MANATEES

While watching the Mets-Marlins game this evening I was reminded of an article I read a few months ago. The Marlins have started am all-male cheerleading teams called the Manatees, real manatees are 1,200-pound mammals sometimes referred to as “sea cows,” and are not considered the most agile of creatures.The Florida Marlins were looking for guys with big bellies with the biggest jiggle, big feet with the best dance moves and enthusiasm that will rock Marlins fans out of their seats.
Its a bunch of middle aged overweight men that cheer during weekend home games. They don't get paid for it but they are supplied with a buffet before and after the games. I think the idea is a riot and wish more teams did this!

Theses are the Marlins' plus-size cheerleading squad comprised of 16 men ranging in weight from 225 to 440 pounds.

OUT LIKE A LAMB?

What did I do this past weekend?

Not much. Friday night I baked some Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies. I completely forgot that there was a Jack and Jill for a co-workers son until a friend texted me to make sure I was still going. Of course I was right in the middle of cookie baking. I only had about half hour baking time left but it was already 8:00. So now I was confused and uncertain about what to do. After a few text back and forth, I decided to stay home for a variety of reasons:

1-I was still baking

2- I'm not even sure if I had anything to wear. Being out of work the last year I gained alot of weight and right after Christmas I went through all my clothes and donated anything that didn't fit. Which turned out to be almost everything with the exception of a few pairs of sweatpants, which I live in.

3-I did have a little extra money due to me gold trade-in but I figured I didn't even know the couple so I may as well stay home and save the money. My budget is extremely tight as it is and a night out drinking is just not in the cards(nothing wrong with enjoying a nice bottle of wine at home though ha ha)

4-The friend I was planning on going with was unsure how long he was going to stay and was possibly going out after and said I should take my own car. I didn't actually mind going to the party but for an hour or two it probably wasn't worth my time to shower and try to find something appropriate to wear.

The rest of the weekend I spent just hanging out at home. There wasn't much to do so I just kinda layed low and it was a good thing since my pain level was fairly high. Saturday I was suppose to go to The Home Show at the Big E with Mom, Dad, Danni, Dave and Nevaeh. I found some coupons online for $3 off each ticket(reg $10) and printed enough for everyone. Once I woke up on Sat though I had a slight headache and my shoulder/neck were killing me but I wasn't going to cancel because I don't really spend as much time with my parents as I should. Within 10 minutes of waking I got a call from Danni and she said my Dad wasn't feeling well and they were all canceling. I was relieved to say the least!

Sunday was more of the same laziness. I did make a nice Pork Loin 5 Rib Roast in my crock pot along with Red Potatoes, Carrots, Mushrooms, Green Beans, Celery, Onion, and garlic. It was so yummy!

Today I just had a few errands to do, Post Office, Cvs, Bank etc...

and now I'm in for the rest of the night. Good thing cuz here it is the very last day of March and it's raining and snowing again!

I thought the old saying was out like a Lamb??!!

IT'S RAINING, IT'S POURING....

....THE OLD MAN IS SNORING

Ok, Now haven't we had enough of this crappy weather??!!

If it's not raining, it's snowing!

Has anyone told the Gods that it's Spring already and the snow needs to stop? Unfortunately, We're gonna have to put up with the rain for a little while longer cuz after all...

April Showers Bring May Flowers!!

GOLD TRINKETS

I was watching the news at noon today and once again saw a story about Gold prices being at an all time high. I've never been much of a jewelry wearer but I was pretty sure I had a few broken necklaces that I knew I was never going to repair and wear again. I went looking and sure enough there was two necklaces, three bracelets, and about ten charms. All were junk and I knew they held no sentimental value to me and I honestly wasn't even sure if they were all real, so I bag them up and walked across the street to a jewelry store that just happens to be conveniently located. I was curious to see what they were all worth.

Turns out they were all Gold and I was paid $300. I was thrilled! Being on a tight budget any extra money is always exciting!!

GROCERIES, LAUNDRY & WINE

Today was a busy day for me. I was feeling pretty good when I woke up this morning, only a slight headache and very little neck/shoulder pain. Days like this I try to take advantage of because they are very few and far between. I ran out to the grocery store. I didn't need much, just the basics milk, half & half, water, vitamin water(luv the stuff), paper towels, and toilet paper. Bringing it in is always the challenge for me. I live on the second floor of an apartment building and always have to lug the groceries up so I tend to shop more frequently and buy less stuff due to my injury. The biggest challenge like usual is the case of water. I try to pull it out of the trunk and get underneath it so I'm able to prop it up on the left side. I have no issues on my left side but it is my non-dominate side so it's not super strong however it has come along way since I got hurt in May 05. I obviously tend to use the left side for everything these days so I think its starting to hold its own. The only thing it doesn't seem to be good at is scrubbing stuff.

After I got all the groceries in I moved on to a few loads of laundry. Since I live in an apartment I have to use their facility but the good news is that my building has two washing machines and dryers on every floor of every building. I'm very lucky that the laundry room is only two doors down from my apartment. It's a little expensive ($1.50 wash and $1.50dry) but it beats lugging it all to a Laundromat especially since I'm unable to lift alot. While the wash was going I vacuumed and windexed everything. Phew! I got alot done for my standards lately and I was thrilled however I'm now in pain and will pay for it the rest of the night but that's OK cuz I'm finishing off my evening with a nice bottle of Red Wine... YUMMO!

OPENING DAY

Woo~Hoo It's finally Red Sox Opening Day!!
Of course my boys started the season awesomely. The game was on at 6am this morning my time because it was played in Japan. I almost forgot about it until a friend was nice enough to text me and tell me it was on. At that point I was wide awake and couldn't turn on the TV fast enough... Thank Goodness I have one in my bedroom and this didn't require me actually getting out of bed. I just love baseball and the thrill of the actual season starting is great! Now of course I've been following them through Spring Training but it's just not the same as the actual season. Everybody is looking in fairly good shape and I don't think we have as many injuries as other teams but we'll see.
I'm defiantly looking forward to another winning season!

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!

HAPPY EASTER!

Today turned out to be an excellent day!
We arrived at Mom & Dad's around 1:30, and while mom was still cooking Danni & I went out and hid all the eggs. Most of the kids hadn't arrived yet so it was perfect. It wasn't like we really hid them since there's mostly lots of field space around the house so we kinda just tossed them everywhere. The guys came out and started playing softball in the larger field. They have their own softball team so they used the opportunity of nice weather and large outdoor area to get some practice in. Looking pretty good guys! Lets go Titans!!!
The egg hunt went awesome. With over 300 eggs and just 8 kids, we didn't hear one complaint about how someone got more than them. Afterwords we had all the kids empty out their eggs so we could save all the plastic eggs for next. They all had good size piles of candy and were very excited! And then off the kids were again to play outside. We had trouble getting them all to come in for dinner.

Good Food + Great Family + Nice Weather=

EGG-CELENT EASTER!!!

My niece Nevaeh-22 months

My nephew Jonathan-9 years

Savahna-9years

OH MY HEAD

Today was a bad day and I have nothing to report. I woke up to a slight headache, which happens about four times a week. I think it may be disc related, hopefully I'll find out soon. I tried to take some Motrin and drank and ton of coffee to try to get the caffeine fix. Nothing worked. I knew I needed to bake the cake for tomorrow so I decided I would do that next before things got worse and I'm so glad I did! I ended up with the worst migraine. I tried to sleep and it just kept getting worse till finally I was very nauseated. YUCK! I slept most of the afternoon and thank god it finally subsided around seven. What was actually great was that a friend had come over and had cooked ribs he had marinated overnight and some homemade potato salad and I was starving now that I was feeling much better. Boy was the food yummo!

Here's a few pics of my Carrot Cake. It came out awesome!!

IT'S FRIDAY....

....AND I AIN'T GOT NO JOB OR SHIT TO DO!

I didn't do anything in particular today, just kinda hung out and took it easy. I think I may have overdone it a little baking the cookies yesterday since sleeping last night was extremely uncomfortable. It's not like this is anything new. I spend most nights trying to get comfortable but it seems like I can only lay in the same spot for short amounts of time and something shoulder/neck related starts to really throb. I toss and turn and barely get more than 3-4 hrs sleep in a 9-10hr span. It sucks, good thing I'm not working or I'd be really cranky all day. At least right now I can relax during the days and try to nap if I need to.

I'm kinda glad I didn't have to leave the house today since it was so windy out. It's knocked out power to many homes in the area between yesterday and today. Hopefully the winds will calm down before Sunday. How in the world will the Easter Bunny be able to hop in a huge gusts of wind?!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

Woo~Hoo It's finally the first day of Spring!!

Bring on the Warmer Weather, the Colder Drinks

and Red Sox Games!!!!

WON'T YOU WEAR YOUR SWEATER

Good Ol Mr. Rogers! I came across this little artical in an email and thought I'd share it...

MISTER ROGERS

March 20 is ''Sweater Day'' — a day to celebrate what would have been the 80th birthday of Fred Rogers, the children's television host known for his oodles of cardigans. You may decide to fish out your favorite knit Supporters are encouraged to wear a knit in his honor.

RIP MR ROGERS

CHOCOLATE CHIP DREAMS

Baking is one of my all time favorite hobbies. I enjoy baking cookies, pies, cakes and breads for my family and friends. I don't actually consume any of the products. I know all of you are laughing out there due to the enormous size of my butt, but its true. I really just like being able to take a few ingredients and put them together and make something that tastes great! Even though I'm in pain a lot I have continued to bake just not as often as I normally do. The whole process just takes longer than average trying to avoid any movement or lifting that may cause more pain or injury. Today I'm starting my baking for Easter. I told my mom I would make some Chocolate Chip Cookies and a Carrot Cake. So today I'm starting with the cookies, which at my current pain level should take the majority of the afternoon but hey what else do I have to do?!

My dream is to be able to open a small neighborhood bakery. Nothing huge and fancy just a nice homemade shop that sells Delicious treats to take home to your family. I think I would be so much happier doing this, making my own hours, being my own boss. My sister loves the idea and wants to come work with me but she's also had her own dream of a sandwich and homemade soup shop. So who knows maybe we can open some sort of small dual takeout shop. Oh to have a pipe dream, unfortunately I don't think we have enough credit to get it going but we're not gonna give up. Who knows it make take us another ten years but I'm going to do it!

SPLISH SPLASH

Today was kind of crappy weather wise. Real rainy and dreary but it didn't snow. I feel so yucky on days like these. The sun doesn't come out and everything feels so gloomy. It's a great day to stay home and do nothing more than flop on the couch to watch TV or curl up with a good book. Both of which I did today.

I'm a huge fan of crock pot cooking. So I thought on a day like this a nice homemade macaroni and cheese baked all afternoon in the slow cooker would be great. Unfortunately this required a trip to the grocery store but I grinned and bared it. I waited until it had slowed down to nothing more than a drizzle and ventured out. Drivers like usual were idiots and my all to favorite potholes were filled with water so it was even harder to tell the hole was there until it was to late and you hit it.

I have to say it's amazing how many people pick rainy days to do their grocery shopping. I'm not talking about running out to grab a few things like I had to do, these people had overflowing carts. I snicker to myself as I'm waiting in line looking out the stores giant windows because it is now pouring.

Good Luck all you silly, silly people!

REALITY CHECK

I am so hooked on Reality TV, especially any kind of game/challenge show. Why is it that I find the need to constantly watch these? Is it the ability to look at people that are usually a little unbalanced?? All the back-stabbing, fighting, quarreling, crying, and romances. I tell myself that if I was ever on one of these shows there would be no way I would act like any of them but then again who knows with all the stress of being confined to one place with a bunch of strangers for usually 30+ days would probably lead even the sanest person in the world to act like a fool! I cant help myself and tune in to every episode(I even go as far as to tape them through my DVR if I'm not home to catch it). I try to pick the winners early on but i have to say my track record is pretty poor and I never pick the right one. A few of my favorites that are currently being aired are Survivor, Big Brother, Real World vs Road Rules, Top Chef, Oprah's Big Give. I truly believe that being on one of these shows to compete for what is usually a very large cash prize is a unbelievable opportunity for most of us and some of the people that are on don't truly deserve it. Put me on one of those shows and I would kick some butt without turning into a whiny, crying, two-faced bitch!

SNOW BUNNIES

Gosh, Easter is so early this year. I read somewhere that it is the earliest we will ever see in our life. We no sooner get through with St. Patty's Day and wham it's Easter. It messes everything up, the annual St. Patty's Parade in my area has been moved to March 30 as not to interfere with religious holidays such as Palm Sunday & Easter. I just hope it turns out to be nice out, I'm a little doubtful since we are once again expecting a snow/sleet/rain thingy between 9pm tonight-3pm tomorrow afternoon. I'm so sick of snow, I mean enough is enough already!This year Easter dinner is at my Mom & Dad's house and we are planning a outdoor Easter Egg Hunt. With the number of kids in my family & extended family it should be a blast. Lets just hope that there's no snow on the ground and its not soaking wet!

POT HOLES

I am so sick of all these darn potholes. Any of you that live in New England know exactly what I'm talking about. Driving has become an even greater skill. Swerving all over like a ping-pong ball, trying not to blow your tires or damage your car. I'm not even sure whats more annoying... trying to miss the holes or constantly watching to make sure the driver next to you is paying attention and not going to swerve into you. This happens every year at this time so I don't understand why the cities/towns aren't better prepared. And I'm sorry putting a sign/cone over it or covering it with a huge barrel doesn't help the situation, it's just more obstacles in your way. I literally cringe every time I hit one preparing myself for the worst always thinking well there goes that tire. I've been pretty lucky so far and haven't had to replace any tires recently, although I was peeved the other day to find a nail in my back tire. Turns out after a trip the next day to Costco's tire dept it wasn't as bad as I thought. The nail never actually punctured the tire, it was a small one and got lodged between the grooves.

Thank Goodness, One money gobbling disaster avoided for now!

SO-CALLED BENEFITS....

Now that I've been out of work a year some things are changing and the pressures on. At the 6 month point of my leave Costco stopped paying for my Medical Insurance however if I signed up for Cobra(like I had a choice?) the would supplement half the premium each month directly to Aetna. Once you reach a year the subsides stop and you are responsible for the whole payment which is $400 monthly. Last October Costco added a new Health Care Protection Program to our benefits, which basically agrees to continue to supplement you but instead of payments to Aetna they mail them to you and then you pay Aetna. So I call the benefits dept today to get the ball rolling. The first girl I talk to has no idea what I'm talking about and says she'll look into it and call me back. When she does she states that since the program went into effect 10-1-07 and I was out of work previous to that I'm not eligible. Are you kidding me??? What a load of crap!! Of course they wont budge on the policy and now my monthly budget just got a little tighter.

Now to add insult to injury.... After I get off the phone with them UPS drops off an envelope from the benefits dept saying the Costco only approves one year leaves and no more and that I need to call the store manager and discuss my abilities. Costco does not offer light duty, well they wont create a position to suit your needs but if there's one available you can have it, so basically you have to be almost 100% in order to return and of course my particular position requires I be able to lift 50lbs above my shoulders Occasionally(which they claim is up to 2.5 hrs per 8 hr shift). Right now I can lift between 3-5 lbs but aren't able to hold or carry for any length of time. So now what??? Am I jobless???

WELCOME TO MY LIFE!

OK so I'm new to the whole blogging thing but I thought I'd give it a try. I'm not really sure if I actually have anything to say that may interest others but lets seeThe major thing going on in my life right now is my medical leave. I had Rotator Cuff surgery last June and am still experiencing pain so now they are looking at herniated discs in my neck. I've been out of work since last March and I have to say I love it. I do miss all my co-workers but don't miss having to get up everyday to work. Its not like I do anything great with my time due to the fact I'm in pain constantly but I'm perfectly happy just staying home everyday. Unfortunately being on a Disability Budget isn't much fun so in reality I'm hoping to be fixed soon as I can go make some money.

Other wise life has been good to me! Stayed tuned and lets see what else I can come up with. I enjoy talking and am asked frequently if I ever shut up... So it shouldn't be so hard for me to ramble on...