Tuesday Tips

Spring is here! Which means that our Spring Organization Sale is going on! Today I'm thinking along the lines of recycling. Now that NY accepts water bottles, aka poland spring, for 5 cents, there's more to take to the bottle returns.

Here are the options that the store has for recycling RECYCLE! But I'll tell you all about my favorite one.

This is a Simplehuman 13 gallon trash/recycle bin. It's slim and can really fit into most spaces and looks great! It has two bins. The black side is a 8 gallon section and the blue side is a gallon section. This allows you to switch it up any way you want. Use one side for bottles, the other for cans. Use one side for trash and the other for recyclables. Use one side for food trash, the other for paper. It has a lid lock so when you're pulling the bags out the lid doesn't keep falling down and slamming your hand. I love that feature. I absolutely hate when I'm yanking on the bag and the damn lid keeps closing on me. It also is a soft closing lid, which means when you step off of the pedal, it slowly closes without making an awful loud bang. Another feature, it has a bag clip inside to hide the excess bag. It's a stainless steel can, and it has the fingerprint proof design. It doesn't keep all of the fingerprints off, but it is a lot better than most stainless steel cans. Lastly, it's on sale for $129.00 regularly priced at $179.00.

A few other things to mention...right now there is a promotion going on that if you leave comments (good or bad) on any products that you have used/own you'll be entered to win a $500 gift card! So say a few things and bam you're entered. Quick, easy and helpful.

Another promotion is that you can enter to win a $1,000 dorm room make over, so if you have anyone going to college, it's a great opportunity. And speaking of college, you can sign up to get an exclusive invite to college night sale. It's only open to those that get an invite and the whole store is practically 30% off. It's a crazy night, but one of my favorite events. The best part is that you don't have to be in college to go. A lot of parents take advantage of it. We usually have them in July and August, right before college starts.

Seems to be all for today!

Anticipation

I can't hold it in any longer. I'm bursting at the seems. This weekend is opening weekend for the Yankees and really baseball in general. I get out at 10:30AM on Thursday starting my long weekend. Chancho gets out around 2pm on Thursday and doesn't have to be back to work until Tues. (same as me).
Saturday we'll be spending the day at my Uncle's house in CT celebrating Easter. This will be the first Easter that I am home for since 4 years ago. I had spent the last 4 Easters up at school with my roommate who graciously adopted me into her family for Easter dinner and some Easter egg coloring. What's great about this year, is that we'll be spending it with my entire family, which means that my sister, her husband, my brother and his wife will all be attending. The rumor going around is that there's going to be an Easter egg hunt, with cash in the eggs and a surprise gift to the one who wins the most eggs. I have a feeling this may get dangerous, the youngest one participating in the hunt is 19, and we're all competitive...imagine for yourself the 10 of us racing around a backyard searching for eggs, pushing and yanking on one another. Should be a good time.

Then...Sunday early, and I mean around 5am, Chancho and I make the trek to Boston. I really want to go to the Aquarium. My sister said it was something I couldn't pass up. I'm not really sure what else to do there, but something will probably come up. Sunday should be a cloudy 68* and go down to 48* for game time. Monday will most likely be rain, but if we're going to the aquarium, then that will be fine. We'll just need to find something to do outside on Sunday. I've got my outfit all picked out and I'm slowly pumping myself up. I'm not gonna lie, I am really nervous about the fans and all the heckling, but after talking with a bunch of people who have been to Fenway, they said that Philly fans are definitely worse. I've been to Philly sooooo I think I'll be able to handle em! Bring it on! I'll throw back a few beers and try to enjoy myself.

It'll be a great way to enter April. Half way through the month I should have one of my roommates visiting me. I haven't seen her since May and I miss our daily lunches so we'll be going out for lunch and probably sight seeing around the city. She's an organization addict which means I'll be showing her the Container Store. She'll probably wind up having to buy another suit case to take back all the things she buys!

I wish this rain would go away already! But it's making me in the mood to organize, so I'm off to do that.

Listening to: "Will You Be There" by Michael Jackson

They Come in 3's

KD over at Life While Handcuffed to a Lawman tagged me to list three joys, fears, goals and obsessions. As of this moment the three joys that I have are:
1. Knowing that summer is right around the corner
2. This weekend will be opening weekend of the Yankees
3. The Ice cream that is waiting for me in the freezer

Moving on to fears....
1. I will be attacked in Boston
2. I will not be able to find a "real" job soon
3. My dad won't be around to walk me down the aisle

I have tons of goals, but three that stick out are
1. Get a job by December
2. Purchase a car!
3. Finish decorating my room by the end of summer! (It will happen!)

By now, you should know that I am ridiculously obsessed with
1. The YANKEES :)
2. Taking pictures
and one you may not know
3. Any type of wedding show

There you have it. That was pretty fun. Feel free to share your three items!

Listening to: "Please Forgive Me" by David Gray
Quote of the Day: "Worry is a virus and after you give in to it you can lose sleep and overall quality of life."

What's In A Word?

It's just as the title says What's In A Word? Fascinating stories of more than 350 everyday words and phrases. If you've ever questioned where a word came from, Webb Garrison has conveniently structured this book into chapters of different types of words. Garrison provides you with background knowledge of each of the words and a brief example.
It is in the form of a dictionary, making it easy for you to look up a word or phrase with the flip of a couple of pages. It's a great book to have on the coffee table, or beside the toilet for easy reading or a conversation starter. Garrison makes it easy to enjoy, with adding in a few witty comments, keeping it a fun read.
Pick it up and start learning about where words and phrases such as wedlock, floppies and in the groove originated from.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Slacking

I know, I know, I've been slacking big time. So here is a quick summary of how things have been going.

Thursday: 
Chancho took his domestic violence class and is now an official domestic violence officer with a cool certification. It should be arriving in the mail within a few weeks. I'm looking to frame it. He thinks it's just a piece of paper. It was a full day crash course where a bunch of different officers and psychologists spoke to the group and at the end they were certified.

Friday:
We took another trip to Woodbury Commons. And get this, I didn't buy one thing! Chancho needed to buy a camcorder, camera and laptop for his dad so we took the trip. I was inches from buying a TV, but resisted. It was a 26" for $300. That's the biggest size that will fit in my parents TV media center and I've been dying to get them a larger TV. I have to squint to watch any shows. It's definitely time for an upgrade.

Chancho also found out that his father will be getting married in a few weeks! He's flying to Peru to marry his fiance, who happens to be from Brazil. It's a long complicated/crazy story, but we're just saying Congratulations! Unfortunately, Chancho can't take off from work to be in the wedding so he'll just have to hear about it when they get back.

Saturday:
A full day was spent in New Jersey. After I worked, we hopped in the car and headed to my sister's for the UFC 111 fight. However, I needed to stop in at the Crate and Barrel Outlet. After much searching and debating and a little convincing, I got a bed! It's a queen sized platform bed. It's a medium color wood. We loaded it up into Chancho's car and it now sits in the living room. The best part is that it was $899 and I got it for $289! Thanks to my sister's discount and the sale price! It really was a deal that I couldn't walk away from. I need to get a mattress now. Hopefully that will be bought soon.
Being content with a great buy, we headed back to my sisters for the fight. They had it catered by Stop and Shop. I had my first Pot Sticker and I have fallen in love with it. It's like a dumpling, I guess. I would have eaten all of them off of the platter if I didn't have any control. They had sandwiches, wraps, fruit, great dessert and plenty of hand foods. It was a great night, especially just being able to hang out with family. My brother in law, sister in law, and brother were all there. My brother brought his dogs, which played with Leela. So there were about 13 people there and 3 dogs, plenty of food and a good fight going on. It ended around 1am and then we headed home. I was exhausted. I didn't get to sleep until 3am, but it was so worth it.

We'll be heading back there again soon to have dinner or lunch with my sister and brother in law at Harold's. Chancho still has not been there yet. It's a must.

Then today, I was at work all day. It took every little bit of strength to get me there though. After falling asleep at 3am and having to be up at 7am for work, it was a rough start. Plus, today is the last day of the Office Sale, it was very busy. I am ready to just relax. So that is exactly what I'm going to do.

Hope everyone's weekend went well! :)

Listening to: "Open Arms" by Journey

Quote of the Day:  "I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life’s realities." - Dr. Seuss

Tuesday Tips

Another Tuesday has crept up on me. The Container Store is coming up on the last week of the Work Smart Office Sale. So this will be my last office sale item that I'll be tipping about. I've picked out bulletin boards. After speaking with my mother about why our dining room table is always and I mean always cluttered, she explained that if she doesn't see the items out in front of her she won't remember them. My solution to her problem is getting a bulletin board. It is up off of the table and using the wall space. She has a corner of the room that is hers so she can put it up there. All of her important papers can be pinned up for her to see. Then there won't be any of that "Have you seen that small purple post-it note? It had green pen writing on it?" or "I can't find that white piece of paper anywhere!" I'm telling you if you have a spot for everything, you are less likely to misplace it. Unless of course you have a bad habit of not putting things back after you're done using them. But if you don't have a place for it in the first place, that is just asking for trouble. 

So here are the bulletin boards of choice:

There are three different styles, Square, Rectangle, and Strip. All three come in either Steel or Bronze. However, only the Steel is on sale. The Square is 14.99. The Rectangle is 27.99 and the Strip one is 11.99. The awesome thing about this product is that they are both a bulletin board and magnetic. So say you have something that you don't want to pierce with a push pin, just use the magnetic to hold it up. The Rectangle one comes with 12 magnets and 12 push pins. The Square comes with 6 of each. The three different sizes give you the flexibility to put them in any area that fits you best.

There are other bulletin boards available as well. Some are on sale, others are just cool. Remember March 28th, is the LAST day of the sale. But fear not, the next day we start the Summer Organization Sale! I'm not sure if that's the official name for it yet, but random items around the store will be on sale.

Happy Organizing!

What a poopie day

Remember how I had thought that it was going to be an okay day? I was wrong. It only got worse from 9am on. Buster woke up at 9 and was in a cheerful mood. The dog on the other hand decided it would be terrific to follow me back inside after being put out to use the potty. She had diarrhea and let it flow all over the living room carpet! It was squirting out as she walked from the living room and on in to the dining room. I did one of those "What are you doing?! Oh crap! Crap! Crap! Stoppppp!" type scenarios with my arms raised and flailing about thinking that would stop her from, what she obviously could not control. I was out of my mind. I mean, how do you stop an ill/handicapped dog from releasing herself? Of course she went to go lay back down for the rest of the day after that incident, but left me with a huge mess to clean. They had run out of paper towels so I couldn't clean it with that and I wasn't sure where to find the dog towels, so there I stood with the spot remover just spraying like crazy. My gag reflex was being tested good today. I had to walk away a few times to take a breather and recoup. Thank goodness Buster was down for his nap at this time, otherwise, who knows what I would have done.

Then it was Buster's time. His diaper exploded. And I mean exploded. He did his usually poop face and I just figured, quick and easy change and back to playing. Nope. It couldn't be that easy. He too, had diarrhea and it squished out of his diaper and all over. It covered his back and coated his onesie. It was another huge mess. I managed to get him all cleaned up and ready to go. It happened 2 more times...

If I have to see any more poop...

In the middle of all of that, I received a text from Chancho saying that an officer was shot today. 3 times in the stomach. He responded to an EDP who locked himself inside his house and then let loose firing his gun. As of now, he's in critical condition. Chancho, thankfully, has not been sent out, yet, like many other officers. My thoughts are prayers are with all officers and their families tonight. Please stay safe out there!

Not even 9am

It's Monday, first of all and second of all the sun has vanished. In rolled low hanging fog. I'm here watching Buster all day. The one good thing is that he is still sleeping! However, the dog has lost all use of her back legs making it very difficult for her to manuver about the apartment, especially when it comes to using the bathroom. I feel so bad for her. I want to put those wheels on her hindlegs so she'll have the ability to move around again. Since the sun has decided to not show up today, there goes my great idea of taking Buster out to the park down the street to entertain him for the day. Now, I'll be stuck inside figuring out what to do with him. I'll be here twice this week. It would be really great if I could take him out to a playground on Wed. So let's cross our fingers that the sun comes back.


This weekend coming up, I'll be taking a trip to NJ to visit my sister for fight night. She's a huge UFC fan and always throws a party on big fight nights. Chancho's going to join me, we'll be stopping in at the Crate and Barrel Outlet store first. I am still on that mission to find a great bed. Luckily, my sister works at Crate and Barrel so I'll be able to find some outstanding deals. I may even have to stop in at the NJ Container Store, just to see what it looks like. I've heard some cool things about it and it is literally 3 stores away from the Crate and Barrel Outlet. How can I not just mosey on in?
OH and here's an exciting insider tip: The Container Store is going to be starting up a Gift Registry soon!

Enjoy your day! Hope the sun is shining by you!

Quote of the Day: “When we have ‘second thoughts’ about something, our first thoughts don’t seem like thoughts at all―just feelings.” - Sydney J. Harris

Welcome Spring

The weather has kept me from posting. It has been absolutely gorgeous out! This is the weather that I have been dreaming of as the snow was falling and the temperature wouldn't get past 29*. It got up into the 70s today! Hallelujah! My toe nails are painted and ready for the flip flops. I have been working every day since it's been sunny, but at least I'm out in time to enjoy a few hours of sunlight.
It seems as though Chancho will be switching his days off back to Sunday and Mondays. I'm still undecided about how I feel towards this. I had just gotten used to having Chancho around on the weekends, but isn't that how it always goes? Once you're used to one thing, they go and switch it up on ya. At least on Sundays and Mondays no one is around because their weekends are over with so there aren't big lines, however it doesn't mesh well with family functions. I think we've attended at least 5 family gatherings in the past couple of months; I suppose he has given his fair share of time for the year. He has taken up a lot of OT and Paid Detail this month and has worked at the deli, but at least he tries his best to match it up with my work schedule. It hasn't been matching all that well this week, but that's why I have friends to keep me company.

On another note, the weather has got me craving my 35mm. I'll have to bring it out and go out shooting some pictures soon. I don't have a day off until next Friday so it'll have to wait til then. Chancho and I have also decided that it's time to bring out the bikes again. We may even start Geocaching again, once we get a better GPS. I just love the warm weather, it opens up so many options for things to do.


Listening to: "If You Only Knew" by Shinedown

Quote of the Day: "Unless your heart, your soul, and your whole being are behind every decision you make, the words from your mouth will be empty, and each action will be meaningless. Truth and confidence are the roots of happiness."

She's sorry

Mother nature made it up to us today. She wanted to take back that awful storm she threw at us and made the sun shine alllllll day today. I think I may have even gotten a tan while I was out. I dropped my mother off at the train station this morning and headed back to sleep. Around 10:45AM I heard the distinct BEEP of my computer telling me that the power source had been removed. Which only meant one thing, the power was out.

When I finally decided to get up, since I couldn't sleep knowing that the power was out, I showered, then realized I couldn't blow dry my hair. Out I went with wet hair and spent the morning shopping. I got a phone call from two friends and met up with them. I brought the Bailey's and they brought the beach chairs. We sat out in the sun all day in a driveway. It was gorgeous. I was sweating in the direct sunlight, but it sure felt good after having rain for the past week. The birds were out, there was a slight breeze and I was able to wear flip flops! Hallelujah! I think I can say that spring is finally creeping up on us. The forecast calls for some warmer weather. 64* on Thursday!! Oh I seriously can't wait for this warm weather.

These are blooming in my front yard!

Power came on this evening just as the sun was setting.
Thank you Mother Nature for a beautiful day. You're forgiven for your nasty storm.

Listening to: "Come On Get Higher" by Matt Nathanson
Quote of the Day: "Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others." -Audrey Hepburn

Tuesday Tips

Here's another tip. I was working on Monday at the register when a woman came up with a shopping cart full of these clear storage cases. The nosey person that I am, started asking her what she was going to be using them for. She started to share slowly. She said that she had a lot of clutter with being a mom of 3 and these helped her organize her piles. I continued to push her for some more info and she finally told me that her exact use of these cases were for her daughters American Girl doll clothes. I thought to myself that is a great idea! I have all of my unused American Girl doll clothes packed away in a cardboard box. If I were to move them into this container, they would be safe from any bugs and moisture, plus, I would be able to see right away where they were.
 (image from containerstore.com)

She continued to share with me that she uses the different sizes (there are 3, small, medium and large) for accessories, shoes, and clothes. The perfect thing about them is that they stack! She says that they fit nicely inside the playroom closet and her daughter can see which outfits are where.

So there you have it. Use these cases to store away anything that you can jam into them! They're the perfect size for magazines, sweaters, coloring books, crayons, markers, stuffed animals, or anything else.

Mother Nature is Pissed

We've had some pretty exceptionally crazy weather in the past 24 hours. I'm almost certain it was as close to a hurricane as New York would like us to have. I worked until 12pm on Saturday and then headed to Ikea. I felt like I was cheating on The Container Store. I refused to buy anything that was similar to what we sell. While we were inside the ginormous building ooing and ahhing at all the neat stuff there was a black out. We were standing in the candle section when it went completely dark. My first thought was "I can't see. I can't see anything!" I quickly went for my phone to make some form of light and noticed I didn't have any service, and then the generator kicked on. It was amazingly quiet though. No one screamed, no one dropped anything. I was expecting panic, but nothing like that. It was as though nothing happened and people went on their shopping ways. My mother had had enough. She wanted out of there so we quickly got to our car through a dark parking garage, I guess the generator didn't work that far. The street lights were out so chaos ensued on the streets. It was pouring out and the wind was ridiculous. We were driving in a Honda CR-V so it was swaying a bit. Once we found our route back home, it was nail biting the entire way home. There were a few instances where trees had fallen onto the highway into 2 lanes of oncoming traffic. We made it home fine, only to find an entire neighborhood without power, three roads blocked off because of down wires and trees and a tree had fallen in front of our driveway almost making it impossible to get into it.

This morning as I was traveling to work I saw all the damage. Tree limbs everywhere, garbage littered the streets and trees and power lines down galore. My neighbor lost 2 HUGE pine trees. They tore up their driveway, but thankfully fell down the hill away from any houses or cars. A few feet down the street, a white Honda didn't have the same luck.  Another pine tree fell and just smushed it to the ground, while taking out half of a house. A Maple tree landed on the front porch of another house up the road from me, completely destroying it. The Stop & Shop across from work had some major damage to the building, it looked as though the roof collapsed.

Now that the sun has set, the entire neighborhood starting two houses up the street is without power. For some reason, we do. Thank the lord! I hope it stops raining soon otherwise I'll be swimming to get the folboat out of the barn so I can paddle my way to work.

Listening to:"Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba
Quote of the Day: "There are a lot of things about me that aren't what you thought. But if you love me, you have to love all things about me." -Dirty Dancing

Attached at the hip

"Do you guys go everywhere together?"

That's how Chancho and I were greeted as we walked into the dentist office this morning. I giggled and muttered under my breath, what's it matter to you? Chancho took one glance at my face and then responded with, "No, just here." The receptionist, then tried to redeem herself by saying, "Oh, well it's so cute."
Yeah, okay lady. I took my designated seat in the waiting room and grabbed an OK! magazine and flipped through the pages as Rachel Rae was mixing together something orange in a metal bowl. I dwelled some more on the receptionists comment,trying to put it out of my mind. I'm not sure why it bothered me so much. It is true, we do always go to the dentist together, but it started out because of Chancho's first visit. He was nervous that he wasn't going to be able to drive afterward so he asked me to come. Then his next appointment was early in the morning so I went with him so we could leave straight from there to do our daily errands. Then it just became a routine for me to go with him rather than us wasting time in having to wait for his appointment to be over with, there wouldn't be an extra driving if I just went with him.

When Chancho's appointment was over with, which took approximately 3.4 seconds. Since when do appointments only last that long?? I couldn't even finish reading about the Jason and Molly wedding on page 12. He had to pull the magazine out of my hands so we could leave. Chancho mentioned again the comment that the receptionist made when we first arrived. I loved his response, "She just doesn't understand that we never get to see one another and we take advantage of the time that we do have to spend with one another." It satisfied me and I was able to put it out of my mind. He was able to sum up what I had wanted to respond to her comment with.

We picked up his car from his mother, traveled to the bank, and then he dropped me off at home. We got to spend an hour together. That's the only time I would get to see him today, he's working on his day off. So yes, if we're attached at the hip for the dentist appointment so be it, at least I get to see my boyfriend for an hour out of the week.

Listening to: "It's America" by Rodney Atkins

Quote of the Day: "Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at it's destination, full of hope." - Maya Angelou

Tuesday Tips

Right now at the always cheerful, Container Store, there is the Work Smart Office Sale going on. Catchy name huh? I always stumble when I say it. Anyways, I've picked out an item that I thought would benefit most of my readers. I know that the majority of you have kids in school. So here is something to help organize school work. If your family has a desk, tiny table, a place that is wide enough for it, it would work out great. Let me share....

(Images from containerstore.com)

Now here is the idea. Place these Silver Mesh Letter Trays, as they stack as high as you want on your desk or what have you and then label them each for Mom, Dad, Kid #1, Kid #2 and so on. You can label them with the handy dandy Magnetic Labels. They're erasable so you can write whatever you need to write on them. But they just cling to the letter tray since they're magnetic. Awesome!

The cool part about this is now you have a spot for when your kids have papers that you need to see from their teachers, such as permission slips, notes, report cards, tests, etc. They can place it in the designated slot and once you've looked it over you can put it back into theirs. No confusion. It helps make things a little bit more easier.

For those of you without kids or kids not yet at the school age, use it to organize your desk. Get those papers up off of your desk to give yourself room to write. Remove the clutter! It is part of the Mesh line, so there are many different items that are also in the silver mesh to make it coordinate! I love when things match. It makes me smile.

All Things Coach

I spent yesterday at the outlet mall. Woodbury Commons is the closest to us here (half hour away). I ventured over to the Coach Outlet. I was in absolute heaven. There was a bit of a line. Actually it was the only store that had a line and someone directing the growing crowd. Once inside it was frantic. There was yet another line that wrapped around the store for check out. Chancho stood on line while I shopped. I came up with these two items. Which I am absolutely in love with. I got a wristlit for when I go out and don't need a purse and I also got a purse. I couldn't resist with the prices. The original price for the wristlit was $78. I got it for $39! The original price for the purse was $328. I got it for only, wait for it.....$103! They also had a coupon that was passed around while we were waiting on line so the total amount that I paid for everything was $97!!! I should have bought more, but there will be other trips to be made. Plus, I didn't want Chancho to get grumpy.

We headed over to the Sony store after. Chancho bought a camcorder for around $219. The original price was close to $400! He needs a camera for when he goes to Peru, so this was the perfect opportunity to buy it. We were both very satisfied shoppers. It was also an absolutely beautiful day out. I think it got up to 52* and the sun was shinning the entire time. We stopped off at Red Robin for dinner. We don't get to go there very often, as there aren't any within a reasonable distance for dinner. I think we had a great day together. I was exhausted by the end of the day and passed out as Chancho played around with his new toy. I have a feeling we'll be heading back there some time soon.

Don't forget today is Sunday so check out the Postsecrets!

Listening to: "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Jason Castro
Quote of the Day: "The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for."

ooo la la

So today I had the pleasure of seeing Chancho in his uniform. Now most of you are probably wondering why this is something out of the ordinary right? Well, for one, we don't live together so I don't get to see him right when he gets home from work, most of the time anyways, and two, he changes at work. He doesn't bring his uniform home. I am still uniform struck every time I see it, which has been probably only a hand full of times. I think I can count on two hands how many times I've seen it and we've been together for about 2 years now. The only time he brings his uniform home is when he does his Paid Detail of working for another company. Today he is working on 5th Ave across from Central Park. In his transformation from a plain clothes individual into his uniform cop look, I noticed that his vest has a pocket. I questioned him on it wondering why there would be a need for a pocket in a bullet proof vest. His answer was that it was for a metal plate for his heart. I then automatically questioned him on where it was. His response: "I forgot to get it." He's been a cop for 3 years now. How do you "forget" to get something that could essentially stop a bullet from entering your heart?! He went on to answer my shocked expression that it's expensive and he just never got around to it. In my opinion I think I would want to invest in something like that, but that's just me. I am quickly reminded of the two times that he's been shot at. The first time being his first day on the job and the second when he was pulling over a car and the woman in the passenger seat got out and just started shooting at them. I don't know about you, but I would want that extra metal plate there for the "just in case" moments.
Then I noticed his hat. It has a clear plastic pocket on the inside. I asked what that was for and he said that some people put pictures in there of their loved ones. I'm now on a mission to find a picture for him to put in there of me. Do any of your cops have pictures in their hats?
I was very close to traveling with him into the city tonight for a "ride along". NYPD forbids ride alongs so I am very interested as to his life while he's at work. Since he's working for another company, I would be able to be in the vicinity of his post, essentially spying on him while he did his work. The only thing that discouraged me from going was the fact that he's there until 11pm tonight and I have work at 7am. Plus, what was I going to do for 8 hours in Central Park? There is only so much one can do for free by themselves for 8 hours in a park. We'll have to plan better for next time. I'd love to see him in his uniform for 8 hours. Maybe that will give me a long enough fix and I won't be caught drooling over him the next time he's wearing it.

Listening to: "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train
Quote of the Day: "Don’t spend time beating on a wall, hoping to transform it into a door." - Coco Chanel

Annnnnd They're Back

Yesterday or rather two days ago now, was the start of the baseball season. Yankees are playing again. Their first game played and they won. Walk off home run making it a 6-3 win. If that is any indication as to how the regular season is going to be, sign me up for a keg party now. However today, or yesterday, (This whole midnight thing is throwing me off right now.) they lost. It wasn't a bad loss though, only 3-2. Seeing them play has definitely gotten me even more pumped up for the regular season to begin. I can't believe how close it is. April 4th. That's less than a month away! I'll be in Boston and terrified. I've heard some nasty things about those Boston fans. Yet, I think the Philly fans have topped the charts in my book. We shall see how it goes. I've never been to Boston, which is hard for me to believe, but it just never got on the list of places for me to go when I was younger so I never went. I'm excited to be going somewhere new. I'm excited that it's the season opener. I'm excited for the Yankees. I'm excited to be going with fantastic friends. I guess you could say I'm all around excited. The tickets are in our procession, as well as the hotel discount pass. I've got my outfit picked out. I'm still debating on whether or not we're bringing signs. I think I'd like to leave Boston alive and in one piece so I think we'll opt out of bringing signs this trip. We'll save it for something less controversial, say, maybe, Toronto. Toronto is on our list for this season. We also have Baltimore again. It's so close, and a beautiful ballpark that we can't not go again.
 So a warning to you all, starting the first weekend of April be prepared for a ridiculous amount of talk about Yankees. Hopefully, the majority of it all will be positive. I've already come to terms with the fact that I won't be having anymore quality time with Chancho. His focus has already left me and turned to the Yankees full time now. I told him I'd see him in November. Thank goodness we're both big fans and understand the obsession that comes with being a Yankee fan. Otherwise, I think our relationship would have been doomed.
Oh, which reminds me of a great story.
Back when we first started hanging out again, it was the Yankees that brought us together. He said he never had anyone to go to games with and I agreed. We exchanged numbers so that we would have someone to call if either one of us stumbled upon an extra ticket. Low and behold he called me up and asked if I wanted to go to Yankee Stadium to try and get tickets from scalpers. I agreed and Chancho wound up spending $100 for each of our tickets, which were located slightly off to the side of home plate and had a VIP entrance. He told me that the ticket was an early birthday present for me and not to worry about the cost of it. While we were sitting in the stadium there was a couple sitting next to us on Chancho's side. The guy kept chatting with Chancho through out the game and I was off in my own little world not noticing much about them. Come to find out down the road that the guy had asked Chancho if we were together. Chancho's response was "Not yet, but we will be by the end of the summer." It was June when we were at the game and we officially became an item in August. Funny how things work out.


Quote of the Day: "Luck is taking a chance when you have a choice…destiny is making a choice when you are given the chance."

Round 2

We're making progress. Buster and I made it through another successful day together. It was a lot better than day one. He once again was awake when I got there, allowing me to dive right into my duties. He thankfully took an hour and a half nap though. I was almost bored while he was sleeping until I remembered the mess that is in the apartment. I have noticed that since I've succumbed to The Container Store life I can't feel rest easily unless there isn't a mess around me. They live in a one bedroom apartment with very little space. So the overflowing clothing mountain of Buster's clothes is slowly taking over the living room. I decided to tackle it. In the hour and a half that I had, I was able to fold all of his clothes in the first closet. I can't believe how many clothes this child has. I'm not sure if it will stay nicely folded and organized by color and short/long sleeve, but at least for the time being I was able to be satisfied. My next task will be to organize the kitchen cupboards. As of right now they just toss things into them. There isn't any rhyme or reason to it. It's just a complete mess. Hopefully, I can fix it. I think it would save them a lot more time if there was a spot for everything and it was easily accessible. I know it would help me out a bunch.
Anyways, back to my day, I think I have mastered the concept of walking a dog and a baby at the same time. I have everything laid out for me waiting. The keys, poop bag, backpack, jackets and shoes. I just go down the line and I'm out the door before the dog is peeing on the carpet. I've also used the music channel to help keep Buster occupied and it has helped given me a work out. We dance around the living room. It really wears him down. There was very little fussing when it came to nap time. He's also a lot quieter when we sit to read books. In fact, when it came to putting him down for the night, I fed him his bottle and he passed out in the middle of it. All I had to do was scoop him up and put him into the crib. I had a good half hour left to myself until his parents came home. I was able to clean up all the toys and wash dishes for them.
Great day. I'm ready for next week.

Listening to : "Perfect Day" by Lady Antebellum
Quote of the Day: "Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man."  ~Rabindranath Tagore

Bubbles

Today was my first 12 hour day. Yep that is correct, a 12 hour day of watching Buster. He's 8 months old now and has skipped over the whole idea of crawling and has moved straight on to standing and wanting to walk.
We had an okay day.
He woke up early, which didn't give me any time to make breakfast beforehand or have breakfast by myself. He was cranky way before he was supposed to nap, but after his first nap he seemed to wake up on the right side of the bed and was very playful and happy, right up until it was time for his second nap. He fought Mr. Sandman so hard. He refused to close his eyes. Every single time they would close he would catch himself and they would pop right back open. He cried and fussed and then his father called. He heard his voice and BAM he was out like a light switch. Must have just needed a familiar voice to settle him down, I'm sure my singing wasn't doing the trick. I bet that was what was keeping him up. After his second nap we took a nice long walk, played on the balcony, and blew bubbles. Bubbles are my life savor. If a frown showed up, a tear started to fall, or a crinkle in the nose, out came the bubbles and he was smiling again. 
Today's toy of choice was this: He has a xylophone and this is the stick to hit it with. He only likes the stick.

Dinner. I'm not sure what happened. We were doing so well. I had him bathed and in his PJ's. He was still very happy and then I attempted to feed him dinner. He screamed. That boy has a set of lungs on him. I don't know if he just didn't like it or if it wasn't the right temperature or what, but he wasn't having it. I, however, wasn't going to let a 8 month old tell me no. He needed to have dinner so that's exactly what happened. Every chance I had I stuck that spoon into his mouth. He ate. He ate it all. I felt very accomplished after that.
We're still learning each other. Me, more than him, but he needs to know what can and can't be done with me and how I do certain things. I think it being the first day of 12 hours, it turned out just fine. I am exhausted though. I work at The Container Store tomorrow so I need to get to bed. Then Wed. I'm back to a 12 hour day with Buster. Round 2.

Listening to: "Fearless" by Taylor Swift
Quote of the Day: "Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future"