Friday Five, from Heather.

1. What did you have for dinner last night? I made tacos for all of us. And Godiva pumpkin cheesecake chocolates for dessert. Well, I didn't make those, Mason did. I'm so glad my brother's boyfriend works for Godiva!

2. Do you ever get up for a midnight snack? Never. Only for a drink of water once in a while.

3. What's your favorite dessert? Creme brulee - only if it's made right. Pumpkin pie with Cool Whip is a close second.

4. Tell us something about you that would surprise us. I used to be an agent for Celtic musicians. It seems like another lifetime now, but it was definitely another "life" I can assure you.

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend? Tonight is happy hour. :-) Tomorrow I'm spending the afternoon with my brother's boyfriend, making Christmas wreaths and tomorrow night is the Electric Parade down Central Avenue. It's so festive and fun. Sunday will probably be football and some Christmas shopping. I need to get Joe his PS2 before his birthday 12/18, and I got paid today!
Posted 3:32 PM by Kerry O.

RIP, George Harrison. We hardly knew ye...

Here comes the sun, do do do do, Here comes the sun, and I say, it's all right
Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, do do do do, Here comes the sun, and I say, it's all right
Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun, do do do do, Here comes the sun, and I say, it's all right
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes, sun, sun, sun, here it comes,
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes, sun, sun, sun, here it comes,
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun, do do do do, Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right, Here comes the sun, do do do do, Here comes the sun
It's all right, it's all right
©Copyright Northern Songs
Posted 3:07 PM by Kerry O.

Well, the puppy didn't quite make it through the night last night, and I apparently pinched that stupid nerve in my neck again somewhere in the midst of her crawling on my head in an effort to be warm. Now I'm on mass dosages of ibuprofen and will have a week or two of recovery... again. Great. It also severly limits my workout ability.

We did get more Christmas lights though, so I'm hoping Joe has decorated our eaves when I return home this afternoon. He's also tearing down the hideous cinder-block BBQ thing in our backyard so we can build a brick patio and put our iron furniture on it. Of course, he didn't expect the thing to have been master-constructed, re-bar and all! He had to procure this nasty huge sledgehammer, which I am glad I won't have to see him use. I just want it magically gone!
Posted 11:41 AM by Kerry O.

Ugh. I wanted to know what Season's baby was going to be. Figures that little Stinker wouldn't show his/her goods. Sorry you have to wait Season. It's your child - you knew s/he would have to be a little snot. :-)

My little snot slept soundly last night. She slept with us, and never woke us up once. Amazing. Now if we could just do something about that puppy breath. Who on Earth thinks that horrific smell is cute?!?!
Posted 3:22 PM by Kerry O.

Whew! I'm finally able to breathe at work; it's slowed down a little again.

We got our Christmas tree last night - a real one we'll plant later. It's lovely. I have quite a few homemade ornaments from my online friends, and it's a good thing. The tree looks so boring without them. I used to like the white lights, silver garland and silver ornament balls, but now it looks too... I don't know. I just need more Christmassy stuff in my house. It looked like Christmas exploded 2 years ago in our tiny apartment (last year we were too busy with the wedding and house buying to decorate), but all my stuff looks like nothing in our house. Amazing. So that's my goal: More Christmas stuff, and stockings for the dogs. Not sure how I'll afford it, but I must try.

On a bummer note, I was going to post a note to Wil about his fabulous appearance on Weakest Link (good call on "Babe" Wil!), but it looks like his site crashed. Must suck to be so popular.
Posted 11:40 AM by Kerry O.

Well, they must have missed me at work. They've piled up about 2 weeks' worth of work on my desk. Grand.

On an up-note: We got our puppy! She's gorgeous and already spoiled rotten. I'll have pictures of our little Princess soon!
Posted 2:39 PM by Kerry O.

It would appear that Blogback has temporarily gone kaput. Too bad; I liked the service. I'll keep it installed in case it comes back like they say it will, so I apologize if you get an error loading my page. PLEASE let me know if it slows you down too badly. Meanwhile I'll look for a new comment engine to install...
Posted 7:08 PM by Kerry O.

I'm home safe and sound, thank God! More on our wonderful trip later.
Happy Thanksgiving, all you Americans out there!!!
Posted 8:58 AM by Kerry O.

Bye bye! I won't be posting until Thanksgiving, probably, so have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone. We're leaving in about 2 hours - yippee! If only I can get over this fear of flying...
Posted 8:47 AM by Kerry O.

So I get to spend my day-after-Thanksgiving in the Dr.'s office figuring out why I'm broken. So much for Christmas decorating and bringing home the puppy. I guess those will be my evening activities. Yuck.
Posted 11:36 AM by Kerry O.

Heather's Friday Five
1. Name five things in your refrigerator: Brita water filter, leftover sesame ginger chicken, a bottle of champagne, toasted onion dip, and a bottle of grape juice

2. Name five things in your freezer: The top layer of our wedding cake, frozen juice, a big bag of chicken breasts, ground beef, and lemon sorbet

3. Name five things under your kitchen sink: dish soap, rubber gloves (for dishes), a package of sponges, plant watering can, Comet

4. Name five things around your computer: pictures of Joe's grandparents, a teeny beeny Spider, a CD of wedding photos, a big British road sign with "Kerry - Ciarrai" on it, a Koosh ball

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend? flying to and enjoying New Orleans - Sunday is our first anniversary!
Posted 9:38 AM by Kerry O.

Woo-hoo! I can't believe we're leaving tomorrow. We have so much to do, I don't know how we'll ever get it all done.
Posted 9:11 AM by Kerry O.

Feel the burn. I had a good workout last night. I always do more when Joe's not there. He's going tonight though, so I'll try to change that. We're trying to make sure we're feeling active before we go walk 1,000 miles in New Orleans. Does anyone know a good exercise to work on that annoying part of the hip that never looks quite right when you put on a couple of pounds? I know a kick one, but I'm always afraid I'll put my foot through my china cabinet. Anyone?
Posted 8:36 AM by Kerry O.

Reminder: Please visit my guest map. I love this thing. You don't have to post anything else, I just like to know who visits. Thanks!
Posted 9:23 PM by Kerry O.

For the first time in 360 days, I tried on my wedding dress. And... It still fits!!! I'm stunned. It was fitted then, so I wasn't sure if it would fit now. I really do weigh what I did last year, though it's hard to believe that I've been battling this extra 15-20 pounds since last summer. I like the dress better now, I think, than I did then. Then, it was the dress that "wasn't quite perfect." Now, it's part of my happiest memories, and looks just stunning. Good thing Joe's working now; he'd think I'd gone nuts. :)
Posted 9:18 PM by Kerry O.

I hate that I can't talk to my girlfriends on Delphi anymore. It is driving me batty. Every couple of weeks I get a chance to post on there, because the site is blocked at work. And it's not enough. Darned outrageous. I love these women, most of them helped me plan my wedding, and we've been through hell and back, supporting each other through anything. Tonight I just feel sad. Prudential said they were lifting the restrictions "sometime soon" but as yet I still can't get in. And I'm so sick of sitting in front of the computer at work, I never feel like getting on at night. I feel like I'm losing a dozen friends. So, to those of you who read this (and I know a couple do), I LOVE YOU GUYS, and I MISS YOU TERRIBLY. Forgive me for my spurts of posts, then silence. I think of you every day.
Posted 8:50 PM by Kerry O.

Good morning, all! And a big happy birthday to my mom today! We had a nice dinner last night, so nothing exciting tonight. But at least I will finally get my Metro back and park the Mazda again. It finally keeled over yesterday, though Joe was able to jump start it and get us home from my work. But I don't have a desire to ever drive it again. I'm in Joe's behemoth truck today while he picks up the Metro. Good little car, I've missed you.
Posted 9:39 AM by Kerry O.

A day late and a dollar short, right? Well, better late than never! Happy First Anniversary to Shawn and Sara!
Posted 3:45 PM by Kerry O.

As if I hadn't already been nervous about flying this weekend...
Posted 9:30 AM by Kerry O.

Annoying darned day. My Mazda died, and is still sitting at the grocery store, waiting for Joe to come home and go help me. My mom's foot is worse again, after 2 hours of shopping. I lost on my lottery ticket :-). When my brother went to help me with my car, we locked ourselves out of the house and I had to climb in the window. Etc. etc.

And yet, it's still better than sitting in the E.R. like I did last Saturday!!! In one week, I will be enjoying dinner with my husband in New Orleans on the eve of our First Anniversary. Suddenly, I am happy again, and I have forgotten about my crappy day! I hope everyone has a wonderful rest-of-the-weekend. See you Monday!
Posted 9:08 PM by Kerry O.

I just noticed the "precent" typo below. Her fault, not mine.........
Posted 11:58 AM by Kerry O.

Neato. From Ashley.
56 points is in the 51 through 80 precent
You are a dedicated weblogger. You post frequently because you enjoy weblogging a lot, yet you still manage to have a social life. You're the best kind of weblogger. Way to go!
Posted 10:35 AM by Kerry O.

Le Pavillon it is! It looks like a really nice hotel and we were able to get a Deluxe 1 King Room for $99/night. The Standard 1 King was $79, but I want the marble floors. :-) Anyway, that's done, finally, so now we can think about what we actually want to do. Fun fun fun! Any suggestions? So far, I've been told to do a river cruise? And check out some bowling alley that has fabulous music? I get weird suggestions, but that's okay, send 'em my way!
Posted 8:45 AM by Kerry O.

Because I'm uncreative today and needed to steal from Stefani what she already stole from Erika, and because I like it...

1 minute ago: I was reading Stefani's blog and admiring her resolve when sacrificing for her baby.
1 hour ago: I was talking to an agent, trying to get $550,000 for an inventory house instead of $525,000. Welcome to my world.
1 day ago: I was sitting here, surfing the net, looking for a hotel in New Orleans that has charm and doesn't cost $1,000 a night.
1 month ago: I was sitting here with no work, worrying about my mom in Britain and glad Joe was home from Vegas safely.
1 year ago: I was panicking, hating my job and looking forward to getting married in just 10 days!
1 lifetime ago: I was a feminist activist, with an understanding husband and a million hobbies. I was Martha Stewart slammed into Gloria Steinem, with a fondness for Ayn Rand novels. The only part of that whole scenario that ran over into this life is the attachment to Ayn Rand.
Posted 3:02 PM by Kerry O.

Updated my pic to reflect my joy for the new World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks! Thanks for the memories!
Posted 11:46 AM by Kerry O.

I'm getting sooooo excited about New Orleans. We still haven't booked our room, but we'll finish that tonight, I hope.

Also tonight, I'm going to the gym, a real gym, for the first time. I used the gym at college, but never one of those "Bally's" type gyms. We get a fabulous discount from work, so Joe and I are starting up. Finally I can lose some of this weight, gain back my hard muscles, and have more energy. With my hair cut, nails done, and hard body on the way, I'm feeling much more in-tune with myself lately. Whatever it takes, right?!
Posted 10:32 AM by Kerry O.

By the way, not eating is going very well, thank you. Monday I had a 1/2 cup of yogurt for breakfast, a cup of cottage cheese for lunch, and a small piece of pizza for dinner. Yesterday I did even better with 1/2 cup of yogurt for breakfast, and a cup of potato soup for lunch. Today, no breakfast and a 1/2 piece of lasagna is waiting for me for lunch. And I have consumed gallons of water. The only beverage I've had other than water since Sunday is a glass of wine last night. I was so relaxed after yoga, I needed a glass of wine. :-)

Don't worry, I'll eat more once I start working out. The gym people are coming here to work today with info on our new discounted services. I will be signing up tonight. Yeah!
Posted 9:27 AM by Kerry O.

When I was a kid, we didn't have hall monitors. So I'm making up for lost time. We had a fire drill here today and I'm a floor warden. Neato. That neon orange vest makes a lovely accessory to most any outfit.
Posted 9:23 AM by Kerry O.

It's really difficult to pick a hotel in a very popular tourist destination, without having ever been there to know if we're picking something good. Anyone have good suggestions for New Orleans? Should we stay in/near the French Quarter or not? What hotels are good? What should we look for or look out for? Thanks.
Posted 4:21 PM by Kerry O.

So I had quite a weekend. Friday evening, we got to pick our puppy! Pictures are coming soon. We got some good ones, I think. Friday night, I got very sick and Saturday morning I went to Urgent Care (by myself). He sent me to the Emergency Room, where I spent the next 7 hours of my lovely Saturday. They still don't know exactly what was wrong with me, but I think they ruled out some of the more dramatic possibilities. For a while, I was worried I might be pregnant, not know it, and have a problem. Those tests, and all "girl" tests were fine. My blood tests were okay, except for a higher-than-normal white blood cell count, but the ER doc said I have some sort of infection and that's why.

Anyway, I got home in time for the game :-) and I'm on Cipro and a careful diet. I have to go back for some more out-patient testing. Please keep your fingers crossed for me. I'm still a little worried something's wrong. But I haven't had blood drawn or an IV in probably 15+ years, so I'm still recovering from the shock of that! Ha! At least the Diamondbacks made the weekend not completely awful!
Posted 10:55 AM by Kerry O.

Congratulations, Arizona Diamondbacks!!! World Series CHAMPIONS!!!

Man, what an incredible game!
Posted 8:43 AM by Kerry O.

Well, I hope I was fast enough. My car was hit on 10/14, and it is going into the shop on Monday morning. Joe told them I didn't need a rental car for the week, and I decided I really do. I'm not happy driving the Mazda, and isn't that what their insurance is for? Well, when I called to tell them I needed one, she told me they were going to send a check since I didn't want the rental car, and it would have been "Three..." - she didn't finish. That has to be $300+ but I didn't react fast enough and I went ahead and made the rental arrangements. After thinking about it, I realized what a goober I am. I can drive the Mazda, and we can sure use the $300+ on our anniversary trip!!! So I called the agent back, who's in until 5 most days. Nope, in until 4:15 today. It's 4:15 right now. I hope I left the message in time. She probably won't get it until after I was supposed to pick up the car. At least I cancelled it with Enterprise so they won't get charged. Keep your fingers crossed!!!
Posted 4:15 PM by Kerry O.

Friday Five, thanks to Heather

1. Do you eat breakfast? What did you have today? I'm trying not to, but we have a buffet on our team every Friday morning, so I succumbed. I had 1/2 a cinnamon roll, 1/2 a breakfast burrito and about 5 pieces of mixed fruit.

2. What beverages do you usually have in a typical day? Water throughout the day, Dr. Pepper at lunch, maybe at dinner. Sometimes a beer or two (especially during the World Series!).

3. White bread or wheat bread? White, preferably Sourdough.

4. What's your favorite kind (potato/tortilla/corn) and flavor of chip? Tortilla, with homemade salsa if I'm lucky.

5. How do you plan to spend your weekend? Picking out our new puppy tonight and dinner with the folks, putzing around tomorrow, and church and football/baseball viewing with mom on Sunday.
Posted 1:27 PM by Kerry O.

Aw, geez. The Diamondbacks are trying to kill me. I swear to you. I sat there last night, in painful disbelief of what I was seeing. Now it's up to RJ to save the day. At least one of them. Just don't make me sit through another freaking 12 innings to lose. Please. If I see Byung-Hyung Kim on the street, he'd better run.
Posted 9:07 AM by Kerry O.

Ugh. Wow, I'm stupid today. Updated the comment line. Managed to delete all the comments in the process.

Farking A, that pisses me off. Sorry to all who commented. I loved your happy thoughts. Please feel free to re-post if you have a second. I miss your comments. All for a faster-loading page. I guess I should have read the update instructions FIRST. Ugh.
Posted 4:05 PM by Kerry O.

This is a tremendously important issue, and I can't word it any better than Wil or Robert Redford did. Just read it. Then go here and do something about it! Don't let them use this time of tragedy to snowball a bad, bad idea through Congress. There is simply no good argument, or frankly, good excuse for drilling for oil in the arctic, especially when so many much better alternatives exist. Reduce, reuse, recycle. It was a good theme in the 70's, it's a good theme today, and applies on so many better levels now. Think, then act. Tell your Congressmen to blow it out their pieholes before letting this one pass. It's up to us!
Posted 3:28 PM by Kerry O.

So much for the "very good night." D-Backs lost. I still have faith they'll pull it out in the end of it all, but it's disappointing nonetheless.

We did get trick-or-treaters; I was surprised. I think we counted about 6 groups of about 3-4 kids each. Most all were accompanied by parents, and asking about the score of the game. They looked cute though. Lots of cartoon characters, witches and cheerleaders. Meanwhile, Joe's back in the doghouse for telling me I'm fat. Basically. I guess it's time to stop eating.
Posted 8:55 AM by Kerry O.