Cardinals have parted ways w/ General Manager Walt Jocketty. Stupid decision on upper managements part. So now we don't know who the new GM for the Cardinals will be. After Jocketty and the Cardinals parted ways, questions began to arise about LaRussa; whether he would stay or go. Several sports casters implied that LaRussa would follow former Yankee's (and former Card's manager) manager Joe Torre, and manage the Yankees. Torre left the Cards for the Yankees. Torre has recently quit as being the manager for the Yankees. Thankfully, LaRussa has signed a two year contract to continue managing the "Birds on the Bat". The future is uncertain for Jocketty, yet I wish him well and wish that he was still the GM for the Cardinals.

R.I.P. Climber- End of an Era

2007-09-25T20:36:00.000-05:00

Climber ~Febuary 14, 1987-September 25, 2007~ Today was one of the hardest days in my life. Today we had to put down our beloved cat, Climber. He was 20 years old. He was ready to go; at the Vet's office he allowed us to cuddle him in a towel and play with his paws; when he was at his best he never allowed us to do either. His fur was severly matted and lumped together, you could almost feel every bone in his body and he was constantly hungry; he could never get enough food in his stomach. Poor baby.
We adopted Climber from the Humane Society of Missouri when I was in Kindergarten. Show and Tell was big back then. Pet week came and all we had were fishes; that didn't cut it. So we went to the Humane Society and I got to choose a kitten. We got to one of the cages; and I pointed to this white fluffy kitty. However, there was this kitten with four white paws who had climbed up three feet on the fence seperating the kittens from the visitors. While I may have originally wanted the white fluffy one, we got the climbing kitten. Hence the name, Climber. We brought him to show and tell. All of those kids with grabby hands; Climber freaked and hid under a cabinet. A year after we got Climber, we adopted Sparkle, our second cat (and my first cat). At first, Climber was very wary of Sparkle. Eventually he warmed up to her and they became best friends. They were always cuddling and doing everything together.
Climber was never a cuddle cat; oh no he was a biter. He was a definate lap cat; he would plop himself on your lap and stay there until either he got bored or you pushed him off. He also liked to randomly attack people. He once attacked a neighbors son for absolutely no reason (or at least to us). Most cats when they roll over and expose their bellies, you think awww what a cute kitty they want a belly rub. When Climber did this, we were like "Oh crap, the cats up to something". Over the years Climber accumulated a variety of nicknames; Fat Cat, Tub of Lard (at one point he was quite fat, he got sick on his 19th birthday and lost a lot of weight and never gained it back), Tyrant, King Tut (he acted like he was the king of the house and everyone must obey him), Climy, Clim-Clim, and many others which I can't remember.
Mom and I cried like babies at the Vet's office when it came time to say goodbye. We put his "lovie" (an old golf sock which he used to sing operas to) with him. Luckily, the people at the Vet's understood what we were going thru and gave us tissues. I am going to miss him something him fierce. Climber was with me all thru school, from Kindergarten to college graduation. He was 20 years old and was well loved. He is in a better place; he is no longer in pain, no longer hungry, his furry is all shinny and soft, he is back with his best friend/wife Sparkle. (Yes, we married the cats; Shadow was a bridesmaid- very comical). He is in heaven now and he is much happier. A part of me is screaming "No, no, no, I want my kitty back now!!", while the more reasonable part of me relizes that this was the right thing to do. As hard as it was to do, I know we did the right thing for him. I just hope he is not upset with us for keeping him so long and not allowing him to go out with more dignity.

Let's Go Cardinals!!

2007-09-05T18:01:00.000-05:00

It is officially September and the Cards are turning up the heat. They beat the Pirates 6-2 last night. Joel Pinero picked up another win last night, proving why he should remain in the starting rotation. A lot of Cardinal news here so here we go:
*Right Feilder Juan Encarnacion is done for the season. Due to an eye injury. He was standing in the on-deck circle when he was hit by a foul tip off the bat Aaron Miles on last Friday nights game. Encarnacion was hospitalized for a few days, he is now at home resting. The prognosis is unsure. All that is offically known is that he can not play baseball right now. For more on this story click here and here.
*Rick Ankiel is still HOTT! He continues to get great and timely hits. He also has been showing off his arm, runners might want to think twice about going for that extra ball if Ankiel is the recipient of the hit ball.
*Catcher Yadier Molina is heating up. He has been hiting a lot more, and picking up some more homeruns and RBI's.
*It appears that third baseman Scott Rolen is out for the season. He will be having shoulder surgery some time soon and his 2007 season is over. Recovery time is expected to be six weeks as he is having a "cleanout" rather than a major surgery. This should not affect his ability to play in the 2008 season. Lucky for the Cards, they have newcomer Russel Branyan (who hit a homerun last night in first game in a Cardinals uniform!!) Branyan comes to us from the Phillies.
*Miguel Cairo has also been added to the roster, and he is proving himself a valuable asset.
*September call ups!! Those returning to the fold are Skip Schumaker, Brad Thompson, Kelvin Jimenez, Andy Cavazos, and Kelly Stinett. Reliever Brian Falkenborg,and infielder Brian Barden also have been called up. Unfortunately, John Rodriguez (J-Rod) will not be called up as he had knee surgery (?) and is done for the season.
*Starting Pitcher Mark Mulder is back!!! He is making his first start tonight since the 2006 season. While I am excited about his return, I am unsure of how his debut will go. I am hopefull that he will be the Mark Mulder of old and provide us with another reliable pitcher.
*Mike Maroth is also back, he will be on the mound Thursday night. If he can get back in shape and Mulder has his old stide back, we will have a great rotation of Joel Pinero, Adam Wainwright, Braden Looper, Mike Maroth, and Mark Mulder. If Kip Wells can get his act together the Cards stand a decent chance of going to the playoffs.
*The Cardinals are 1 game out of first place in the Central Division.
*Should the Cardinals win tonight they will be 2 games over 500, something they have not done all season.
*Tonight's Game: Starting pitcher Mark Mulder returns to take on Pitsburgh Pirates Righty Tony Armas (2-5 w/ an ERA of 6.75) at Busch Stadium. Game time is 7:10 PM. However, it was raining earlier, so I expect a delay.
*Por Siempre: Let's Go Cardinals!!

The Rally Squirrel

2007-09-05T17:50:00.000-05:00

Last night, Busch Stadium had a very interesting visitor; a squirrel. The squirrel was perched on top of a foul poll when the fireworks went off. Apparently these fireworks, gave the little guy quite a fright, and he subsequently jumped 40 feet to the field. He lay a bit stunned near the Bud Light sign in the outfield for a few innings. FSN had cameras focus in on him a coupla times, as they were getting a lot of concerned emails regarding the little critter. Cardinal players dubbed him the "Rally Squirrel". He enjoyed the outfield before going into the Cardinals bull pen. The players attempted to catch him, but he proved smarter and went back out to the outfield. He enjoyed a piece of popcorn, and then visited the visiting team, The Pirates, in their dugout. He was eventually caught in a sunflower seed bucket. Click here for the tale and the amusing video! Hopefully the squirrel will be back and give the Cardinals some luck.

CARDS = Come August, Ready Division Series

2007-08-21T20:29:00.000-05:00

The St. Louis Cardinals have been much like the August weather in St. Louis; HOTT! The birds on the bat seem to be putting the pedal to the medal and starting to shift gears towards winning more games. They swept the Brewers in a crucial series last week and now sit just 3 games out of first place in the central division. Cards bats are heating up; The MV3 (Rolen,Edmonds, and Pujols) are starting to hit w/ more consistency. The Cards have also gained more power in Rick Ankiel who has been hitting the ball hard and making great plays in the outfield. Cards also picked up Joel Pinero who has been doing well. Kip Wells also appears to be doing much better; he is finally getting run support and keeping the opposition from scoring, much less hitting too much. Adam Wainwright continues to impress, with a record of 11-9 and an ERA of 3.99. Overall for the month of August, the ERA's for the Cardinals pitching as a whole has gone down. Their hitting percentage and winning percentage have gone up.
Good news for the Cardinals in regards to pitcher Mark Mulder; he is getting closer to returning. With ace Carpenter out for the season, the return of Mulder is much needed. Mulder made his second start in his rehab assignment; and was efficient throwing 48 pitches- 34 strikes and 14 balls- through four innings. For more on his progress along with progress on Todd Wellenmeyer and Mike Moroth click here. Also mentioned as being banged up and getting some rest are Scott Rolen and Chris Duncan.
*Por Siempre; Let's Go Cards!!

Random Update

2007-08-21T20:09:00.000-05:00

Good grief, I haven't blogged in a while (almost a month exactly since I last blogged to be exact). So here's what has gone down in the month of August:
*NVC was amazing!!! I had soooo much fun. I stirred up trouble in all of the workshops I attended. I finally got to meet a brother I've been friends w/on Facebook; he has now "banned" me from his future workshops; yeah right, good luck w/ that Brother Justin!
*Mom got a new car! Its a 2007 Pontiac Vibe! It's an SUV- kinda. Mom calls it a wannabe: it can't decide whether it wants to be a car, a minivan or a SUV. It gets great milage so far 28 mpg. She is very happy with it.
*My little brother, golum, got a new car...kinda. He inherited my mom's red '99 cavalier. Mom traded in his '99 Sonoma Truck when she got her vibe. So now I'm the only one in the family w/o keyless entry and power locks and windows. Granted my car is a year younger than Marks, its still a very basic model- I love it tho. My next car will be a SUV tho. Don't know when I'll be getting said SUV, but whatever.
*Cardinals have been heating up. They swept the Brewers in a crucial series. They then played the Cubbies where they went 1-2, with one game rained out. Cards now are 3 games out of first place. Cub (major suprise here) are in first place (no really they are). Brew Crew are even with the Cubbies.
*I get to go to my fourth Cardinals Game on August 24th w/ the EMAA crew!! I also have tickets for the September 17th Game- Yadier Molina Bobblehead night!! Whoohoo!!
*I am 8-12 in my fantasy baseball league. Not bad but not the greatest either.
*Went to see Les Mis w/ EMAA at the Muny. Loved it! Music was incredible, good voices, excellent orchestra. It was hot, but overall a good night.
*My job hunt continues (suprise, suprise). I try to be optimisitic, but its hard. I have a hard time wondering what makes me so unemployable. I thought that my education would be a great assest and now I wonder why I spent so much time earning my bachelors if all I'm going to do is random temporary assignments?
*New living room furniture and a new dinet set are on their way; well kinda. Mom and dad selected a new sofa, loveseat, and rocker for the living room, as well as a new kitchen table and new chairs for the kitchen. The living room stuff should be here in about 2 weeks or so. Kitchen is going to take longer, anywhere from a month to two months. I think its crazy, but mom tells me that's typical. I woulda negotiated an early arrival of the furniture but hey we've been dealing with the furniture we currently have for a long time, we can live with it until the new stuff arrives. The living room furniture is kinda of a sage green and the fabric is a micro suede, and very comfy ( mom took me to American where they ordered the stuff for me to see). The kitchen table is almost identical to the one we have now except it has some fancy engraving on the sides which matches the engraving on the back of the chairs. The chairs have cushions built in, so puppy can't steal the cushions (as she does now).

Random

2007-07-25T17:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, lot of stuff to say, so here goes:
*Recently had to get new sunglasses as my darling puppy, Loki, ate a second pair of sunglasses. Plus my backup pairs also decided to break. I like to keep a pair in my car for various reasons; mainly I can't drive w/o sunglasses.
*Picked up two cute tops from New York and Company. One was 50% off! I love sales!
*Got a new pillow b/c the one I had was shot.
*Got a 1 and 1/2 inch memory foam mattress pad for my bed. My mattress is rock hard and I have a bad back and I hate sleeping on it. This mattress pad is heaven sent! I slept w/ it on my bed last night and was sooo comfortable for the first time in eyars.
*Had my ring checked at the Jewlers today; the stone is firmly in place and they shined it up for free. So it sparkles now! Yay!
*Leaving for Independence, MO t/m for Alphi Phi Omega's National Volunteer Conference!! So excited! Amy and Katrina are driving with me. We are stopping in Columbia and having lunch with Robert.
*Will be at the NVC Thursday thru Sunday. Get to see a lot of brothers and have fun!
*Cardinals starting pitcher Chris Carpenter is out for the season; he will be having surgery on his elbow. No idea when he will be ready to pitch next season.
*Attention all texters; I have disabled my text messaging abilities. Meaning I won't be able to send or recieve texts; which is good b/c I despise texting. I also was being charged for incoming texts (which I don't understand why I'm charged for something that I have no control over).
*I have been sunburned three times so far this summer, and theres a lot of summer left. I hate having such fair skin. Mom and Mark have the Puerto Rican skin; so they don't burn; they just get brown! So not fair, I blame it all on my gringo father! He just laughs.