Blog Much?

Nope.

But I didn't think it had been two weeks. What can I say, my life is full of....... Well, o.k., my life isn't full. But that is neither here nor there.

I think I'll be in a better mood by midnight on Tuesday, 11/4. Check back.

Tell ALL your friends, BARACK THE VOTE!


XO, JamieSmitten

Things I Adore, Things I Abhor

Two steps forward, one step back. Why is that? Is there ever a run of good luck? I'm not asking for much, just a series of happy things in a row with a little less of the 'not too much of a good thing' spoilsport universe tipping the scale. Maybe I just need to concentrate.

Five Things I Adore:

• Friends getting jobs! Hooray for Wombat and Margaret! Hooray for Jodi's restaurant being open again!


• My mortgage going down $16 per month for the next year!


• Oh Jamie! bars. Cooling in the fridge right now for lucky, lucky co-workers


• Long walks with DFF! So much nicer to have someone answer me during walks with Boom.


• State of Play -- a British miniseries that was highly enjoyable. British actors look like real people and the story was excellent.

Five Things I Abhor:

• Cancer. Mean nasty mutant cells, prepare to be vanquished.


• $425 for one HALF tank of heating oil. Bring a sweater if you visit.


• Political commercials. Is there anybody left who hasn't picked a side? Seriously?


• Friends who move to the middle of the country. Sniff. Tulsa was not on my must see list - until now.


• Breaking mirrors. Surely, there can't be seven more years of bad luck ahead?

Tell all your single friends, traveling from realist to optimist is not an easy journey.

XO, JamieSmitten

Goodbye My Grumbly Puck

Slayer of lizard, snake, and bug. Connoisseur of carrots and ice cubes. Grumbler of the highest order. Founder of the canine cocktail hour.

I will miss you under my feet, by my side, and giving best boy stinky kisses.

Puck

199? - 2008

XO, Jamiesmitten

I Am

It must have been a long, crappy week at work, because I think the above is hysterical. I may even buy the t-shirt.

Recap:

• Started back to bootcamp on 10/1. Knee is sore, but stable. My ass hurts. I hate lunges.
• Had my picture taken today at work with the knowledge that it will be photoshopped into a picture of the Bride of Frankenstein and sent out via email to the entire department. Oh sure, I'll get a $40 gift card for being the Talk of the Town, but is that really the price of humiliation these days?
• Watched the Ex-List tonight. Had some funny moments -- the break up song was CLASSIC -- "Revenge is better than love!" -- but hard to not start thinking about my exes. And that, my friends, is a depressing thought. Rest assured, I will NOT be imitating TV and tracking them down.
• Didn't get to sleep until 3 a.m. this morning thanks to loudly partying asshat neighbors. I WILL be the cranky old bitch next time and call the cops. And your music sucks.
• Won a quarter off a gambling addict co-worker. I think of it as a life lesson for him and a small source of income for me. He has yet to make me pay up when I call the flip incorrectly, but I think I can take him if he tries as he wears a fleece vest.
• I have begun a flirtation with a GreenSingles man. He seems normal and has cows. In Maine. Don't even pretend you wouldn't come visit me on the farm. I wonder if I can get Greek yogurt there? Must inquire. Send positive thoughts -- I need some longterm man loving.
• Puppysat Zeus and Rocky. Two stuffed animals died a gruesome death across the living room floor. Boom got his hump on and has been limping slightly since. Even puppies have to pay to play it seems.
• Received a work-related email from someone who rode the same bus in ninth grade. I forced him to admit the connection, but seriously, he doesn't remember me dating his friend for a month? My name is pretty uncommon.
• Looked up that friend and found that he is a brewmaster with several restaurants in Atlanta. Sure, he was short, but maybe I should have overlooked that.
• Yogurt covered pretzels. Possibly, the highlight of the week thus far. No, maybe it was winning the quarter.
• Until tomorrow -- when I get to go to the State Fair with my niece and brother-in-law. If my niece does not wake up with the fever she had tonight. If they do come for the fair, I am definitely taking my camera. I will not be taking a picture of the pork parfait. You are welcome.

Tell all your single friends, Smitten is home on a Friday night because retreat seemed the best option.

XO, JamieSmitten

I've Been Financially Hacked!

Boom and I were enjoying our morning walk in the lovely cool sunshine, puzzling over why some dog walkers were wearing gloves and scarves when clearly, a t-shirt and sandals was the correct choice, when my phone rang.

[My NEW phone. Materialistic of me, but I love it. I've spent an absurd amount of money downloading ringtones (and accidentally, one ringback tone) and assigning pictures to my contact list. The best part? SIM card capability means that when I go to Ireland and Scotland next year (when, not if, people), I can call and tell everyone about while I'm there.]

Caller ID said an 800 number, so I ignored it and kept walking. Upon arriving home I checked the message and it was my bank requesting a call back about some charges on my credit card.

Well that's odd. Haven't used my credit card recently. I start dialing and pull up my online account.

Holy crap! Almost $20,000 from 6 charges! The nice lady at USAA confirmed that my last authorized charge was $19.88 to Netflix and not $5,000 to a company I have never heard of and set to work deleting them.

So whoever hacked my credit card attempted to make three $5,000 payments (donations?) to a religious charity in Baltimore. Like that would ever happen. Not even if it was for born again dogs. The other three charges ranging from $1300 to $2600 were to a travel agency in Finland specializing in safari adventures -- reindeer in Lappland! Again, not me. My bank doesn't know how it happened. I'm just glad they have fraud filters in place. Really glad.

Tell all your single friends, CHECK YOUR ONLINE ACCOUNT FREQUENTLY!


XO, JamieSmitten

p.s. Donated my pint of top grade A-Negative CMV- blood in 9 minutes tonight. (I rock!)
p.p.s. I'd rather give ten pints without a break than sit through any more of "bless her heart, she'll get her reward in heaven'' cliches from the satanic hockey mom on the three major networks tonight.