blogger's block

that's what i have. i have had nothing to blog about for weeks. i have such a horribly boring life:( work has had me so stressed out i feel like i don't even have time to think about other things. i know that everyone has problems at their job. but i'm going to be selfish for a minute and act as though i'm the only person in the world that does... so just deal with it! lol

first, a little back ground info about where i work. i'm the office manager at a tire retreading shop. we sell new and recapped semi tires. that's about all you need to know... it's not a very exciting place!

now on to the issues i have been angry about for a month now lol!

stupid work problem #1: about a month ago, we (me and christine, the other office girl) were told we had to start dressing up for work. this meant no more jeans, t-shirts, flip-flops, hoodies, etc... i'm so fat these days that none of my nice clothes even fit me anymore so i had to go out and buy pants to wear to work...3 pairs of pants = $100... haley was NOT happy about this. especially considering that we have maybe 2 customers a month walk in our door. so my question is who are we dressing up for? it's certainly not for us... we hate it. and this place is sooo dirty. who wants to wear nice dress clothes that turn black by the end of the day? NO ONE! for 4 years we've worn jeans and the other things mentioned above but now suddenly my boss thinks we need to dress up? it's ridiculous! seriously!

stupid work problem #2: the next week, we were told that our retread shop was going to be torn out. up until last friday, we recapped all of our tires using Bandag rubber. which means nothing to you guys, i know. well NOW we will be using michelin rubber. which meant that every piece of equipment we used had to be torn out and replaced with michelin equipment. also, this meant that every product code that i bill will no longer exist and i will be learning a whole new system for billing and all new codes. i'm NOT looking forward to this. our retread shop won't be put back together until some time around september so all of the guys that worked in that department have to spend the next 4 months working at a michelin retread shop in grand rapids, mi, monday-friday for FOUR months. that's their entire summer. the entire summer that their children are playing little league baseball or playing soccer or doing whatever it is they do in the summer... so they're going to miss all of that.

which leads me to stupid work problem #3: because of the retread shop being shut down until september, my boss decided to use this opportunity to lay off christine (the other office girl). there was no reason to lay her off... we won't be any less busy in the office than we were before, but he's wanted to get rid of her for a long time... so this was his golden opportunity! but i digress... my problem with christine being laid off is this, she's basically going to get a paid summer vacation. and i'm not really sure how that's fair... anyone else feel me on this? we were working 4 days a week, so now she'll be collecting unemployment, which will pay her for 5 days and therefore she'll be making more all summer long while she's laying out, camping, whatever it is she decides to do, than she would be if she was working here. so while she gets to do all that, i have to go back to working fridays again, do a job that has always been done by TWO people and not get paid any more than i am now.

it's SOOO frustrating, and maybe i should just shut up, stop complaining and be thankful that i have a job right now, but at this point it's just not that easy for me. don't get me wrong, i don't want to get laid off... i would lose all my vacation time for the year and i wouldn't have any health insurance. but i also don't want to be here all summer long working my butt off all the while knowing that the person who's work i'm doing is most likely laying out by a pool. so i'm going to have a little temper tantrum right now.... IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

okay, i thought maybe i would feel better about it all after venting on here but no, i sure don't. but thanks for listening to my complaining :) lol. and sorry that this turned in to such a long venting blog post!

one thousand one shmousand

i'm only FIVE visits away from my 1000th visitor! what an exciting moment in bloggypants history!

so, everyone leave a comment so maybe i can know WHO the 1000th visitor is!!!!

and maybe some time i'll finally have something fun to blog about again! sorry to have deserted all of my 5 loyal followers! lol

diet day 3

i swear this diet was created by lucifer to punish those of us that love food.

yesterday i got to eat a big baked potato and it was DELICIOUS. i've never enjoyed a baked pot as much as i did last night lol! i also had some green giant cauliflower. i must confess that it comes with cheese on it and cheese is not a part of this diet, but the entire bag of this stuff was only 270 calories and i'm fairly certain that i had only had about 9 calories all day. lol. AND i ran! so that's even better. i thought i was going to pass out from being so malnourished (lol) but i made it and i felt better for running.

i weighed myself when i got home from work last night and i had lost 2lbs. since monday night so that definitely made me happy! we'll see if it stays gone or if i lose any more!

all i've done the whole 2.5 days i've been on this diet is think about keri's lasagna LOL! i want it right now so badly i can actually taste it and smell it! so she told me if i make it through this diet (or hell week as i like to call it) she'll make me my very own lasagna!!!! i'm pretty darn excited about that!

i can't wait for lunch because i'm so hungry. i've eaten a little bit of watermelon so far today. that's it. although, i know that lunch is going to involve the soup and i'm DREADING that. i don't want to ever see, smell or taste the soup again... EVER! but if i want lasagna i can't really avoid the soup! so, tune in tomorrow to see how the rest of my day goes today!!

day two

well it's my second day of the soup diet. i'm not gonna lie, i'm over it already. the only thing getting me through today is knowing that when i get home from yoga i get to have a big fat baked potato with butter on it. i had baby carrots for breakfast and i'm having cucumbers and the dreaded soup for lunch!

for breakfast yesterday, i had a little bit of soup and some watermelon. two small bowls of soup for lunch and then 12 strawberries and 2 bowls of soup for dinner! i had a pounding headache all day and i'm not sure if it was from the diet or from the vinegar smell i had to deal with all day because someone decided to clean our whole office in it?!?! YUCK. but on a sidenote (and angie, i know you'll understand why this matters to me so much), the cleaning guy is going to start coming in the mornings when we aren't here so we won't have a vaccuum in our ear or windex in our nostrils! YAY!!!! big time!

ANYWHO, back to the diet! so far i just feel like i'm starving. i don't have any more energy than normal and my clothes don't feel like they fit me any better! it has only been ONE day though LOL! so we'll see how the rest of the week goes!

sacred heart soup diet

i found this diet on heather's calorie blog. i'm going to give it a try because i'm SICK and TIRED of being a fat disgusting cow! i'm not 100% sure how i'm going to do the days that you have to eat beef since i'm a vegetarian... but hopefully i'll figure something out! i'll keep you updated on my progress!

Sacred Heart Soup

2 cans of Diced Tomatoes
3 plus large Onions
1 large container of beef broth (no fat)
1 pkg. Lipton Soup mix (chicken noodle)
1 bunch of celery
2 cans green beans
2 lbs. Carrots
2 Green Peppers

Season with salt, pepper curry, parsley, if desired, or bouillon, hot or Worcestershire sauce. Cut veggies in small to medium pieces. Cover with water. Boil fast for 10 minutes. Reduce to simmer and continue to cook until veggies are tender.

This soup can be eaten anytime you are hungry during the week. Eat as much as you want, whenever you want. This soup will not add calories. The more you eat, the more you will lose.

I have done this diet and it works for the quick fix of losing 10lbs! I used frozen green beans instead. If you want to do the diet read below!

This 7-day eating plan can be used as often as you like. If correctly followed, it will clean out your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well-being. After only 7 days of this process, you will begin to feel lighter by at least 10 pounds and experience an abundance of energy.

DRINKS:
Unsweetened juices
Tea (also herbal)
Coffee
Cranberry juice
Skim milk
Water, water, water

DAY ONE
Any fruit (except bananas). Cantaloupes and watermelon are lower in calories than most other fruits. Eat only soup and fruit today.

DAY TWO
All vegetables. Eat until you are stuffed with fresh raw, cooked or canned veggies. Try to eat green leafy veggies and stay away from dry beans, peas or corn. Eat veggies along with the soup. At dinnertime tonight reward yourself with a big baked potato and butter. Don't eat any fruits through today.

DAY THREE
Eat all the soup, fruit and veggies you want. Do not have a baked potato. If you have eaten as above for three days and not cheated, you should find that you have lost 5-7 pounds.

DAY FOUR
Bananas and skim milk: Eat at least 3 bananas and drink as much milk as you can today, along with the soup. Bananas are high in calories and carbohydrates, as is the milk but on this particular day, your body will need the potassium and carbs. Proteins and calcium to lessen the cravings for sweets.

DAY FIVE
Beef and tomatoes: you may have 10 to 20 ounces of beef and a can of tomatoes, or as many as 6 tomatoes on this day. Eat the soup at least once today.

DAY SIX
Beef and veggies, eat to your heart's content of the beef and veggies today. You can even have 2-3 steaks if you like with green leafy veggies but no baked potato. Be sure to eat the soup at least once today.

DAY SEVEN
Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juice and veggies, again, be sure to stuff yourself and eat the soup. You can add cooked veggies to your rice if you wish.

By the end of the 7th day, if you have not cheated on this diet, you should have lost 10 to 17 pounds. If you have lost more than 17 pounds, stay off the diet for two days before resuming the diet again.

This diet is fast. The secret lies within the principle that you will burn more calories than you take in. It will flush your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well-being. This diet does not lend itself to drinking any alcoholic beverages at any time. Because of the fat build-up in your system. Go off the diet at least 14 hours before any intake of alcohol.

Due to the variety of digestive systems in individuals, this diet will affect everyone differently. After day three, you will have more energy than when you began, if you do not cheat. After being on the diet for several days, you will find that your bowel movements have changed. Eat a cup of bran or fiber. Although you can have black coffee with this diet, you may find that you don't need caffeine after the third day.

The basic fat burning soup can be eaten anytime you feel hungry during the seven days. Eat as much as you wish. Remember the more you eat, the more you will lose. You can eat broiled, boiled or baked chicken instead of the beef. Absolutely no skin on the chicken. If you prefer, you can substitute broiled fish for the beef on only one of the beef days. You need the high protein in the beef for the other days.

Continue on the diet as long as you wish and feel the difference both mentally and physically.

DO NOT - DO NOT
No bread, alcohol, carbonated drinks (including diet drinks). Remember, absolutely no fried foods.

DO - DO - DO - DO
Drink plenty - at least 6 to 8 glasses - of water a day, as well as any combination of the following beverages: black coffee, unsweetened fruit drinks, cranberry juice and skim milk.

nice to meet you

friends from michigan, who live in florida now were back in schoolcraft over the weekend to see family and introduce their new beautiful baby to everyone!

this is addison grace. and that's her mom, kate, in the background. she'll kill me when she sees i didn't crop her eating out of the picture. i guess it's payback for all the torture i received from her as a child! i imagine that's what i looked like when i sat for hours with applesauce in my mouth that she force fed me and told me i couldn't get up without eating! HA! i hate applesauce to this day!

addison is one of the happiest babies i've ever met. she was passed around all day long to people she had never met before and i never heard her cry. i was amazed! lol!

don't you want to just squeeze those cheeks like crazy? because i do!

that's elie's (one of my bff's from schoolcraft) mom and dad! addison was asleep about 3.6 seconds after this picture was taken!!!!

ahhhhh, scott parker! lol. he was my brother's best friend, and i'm pretty sure the love of my life! HA! all of my friends were in love with him! that's his little girl he's holding! she was as precious as can be!

it was soooo good to be back in schoolcraft and see people i hadn't seen in YEARS! i missed them as soon as we left!! and it was not easy leaving addison! i could have played with her all night long.

the 'craft

last saturday my parents and i went to michigan! but not just michigan, back to schoolcraft, back to my hometown! i go to michigan every year, we have a cottage about 5 hours from here... but last saturday was the first time i'd been back to schoolcraft since i graduated high school and maybe only a time or two before that since we moved! i was ridiculous with excitment!!!

the neighborhood looked so different but yet exactly like i remembered it!

that's dairy isle. that was THE place to be for ice cream in the summer! we rode our bikes up there all the time! it looks like it's no longer open, and there's not even a sign that says what the darn place is called, but the sign out front actually says they were taking applications that day! i thought about applying... but that would be a long commute from indiana!

this was my house! i LOVED this house... L-O-V-E, LOVED! if i could pick it up and move it i would in a heartbeat! i cried when i saw it. it used to be a light blue color, and the front yard had trees in it! it looked so different! there was also a shed in the back but it's gone now. behind that shed, my friend, elie, and her brother, josh, and i buried a time capsule! i wish the shed had been there so i could have dug up the capsule. but alas, without the shed i wouldn't have the slightest clue where to begin digging!

i really hope this picture turns out and you can see what it says! it's the end of the driveway of our old house... it's mine and my brother's handprints. they were done in 1986 and i was only 4-years-old. this was what started the tears. i was certain they wouldn't still be there after all this time but there they were!

the top picture is where my dad added on to the driveway so that my brother would have a little basketball court! there was never room for him to play b-ball in the driveway with my friends and i always controlling it with 4-square and hopscotch :)

the second picture is the corner of the b-ball "court" where my dad put our last name and the date! that ALSO made me cry! LOL!!! we moved in may of 1994, so that wasn't even there a year!

there used to be a big oak tree close to this small tree. when i was learning to ride my bike, kate (the reason for the visit to schoolcraft in the first place...but that's for the next blog post!) was "teaching" me how to ride. we would start out up close to her house and she would push me through the yard... right straight in to this tree and the big oak tree! OR, right in to the road. then, my mom, from our living room window, having witnessed the whole traumatic event, would scream at her out the window to stop throwing me in front of the "traffic" (or the five cars that drove down the road a day lol)! ahhhh memories! lol

these two houses were my home's away from home! the first was my friend elie's and the second was my friend bridget's (also the house i was at on saturday). the three of us could always be found together at one of our homes!!!


this was the neighborhood pool. actually it beloned to the wood's but we were ALWAYS in it! i have so many memories of swimming in that pool. and it's where i LEARNED to swim! it looked a lot nicer when i was younger and before those selfish wood's moved! LOL!!!

i had the BEST time saturday in schoolcraft, and it made me sad that we ever moved in the first place. i miss those people and every time we get to see them, i miss them even more!