I am a huge jerk

Sunday Diane, Drew and I went to Target. On our way out to the car we noticed that the car to the left of Diane's had party plates. If you are not familiar with party plates, in Ohio there's a law that if you get a certain number of DUIs you have to put these yellow license plates on your car to indicate that you are a repeat DUI offender. We obviously call them party plates.

So to the left of Diane's car was a car with party plates, and all three of us were like, "Whoo-hoo! Party plates! Ha-ha!" Then I looked at the car to the right of Diane's and that one had a vanity plate that basically said "God Bless". I stopped and pointed at both cars and said, "Look-it's like you have two ends of the spectrum here on either side of your car-God and drunk!" As I was saying it, Drew started giving me a look. I knew exactly what it meant: the party plates girl was right behind us. She had followed us out of the store, and there is absolutely no way she didn't hear what I said. Literally no way. So I did the mature thing and immediately walked back into the store. Drew and Diane came in a couple seconds later laughing their asses off.

I felt really bad, and Diane was like, "She probably didn't even hear you. She was looking in her purse." Drew goes, "No she definitely heard you. But don't worry about it. She was so hammered she didn't even know what was going on." That made me laugh really hard which compounded my guilt so if you're out there, Party Plates girl, I'm sorry! If it makes you feel any better I was nursing a severe hangover which was the result of a wedding the night before where I drank my weight in vodka and stayed at a hotel instead of getting behind the wheel. Whoops-I'm even a judgmental ahole in my apologies. Seriously though, I'm sorry. Glass houses and all that.

It's a Major Award!

So the wonderful Whiskey Girl gave me an award which is a fancy way of tagging me for an Internet meme (is that the right word?), I think. But I totally appreciate it because I never win awards so I will promptly begin bragging about this.

I am supposed to tell you 10 things about me that you don't know. I'm just going to put this out there right now: I've been writing this thing for 4 and a half years, and there is not much you don't know about me. So this is just going to be a random list of 10 things. Also I'm supposed to award 10 other people and have them do this, but I am horrible and probably won't do that either. Seriously my laziness is disgusting.

1. I love the show iCarly on Nickelodeon. It's for little kids of which I have none. I have no defense for this except the show is freaking hilarious, Spencer is adorable (he's the adult on the show so I'm not creepy) and Keith and John (37 year old men) are the ones who told me to watch it because it was so good. And Keith doesn't even have any kids.

2. As you know, I suffer from migraines. In fact last night and this morning I was/am suffering from a doozy so I just want to crawl into the backseat of my car and cry. Anyway migraine pain doesn't always hurt in the same exact place so I give names to all the different pain configurations. Examples:
- The Sunglasses - all in my sinus and eye area.
- The Crown - all around my head in a circle.
- The Vice - on both sides of my head, mostly in my temples.
- The Yarmulke - the top of my head.
- The Brick Wall - the back of my head. I call it this because it feels like the back of my head is against a brick wall and someone is pushing my head into it as hard as they can.
- The Frontal Lobe - all up front but not behind my eyes.

Today's debilitating migraine features The Frontal Lobe.

3. My favorite day ever in the whole world is the Krusty's Summer Sauce Camp party to benefit the Malachi House. Well guess what, gang-it's Krusty's time again! Saturday, August 1st is the big day, and I am literally counting down the days. Clevelanders, read about the Malachi House and their amazing mission and then go to the Krusty's site and take a look at the flier to find out where to buy tickets. To my new readers, you can read about Krusty's here, here and here.

4. I am allergic to mango. You guys might already know that, but I am too lazy to go back to try and find it.

5. A couple Fridays ago John and I took a half day and went golfing and on the last hole: I BIRDIED. I mothereffing birdied! First time ever! I jumped up and down, told some weirdo feral child with a seeping open wound on his torso who decided to hang out with us on the last hole that he was my lucky charm and made John hug me.

6. I've never seen "The Godfather". I always make plans to watch it, but then I see that it's really long so I never do. Am I a communist?

7. I love, love, love Nat King Cole. His voice is unbelievable. They just don't make them like that anymore.

8. I am really good at putting on makeup, but I match my eyeshadow to my clothes. Girls know this is a big no-no in the makeup/fashion world. But I can't help it. I know that makes me the equivalent of a 13 year old putting on makeup for the first time, but seriously-it matches!! Matching is pretty!

9. Every day I think of a job I would rather be doing. Yesterday's was bartender at a swim up bar. Today's is makeup artist (because of #8). This is probably not a healthy thing to do, but neither is binge drinking and I do that all the time. That's a pretty solid argument.

10. The shirt I'm wearing at work today is so inappropriate I should probably be dancing with a totem pole on the roof of Velvet Dog right now. Which I may or may not have done multiple times in my early to mid 20's. And once last year.

Lost then found pic of the day

Last Labor Day, Steph and I tagged along on a trip Christy, Lisa, Meg and Sharda took to Virginia Beach. They went to run a half marathon. We went to get drunk and cheer them on and complain audibly about how much physical effort it took to cheer for people running a half marathon.

The first day we were there, we went to the runner registration/expo place at the convention center. After about 20 minutes, Steph and I needed alcohol to cancel out all the nutritional/energy drinks and food samples people kept giving us. We stepped outside to walk back to our hotel, and it was absolutely pouring. We saw a cab drive by, called the number on the side of the van, and the greatest cab driver in the world came and picked us up: Ken. We got in and he gave us bottles of water. Then he told us about all the cool places to go to. And when he dropped us off, he gave us a goodie bag.



















Let's first go over what the outside of the bag says:

(When you're looking to have some fun)

Play Safe.

Enjoy the contents.

(When you've had too much fun)

Stay Safe.

Thanks for taking a cab.

Ken's phone numbers.

And just a recap of the contents we were to enjoy:
- Gum
- Advil
- Pepcid Complete
- Breathsavers
- Wet Ones
- A condom

Awesome. I used all of these things except one. Guess which one. If you said "Pepcid Complete", you're...wrong. :( If you said "a condom" and then said a little prayer and then breathed a huge sigh of relief when you figured out that my sad face emoticon means that "a condom" is, in fact, the one I did not use, you're my dad.

It's a Boy!

Welcome, Grayson! We are so happy you're here!

Freaking Out

Please try and follow this chain:

My sister is Diane
Who is married to Drew
Whose brother is Paul
Who is married to Jen
Who is HAVING A BABY RIGHT THIS MINUTE!

Paul has a son named Andy who called me Aunt Sarah once which resulted in me completely losing my mind and then Jen saying, "Well I mean this baby will call you Aunt Sarah, too. You're pretty much an aunt." And then I became verklempt-because my ovaries are in overdrive and because I was like half a bottle of vodka in. So yeah basically I will have a new pseudo nephew or niece by this afternoon.

YAY!!

The Neverending Story: Steph's Life

Update on Steph's recent activities (sorry, Steph, but if you aren't going to blog about them then I have to-the world needs to know):

- She went berry picking in the city, under a bridge, at night. Incidentally this is the second time she's gone berry picking this summer. Note: we don't live in pioneer times.

- She went to a Josh Ritter concert with a friend who's a fan. After the concert she was leaning up against a wall while her friend bought a poster and stole the song list. She was approached by a man she sort of recognized, but she couldn't place him. It was Josh Ritter. She had just watched him sing on a stage for 2 hours and "couldn't place him". Somehow they ended up talking to each other in Irish accents, and then he invited her and her friend backstage and they hung out on the tour bus.

- She was bored one Sunday so she hopped in the car and started driving east. An hour and a half later, she pulled off the highway, found an old fashioned soda shop and shortly thereafter ended up on a 2 and a half hour self guided tour of Ohio's covered bridges with 4 senior citizens that she did not know. Look-I can't explain Steph, I can only inform you of her exploits.

- And the latest...she got us included in a golf scramble* put together by a guy we do not know. Now to be fair, John and Keith really invited us (after Steph told them how much she would enjoy going) because it's their friend from high school. It's not like we met a stranger and got invited. But the guy who runs the scramble comes home from Oregon like once a year to do this with his friends and family so we had no business being there. Oh but we were. We totally crashed it. We played in the golf scramble and then Shamus, the guy who put it together, invited us back to his parents' house for a cookout where we brought no food and no drinks to offer them. We are horrible. Also my team won the scramble, and they included my name on the annual winners plaque. I am such an intruder! We really didn't feel right being there, but everyone was so welcoming and lovely and yelled at us for apologizing for not bringing anything and said they expected to see us next year. Also when we went to leave, Shamus's mom told Steph she couldn't leave without drinking this coffee she got from Hawaii. She brought it out, poured it in a mug for her and then told her to just take the mug with her. They would "get it later". She just handed Steph, a girl she had just met, her dishware to take with her. Also one of the guys that was on my team friended me on Facebook. I LOVE these people, you guys. After that we went back to John's house where we immediately walked over to his neighbor's house and crashed the party that he was having. Apparently Steph and I just don't wait for invitations anymore. We just show up. They will probably make a hit movie about us starring Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson.

P.S. One of the women at the party just opened up a bakery called Blackbird Baking Company in Lakewood with her husband. She brought a bunch of different breads and desserts from the shop, and I almost died of an overdose of awesome. Everyone in the Cleveland area needs to go there. They have, literally, the most delicious peanut butter cookies I have ever eaten. I also ate olive bread (scrumptious) and something chocolate (mouth watering). But seriously, you guys-the peanut butter cookies (I saw God).

*A quick note on Steph's past golf experience. She had a set of clubs, played once, got pissed and gave them away to her best friend in Pittsburgh. A month ago, she wanted to go to the driving range with Matt and Woody so she showed up with 4 clubs she bought at Goodwill. Saturday, on the way to my house to pick me up to go to the scramble, she stopped at Walmart to buy a set of clubs. They didn't have them, but she bought a bag. So she showed up at my house with a new golf bag, 4 old clubs and like 2 golf umbrellas. I love Steph.

Ride into the Danger Zone

Scene: Hollywood Video*

"Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins starts playing. Immediately, without thinking, I start to sing and the following goes through my head:

- "This is Ghost Rider requesting a flyby."
- "Son, your ego is writing checks your body can't cash."
- "Hey, Goose, you big stud! Take me to bed or lose me forever!"
- "You can be my wingman any time."

Nearby high school girl to her 2 friends (1 boy, 1 girl): "This song reminds me of that one old movie."
Her friends: ...
HSG: "You know the one with what's-his-face? Tom Cruise? And he's like flying."
Her friends: ...
HSG: "Aw come on..."
Boy HS Friend: "Top Gun?"
HSG: "Top Gun!"
Girl HS Friend: "What?"

My hip immediately breaks because I am so old.

*Horribly embarassing sidenote: I was there trying to find this movie.

Things I found out recently

- My dad stole a route 69 sign when he was in college

- I really loathe the sound of acrylic nails being tapped on a table. Like it makes me homicidal.

- When presented with cookout food, I will just keep eating and eating until I either fall asleep or someone takes the food away from me.

- I am an amazing golfer. Okay this one's not really true, I just wanted to find a way to squeeze in telling you that I totally got par on a par 3 hole on Sunday. I know that isn't a big deal for most people, but it is huge for me so praise me immediately.

- Apparently 3 year olds don't really have any idea who their mom is. A couple weeks ago Steph, Christy and I were at Wade Oval Wednesday sitting on a blanket drinking wine-it was really romantic. All of a sudden I felt two little hands on my shoulders. I turned around, and there was a little kid standing there yelling something. I had no idea what he was saying or why I was being accosted by him, but I have been accosted by less quality men before-and certainly less cute. Then he wrapped his arms around my neck and gave me a big hug at which point I realized his mother was sitting on the blanket next to us and he thought I was her. Once he realized I wasn't his mom, without missing a beat and completely unaffected by his mistake, he walked over to her and started yelling the same thing. About 10 seconds later his dad walked up almost in tears he was laughing so hard. Ways in which I looked like his mom: we are both female. I'm serious that was it. She had on glasses, I didn't. Her hair was straight and shoulderlength, mine was curly that day and long. Later on his dad came up with their younger son and said, "I thought I should introduce you to our other child since you are the other mommy." I waved hi and the little kid pointed at his mother and said, "Mommy?" It's like he was saying, "So listen you don't look like my mom, but my brother was kind of all over you, and I just need to make sure that I have all my parental figures straight for when I need something later-like if I need to go potty or if I need juice or if I need $20."

Shadowboxer

Today we have a new employee starting in my group. My manager asked that she shadow me for the day. I hope she is ready to learn how to surf the Internet and react appropriately to entertainment gossip.