A Letter, By Annette

Dear Grouchy Lady that I saw in a store at the mall tonight,

You are very grouchy. Quite possibly the grouchiest lady I've seen/heard/been around for quite some time. You stood in line for mere seconds when the girl behind the counter asked if she could help you. Unfortunately for the girl, she had no idea that you were beyond help she could offer. Hell, I think even Dr. Phil would've turned and ran. You know who I think may have been able to help you? Sorry, I don't know either. Because you were that rude. And yes, I had to "butt in" as you stated, because I couldn't stand to see the girl behind the counter sobbing and crying any longer. Because noone deserves to be treated the way you treated her. And then, when I called you out on it, you turned on me! I get that you were being defensive. I get that you probably will go home and never think for a second that you were rude, pushy, argumentative, and downright mean to us. But my hope is.....that you will go home, unwind from the day, reflect on your behavior and feel just the slightest bit of guilt, knowing that you were as horrible as you were. And maybe, just maybe, the next time you feel the need for your demon to arise out of the depths of your soul, you'll remember telling the girl off, me off, the manager off and you'll make a different decision.

Because it's all about choices isn't it?

Let's hope you make a better one next time around. I know the decision I made tonight to butt in and stick up for that girl was the right one. You stupid, under-sexed, grouchy ass bitch who probably forgot to change her underwear this morning and realized it in the dressing room when you saw the brown streaks in your granny baps (big ass panties). You're probably constipated too, and most likely needed a smoke. A smoke I'm sure you had, with the windows rolled up and your kid in the back seat inhaling.

Sincerely,

Annette

So I'm lazy...

I know I know....I haven't posted in forever! Sorry!


Here's a pic of me & my friend Theresa - she's got that pregnancy glow doesn't she? She's gorgeous! This was at a wedding a couple of weeks ago. I am NOT crazy about the shirt I wore. Oh well, damage done...won't wear that again!

I had a birthday on October 10th. Turned 34. And that's where my story kind of begins...

I went for a routine cardio-echogram at my cardiologist's office a couple of weeks ago. The pulmonary arterial pressure came back a tad high, so my doctor (who is the BEST doctor in the world..at least to me he is) suggested we do a "right heart cath" procedure - in which they insert a catheter starting at my groin and leading up to my heart. There they will test the pressure and find out if there was a problem. So, I did that yesterday. Can you believe two things: 1) I am sitting here after a long day of work typing about this? and 2) I was awake for the entire procedure. Felt the catheter go in my leg and felt it in my heart. I know! I'm grossed out too! I must say, on Friday, I sorta lost it and I was very scared/nervous about the procedure. A lot of people must have been praying for me, because on the day of the procedure, I was cool as a cucumber. Went in, got delayed for about 2.5 hours and finally got back into the procedure room. Carried on a conversation with the nurses and Dr. the whole time they were testing me, and went home about 2 hours later. Went to work today. Simply amazing.

So the results given to me were that the pressure is reading a tad high,but nothing DIET can't fix. Bah. Lose weight. Bah. I already tried that, it's too slow of a process for crying out loud! But, I will continue on I suppose. I did tell my Dr. that I do work out very regularly and that I am trying to lose weight. His response, "keep doing that then". Bah.

I get a sleep study out of this though too, because I have horrible insomnia. Some nights I'll fall asleep and get up several times. Some nights I can't fall asleep for hours, only to be woken up from a very sleepless night and have to get up and go. Dr. thinks that this could be part of the pressure issue. Get the sleeping under control, blood pressure and arterial pressure might go away. Can't say I'll get many dates out of this (I'm fast forwarding here - I can envision the fact that I might need to wear a damn mask to bed), but maybe I'll be able to stop taking meds. All in good time, that sleep study isn't until the 17th.

Volleyball has started, I've got several weddings to attend and one to stand up in. A bachelorette party has been unceremoniously dumped into my lap (and lemme tell ya, I will plan the BEST bachelorette party EVARRRR for my girl!!), still working 2 jobs, going on a cruise in January, won our Fall softball division (undefeated...woot woot), both of my close friends are pregnant, I'm talking to an old friend (hi Nick) that I've been missing for a long time and I'm just trying to remain positive through it all. Busy, but I like it that way. Sorry for the non-posting, I wonder if anyone will even look at this because I'm so bad about updates? If you're out there reading, please leave a comment, just tell me you haven't given up on me yet!

Where does the time go anyway?

I really do have good intentions of getting online and posting something witty for you all to read on a consistent basis. I do! Ladies and Gentlemen, at this time I will attempt to post a blog that will entertain you on the happening things in my life. Ready? Set? Go....

I started Weight.Watchers about 3 weeks ago. I've lost every single week, so I'm up to 6.75 pounds lost. It is a small victory, to say the least. I went out to dinner with one of my dearest friends on Thursday that I rarely get to spend time with and we went to the Olive.Garden. Have you ever gone to a restaurant and asked for their nutritional guide? I got a brochure that night. My guess is that the rest of the items on their menu are so high in calories and fat, they could not bear to actually put it in print, so they just said....nah skip it. I really wanted to order something draped in a block of mozzarella cheese, but opted for...drum roll...because this is sooo exciting people......minestrone soup (on the guide, low in calories), whole wheat linguini and marinara sauce. One breadstick and two meatballs. I then proceeded to eat half of the actual dinner and box the rest up. There is only one reason I didn't eat all of it - because I knew on Saturday, I'd need to weigh in. I guess that paid off since I lost 2.75 pounds this week, but wow, what a disappointing meal. The food was good, but my brain wanted something different.

I've joined a "Fall Ball" coed softball team. So far we are 2-0! Woo Hoo!!! I have a great time with those people, and we've all played together for so long, we know each others abilities and limits. I'm so glad I have the opportunity to play.

I recruited a superstar volleyball team too. Our games start in October on Thursday nights. Last year, you may remember me crying about the fact that our team was so crappy. The thing is, noone likes to be on a losing team. So, in the hopes I don't lose any friendships, I recruited a group of women who are competitive and bloodthirsty (haha, that kinda sounds rough doesn't it) and needless to say, I've decreased our total team from 18 or so...to 8. We're all very competitive too, so I'm looking forward to our matches.

I'll check in later this week - I'm sure I'll have lots more to talk about...like my bra party...now doesn't THAT sound intriguing?!

You know you're from Port Huron if...

So the other day, I go to my fav grocery store, pop my MP3 player on (yes, I am one of "those" people - I listen to my MP3 player while shopping - who am I gonna talk to in there anyways?) and start browsing up and down the aisles, carefully considering my purchases, wondering if I should buy that candy. No, then yes, then no...then finally yes...hahaha. Diet starts again on Monday I swear! That dress isn't gonna fit!! Anyways...I'm walking down the pasta aisle, my very favorite aisle of all aisles and BAM. This is the defining moment - the one that makes you stop and wonder, what the heck is SHE thinking? Down my aisle comes another female shopper - in her bathing suit. A tankini, with a skirt. And flip flops. And her body type was as big, if not maybe a little bigger than mine. GIRLFRIEND....do you have no shame? Who told you it was okay to wear your bathing suit into the grocery store? For crying out loud! Put a shirt and shorts on, is it that hard?

Does this happen everywhere else, or am I just blessed to run into it in the Port? Do tell...

Long lost pals...

Here's a pic of me and my good friend Jeanne. We finally reconnected after a long time through email and today we had the opportunity to go to lunch together. Before we knew it, 2 hours had flown by. I have missed you so much J!!

If you have the chance to reconnect with someone from your past, don't hesitate. Life is too short to keep saying, "I'll get to it." As the Nike ads say, Just Do It!!

Weekend Update

So I worked on Friday at both jobs, started at 8am and ended my night right around 12:30AMish. Yep, I was exhausted. My legs and feet started hurting right around 7PM. I looked at my watch and thought....omg...I have another FIVE hours of this. I keep telling myself...just a little bit longer, and I'll be back down to one job. The good news is, I only have about $287 more on the carpet/tile bill that started this two job debacle. Out of $5,000 and 1 year of sacrifice, I'd say $287 ROCKS.

Saturday I was woken up way too early to go to breakfast by Mike (old friend from high school). So KT, Mike and I went to eat, I had two cups of coffee (I rarely drink coffee so this was kinda a big deal, but I HAD to clear the cobwebs out of my brain somehow!) and then KT and I went garage sale-ing. What a beautiful day to make that happen. Then I headed over to a graduation party for my friend's kid, stayed for about 20 minutes and headed over to my family reunion. I am kind of traumatized by the graduation party, I'm not sure I can even talk about it right now. What I will say is, I can't believe the relationship with this friend of mine went from what is was, to what it is now. It is amazing and sad.

So onto better things, my Family Reunion. I rarely see this side of my family, so it was nice to catch up with people that I don't normally talk to. I got to see Jen *you look fabulous girl*, Alida *she has this giggle that makes me crack up*, Julie & Megs *see Julie, I DO like you, I even mentioned you in this first-rate blog*, some other cousins and their families, aunts, uncles. I had to pleasure of talking with Great Aunt (pronounced "AW-NT") Claire and Great Uncle Jack from Wisconsin. I forgot how much I really enjoy their company. She is eccentric and sassy and wonderful. He has a witty personality. We celebrated my Great Uncle Ernie's 80th birthday, had him blow out candles too! I also ate WAY too much and I wouldn't have it any other way. After the rain subsided, we started the gigantic bonfire. We saw several rainbows (I'd like to think that the rainbows symbolized our loved ones who have passed) and reminisced and shared a lot of laughs. One thing I will mention about the bonfire - I don't think my father knows how to build a small bonfire. Multiply that mentality by about 6 other men who share the same belief and POOF, you have the largest bonfire in St. Clair County. I'm glad my older brother is part of the Fire/Rescue team and we have "connections". hahaha

So today (Sunday), I'm supposed to have a playoff softball game around 6:30pm, but since it's been raining most of the day, I wonder if that will happen. If not, KT and I will be headed over to the movie theater. For now, as soon as I finish this blog post, I'll be wrapping up in a blanket on the couch and watching TV. Because you see, I rarely get down time like this and I need to take FULL advantage of it.

TTFN~

Sure does feel good....

Tonight we had another two-game softball night and WON both of the games!! Woot woot....your girl hit the ball and got 3 RBI's (runs batted in) out of it.

I still got it *winker*