Hold My Hand

I loved the University of Toronto. One of my favorite things about it was how big it was and how a person could get totally lost. I had to do everything myself. I had to pick my classes and remember to register and figure out whether or not I got all my requirements in before graduation. If I didn't, it was pretty much my fault. I never had an advisor. If I needed help I had to go find it myself from a professor or a TA or someone else...there was no hand-holding. I felt very grown-up.

When I decided to go to UB I wasn't worried about how big it was or how unpersonal it would be. College, for me, isn't a personal experience in that sense. I don't expect to have a guidence counselor like I did in high school. So, why is it that when I walked into the advisors office at UB I lost all my common sense? I felt like a 2-year-old and I just wanted someone to tell me exactly what classes I need to take, get me into them, get me loans and financial aide, buy my books, show me where to park every day and where my classes would be. Pam, my advisor, was looking for a little more in-put from me. I miss Canada...

Buttercup Apple-Kisser

Little Deb at the office emailed this to me and said I should put it in my Blog. Even though she thinks blogs are stupid, I'll put it in here.

The following in an excerpt from a children's book, "Captain Underpants Andthe Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants" by Dave Pilkey. The evilProfessor forces everyone to assume new names . . .

Use the third letter of your first name to determine your new first name:
a = poopsie
b = lumpy
c = buttercup
d = gadget
e =crusty
f = greasy
g = fluffy
h = cheeseball
i = chim-chim
j = stinky
k =flunky
l = bootie
m = pinky
n = zippy
o = goober
p = doofus
q =slimy
r = loopy
s = snotty
t = tootie
u = dorkey
v = squeezit
w = oprah
x = skipper
y = dinky
z = zsa-zsa

Now, use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half ofyour new last name:
a = apple
b = toilet
c = giggle
d = burger
e = girdle
f = barf
g = lizard
h = waffle
i = cootie
j = monkey
k = potty
l = liver
m = banana
n = rhino
o = bubble
p = hamster
q = toad
r = gizzard
s = pizza
t = gerbil
u = chicken
v = pickle
w = chuckle
x = tofu
y = gorilla
z = stinker

Finally, use the fourth letter of your last name to determine the second
half of your new last name:
a = head
b = mouth
c = face
d = nose
e = tush
f = breath
g = pants
h = shorts
i = lips
j = honker
k = butt
l = brain
m = tushie
n = biscuits
o = hiney
p = chunks
q = toes
r = buns
s = fanny
t = sniffer
u = sprinkles
v = kisser
w = squirt
x = humperdinck
y = brains
z = juice

Leave me a comment and let me know what YOUR name is.

I'm Back!

So, sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I could say I was busy, but, you all know me. You know I wasn't really busy. I was watching TV and sleeping. My life isn't that exciting. I did try to write a blog about something exciting that happened last week, or the week before maybe, but I forgot my password and by the time blogger emailed it to me I was asleep.

I've decided that since Mikey isn't blogging anymore (something about a baby and exams), I'd pick up the slack and start again. I have a lot of stories to tell you, too. But I can't right now. I'm at work, and even when you work for your dad you can only spend so much time updating your blog before people realize you haven't seen one patient all day... :)

HAPPY (1/2) BIRTHDAY TO ME!

SIX MONTHS 'TIL MY BIRTHDAY!!!
I'm updating my amazon wish list right now so you can all start shopping soon.

Wedding announcement in the only publications that really matter

After traveling to Ireland to buy presents for all their friends, Steve and his bride, Aly, will make their home somewhere on planet earth, so long as it allows little yappy dogs. Steve will make his millions as a manager in some high falootin’ bank or something and Aly is to become the first person ever to pass the bar in all 50 states and whatever the equivalent is in Canadia. They are to be married next week amongst loving friends and family and then will drink like it is their job and dance like they’re good at it. The second most important decision they made (after his FINALLY proposing to begin with) was to include Michael Garvey as a groomsman because, let’s face it, he looks damn good in a tux. The bridegroom is a graduate of college (both “clown” and “barber”) and the bride has obtained a degree from the school of hard knocks.

She's all growns up!

Remember when Julia was just a tiny baby?











She's almost all grown up now! Isn't it weird to look at the first picture and think that she's the same baby?

All About Me...again.

Leah emailed this to me...I think I've posted one on The Shortbus before, but, I'll do it again...


Okay here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be lame and spoil the fun! Just copy (not forward) this entire e-mail and paste into a new e-mail that you can send. Change all the answers so that they apply to you. Then send this to a whole bunch of people you know, INCLUDING the person that sent it to you. Some of you may get this several times. That means you have lots of friends...

1. What is your full name? Cecilia Catherine Garvey

2. What color pants are you wearing? I'm not actually wearing pants at the moment...

3. What are you listening to right now? the construction men upstairs who interrupted my nap.

4. What was the last thing you ate? a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwhich from Dunkin' Donuts on the way home from the gym.

5. Do you wish on stars? Yep

6 If you were a crayon, what color would you be? caucasian skin colored.

7. How is the weather right now? warm and dark in my bedroom. It was cold and rainy then sunny then rainy again when I was out this morning.

8. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Mo. But I've TMed with Mike since then.

9. Do you like the person who sent this to you? love her.

10. How old are you today?Almost 24 1/2. My half birthday is November 13th!!!

11. Favorite drink?Diet Coke...or car bombs.

12. Favorite sport? hockey or women's beach volleyball.

13. Favorite colors? blue

15. Siblings? 2 brothers 2 sisters 1 brother-in-law 1 sister-in-law and a lot of people I consier in-laws even though technically they aren't.

16. Favorite month? May.

17. Favorite food? Jims Steak Out steak and cheese sub. Or a super mighty.

18. What was the last movie you saw? I watched part of Saved and Cry Baby last night with John and Esther

19. Favorite day of the year? May 13th or Dec 24th

20. What do you do to vent anger?cry or take it out on someone who doesn't deserve it, normally.

21. What was your favorite toy as a child? whatever Louis was playing with.

22. Summer or winter?Summer

23. Hugs or kisses? both at the same time.

24. Chocolate or vanilla? depends on my mood.

25. Do you want your friends to e-mail u back? yes...or blog it

26. Who is most likely to respond? Mike...he has nothing else to do :)

27. Who is least likely to respond? Leah...she already did it

28. When was the last time you cried? Last night probably

29. What is under your bed? Boxes I don't want to unpack

30. Who is the friend you have had the longest? besides my sisters? Probably Maggie.

31. What did you do last night? Watched some TV, tried on all my new clothes, considered going out, waited while my friends considered going out, then fell to sleep.

32. What are you afraid of? being alone

33. Favorite flower? lilies

34. Number of keys on your key ring? 4

35. How many years at your current job? about 1/12

36. Favorite day of the week?Saturday

37. What did you do on your last birthday? Went to Chuck E. Cheeses, like every 24-year-old should do, then went downtown.

38. How many states have you lived in?2, and 1 province.

39. How many cities have you lived in?6, if you separate East Aurora and Wales

BAC

So, I joined the gym. I'm not really sure why...well, yes I am. Someone at the bar last weekend convinced me to. She works there. She got commission because I joined. I'm hoping she'll buy me a drink this weekend when I see her out. But, anyway. All my friends go together and so I decided to finally join them and go. I went on Monday and signed up, spent 45 minutes getting the tour, then 30 minutes on some cardio machine before I convinced Mo we should go to Fuddruckers for burgers (we actually got 1/2 way to Fuddruckers and decided we should go to the mall for halloween costumes first, then we were too tired to deal with people after the mall and wanted to see Prison Break, so we never made it to Fuddruckers...but those burgers and $1 beers sounded SO GOOD while I was "working out".) Tuesday I didn't go because I worked in EA and it's too far away from all the BAC's. But I went back today. I didn't get the 45 minute tour, but I did walk in and immediately see one of my friends. We spent about 20 minutes talking (we walked around, too, so it looked like we were working out...we don't want the trainers to think we're lazy), then she went into a class and I went back to my cardio machine. 35 minutes today with a 5 minute warm-down, then a 30 minute conversation while sitting on a big ball...I think they're actually used for some sort of class, but they work really well as chairs when you're tired, too. And, with the balls as chairs, we could all sit in a circle and talk, unlike on those funny machines...they're all in a row and that doesn't encourage conversation at all...

New Apartment Update

So, I'm all moved into my new apartment. Well, maybe I should rephrase that...I'm all moved out of my old apartment. I've still got some stuff at my parent's house that I need in order to finish unpacking (at least that's what I'm telling myself so that I don't feel bad that I've been here for 2 weeks and haven't finished unpacking...), but I'm mostly moved in. I love it here. I'm close to my siblings, halfway between the two offices where I work, close to the Wegmans on Amherst, and I can walk to all the fun bars. Not that I have yet, but I could. So far I've driven every night.

I hate packing SO much that I just sat and watched a whole hour of The Nanny...just because it was on, and if I got up to get the remote (or actually move all the way to the TV), I'd feel like I should get up and pack...THE NANNY! WITH FRAN DRESCHER!!! But at least Jon Stewart was in this episode.

Packing...

Remember how much I hate painting? Well, I think I hate packing even more. At least with painting you get something out of it - you get your walls painted. With packing, all you get is more work. Eventually you have to move everything and unpack! There should be a better way to move stuff...

It's Funny Because It's True...

I got one of those "You Know You're From Buffalo If..." e-mails the other day...it was the first time I actually thought it was funny. Probably because it was the first time I got one that (#1) I actually read it and (#2) I'm old enough to understand that not everywhere in the world is as "special" as Buffalo...

While living out of town, you've said to your friends....
"back home, you could get a case of Labatts for twelve bucks!"
"back home, you could get a 30 pack of Genny for nine bucks!"
"back home, this house would go for only 80K!"
"back home, you could get a large cheese and pepperoni pizza for seven bucks!"
"back home, the bars close at 4:00 AM!"
"you call this snow?"
"you call this cold?"
"you call this a supermarket?"
"you call these wings?"
"you call this pizza?"
"you call this beef on weck?"
You know that "uppers" and "lowers" aren't drugs.
You take real chicken wings, subs, beer, hot dogs, and pizza back with you after a visit home to Buffalo.
You don't let a blinding snowstorm stop you from driving 70 MPH down the Thruway during rush hour.
You believe snow on Halloween is good because its bound to warm up in November (Moms will say you need the first freeze for Indian Summer).
You hate Genesee Cream Ale, but crave it when you're in another state.
You don't put away the winter clothes, they stay in the front closet year round.
You've fallen asleep waiting for the light to change at the intersection of Niagara Falls Boulevard and Sheridan Drive.
You think the idea of "California pizza" is as sacriligious as cheering on the Miami Dolphins.
You watch the Bills on TV with the sound turned down, and the radio turned to the game.
You still can't say Interstate instead of Thruway when you relocate to another state.
You've been around Buffalo a long time if you've ever called... Bon-Ton - "AM&A's" Kaufmanns - "Hengerer's" or "Sibley's" Quality Markets - "Bells" Buffalo State College - "State Teacher's" Daemen College - "Rosary Hill College" TCI - "Courier Cable" Adelphia - "International Cable" Super Flea - "GEX" (or I.D.S.) Jubilee - "Super Duper "
Half of your friends moved to Charlotte, North Carolina ... and the other half went to Florida.
You use the word "the" before the numbers of expressways, like "The 90", "The 400" and so on.
You save Canadian coins to use at tollbooths and parking meters.
You've held a "wave-a-thon" at four way stop intersections ("No, you go...")
When someone speaks of "family restaurant," you think of names like "The Olympia," "The Hillview", and "Your Host." (not Denny's or Perkins)
You can tell what part of town someone is from because of their accent (especially dem der Chickatavagas town der, an' de Wesside).
You've ever feasted on these treats ... real chicken wings (not "Buffalo
wings") real beef on weck (and you call it "beef on wick") real pizza, with no crust, cut lengthwise into strips (ala "Bocce's"), charcoal broiled hot dogs (ala "Ted's"), Niagara Street clams, Anderson's custard, pierogis, Weber's mustard,St Joseph's day bread, Miller's Horseradish! and washed it down with .. Genessee Cream Ale, in a 16 ounce bottle ("'da pounder") loganberry, Vernor's OV, Labatt's Blue, Visniak or Black Rock pop
You slam on the brakes and slow to a crawl whenever you see the "Village of Kenmore" sign.
You watched Canadian television, just so you could see U.S. shows a day or two earlier than they would appear in the States.
You can make the coins land perfectly in the toll basket at 20 MPH or higher.
You think it's quite acceptable to take a day off work on ... Dyngus Day, St. Joseph's Day, St. Patrick's Day, St. Stanislaus Day, Ash Wednesday, the Monday after a Bills victory.
You use your garage as the living room during the summer, putting a big screen over where the overhead door would be.
You still go to all the neighborhood and ethnic festivals, even though they're really all the same.
You don't really think there's anything wrong with Pat Gambino Ford commercials.
You know the lyrics to .... "You Know We're Gonna' Win That Cup", The Bills "Shout" song, Any song by Rush, Kim Mitchell or Honeymoon Suite, "Talkin' Proud", The Crystal Beach "pay one price" jingle, The Tops "Tops never stops saving you more" jingle, The Sattlers "998 Broadway" jingle, even if you weren't alive when they were still open
You've nearly gotten into fights over topics like.... Malecki vs. Sahlen vs Wardynski vs. Shelly vs. Redlinski vs Zwiegels; Anchor Bar vs. Duff's; Bocce Club vs. Leonardi's; Tops vs.. Wegmans
You go to Niagara Falls for the outlet shopping and the Italian food, not the scenery.
You spend hours planning drives to avoid toll booths.
Your snowblower has more horsepower than your car ... and use it about as often.
You've ever sarcastically said "Fun? Wow!"
One of your friends claims to have known Ani DiFranco, a Goo Goo Doll or Baby Joe Mesi from high school.
You have more than one shovel in your garage.
Your car has more rust than exposed paint.
You stocked up on Malecki hot dogs after you heard the company was going out of business.
Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway.
You know several people who have hit deer more than once.
You often switch from "Heat" to "A/C" in the same day.
You use a down comforter in the summer.
You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events.
You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.
You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.
You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
You think sexy lingerie is tube socks and flannel pajamas. (YOU MEAN It's
NOT?????)
You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, construction.
It takes you 3 hours to go to the store for one item even when you're in a rush because you have to stop and talk to everyone in town.

HIPPA ruins all the good posts...

I wish I had something to write about...but I really don't. I'm really busy (well, busy for me - that means I can't sleep all day or lay on the couch and watch TV...I actually have stuff to do while the sun is up,) so you'd think I'd have at least one good story, but unfortunately all my good stories are covered by patient/doctor confidentiality. Normally I don't pay too much attention to that (I'm not a doctor or a patient, so I don't think I really need to), but I'd feel a little weird about posting the stories all over the internet...that might be breaking some rules I should pay attention to.

I was just doing laundry (at my parents house, since I don't have a washer at my apartment...) I put all my whites into the washer, poured the Tide and the fabric softener into the little dispensers, and then grabbed the bleach. My mom bought Clorox and on the outside of the jug it says, "No Splash Gel Bleach." So I took the top off and poured it into the dispenser cup. Well, I poured a bit too fast...it does splash, and it is not a gel. Just so you all know...Clorox lies. And my SMC sweatshirt has new bleachspots.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words...

Baby Julia went to her first Bills game last weekend...this was also her outfit yesterday at Ginny's house, where she was the only baby in a Bills jersey, even though there were about 800 baby boys there. She's too cute.

I'm Playing Doctor!

So, I quit my job at Olivers. I got a job at Delish. In the time between Olivers and Delish, I decided I'd work for my dad in his office. I don't like blood, so I was going to set up trays, clean off trays, make coffee, sit around...nothing big. But, I got over the blood, and I'm very very interested in oral surgery. It excites me in a way I can't explain. I love baking and making pastries, but I feel like this is the time in my life when I can make a drastic change if I want to and it won't really hurt anyone. So I quit my job at Delish (I don't know if that's the right word...can you quit before you actually start???) I'm working for my Dad learning how to assist and I'm going back to school next semester to take some science classes. My goal is to beat Louis and become an Oral Surgeon before him. I figure we're about even now...sure, I have a BA, but it's from Canada. He's not working and is already enrolled in classes...I'll keep you updated on the race.

work work work...

I'm about to be late for work...how is it that, although I've quit 3 jobs in the past 2 weeks, I have less time to sleep and I'm working more?

Blog Reading

Every time I pick up my computer (yes, I have a lap top...) I have a routine I go through. I sign onto AOL or AIM, then check my AOL mail. Then I check my hotmail. Then I check my favorite blogs:

Mikey
Scott
Lisa
Leah
and occationally
ba start and outgrabes

It makes me sad if no one has posted anything new, even if I was just there 10 minutes earlier and there had been something new. For that reason, this is my new post for them to read.

I didn't puke!

Today was my first day at Dad's office. I was a little nervous, due to the whole blood thing, but I was assured that I wouldn't even have to go into the rooms where there was blood if I didn't have to. I could just set up trays. So I set up the trays. Well, Lisa set up the trays, and I watched. And then they used the trays. And the trays came back and had to be cleaned off...because they were full of bloody tools and gauze and teeth. I did it. It wasn't so bad. So I went into the surgery room for the next surgery and stood in the corner. I heard all of the noises and saw all of the bloody gauze and teeth but stayed far far away. I was fine. I walked out at the end of the surgery and everything was OK. The next patient was just a simple tooth being pulled. The woman wasn't even being sedated. She just got novicane. Maybe that's why I almost passed out...before there was anything done. Yep. As soon as Lisa picked up the suction thingy, I felt my face get cold and hot at the same time, and I had to hold onto the counter for some support...as soon as I could walk I ran to the table in the back and Annemarie got me some OJ. I wish I could at least say it happened during something bloody and gross...but, nope...I was in the room long enough, but I honestly don't remember Dad getting any tools. I think I was concentrating on standing up....

How much I hate Olivers.

I gave Oliver's my two week notice. I was so excited. I'm so happy to be out of there. Unfortunately, I don't really have another job until the end of October...and I still have rent and other bills to pay. So, what's my solution, you ask? Well, to answer this question properly, I have to go back to my sophomore year in high school...

I'm sitting in Mrs. Warzel's biology class, listening to her talk about something extremely interesting, I'm sure. Then she says the word "movie" and I start paying attention. Maybe we're going to watch a Gumby movie (to understand my thought process there, you'd have to know Mrs. Warzel...she had a slight obsession with Gumby...). So, she puts this movie on and, alas, it's not about Gumby but about some extremely overweight man who smoked 3 packs a day and ate at McDonalds for each of his 8 meals. He had to have some operation that involved taking a vein from his leg and attaching it to his heart. GROSS. I made it to the part where they cut his leg open, then I jumped up, ran to the water fountain in the hall way, and puked all over the floor. Right in front of 3 junior boys, one of whom happened to be the older brother of my homecoming date (this event happened about the week before homecoming...) The boys, of course, looked at me and then walked away. No asking if I was ok or offers to get the nurse or a teacher or anything.

Fast forward a few months. I've gotten over the embarrassment of puking in front of the upperclassmen, but I still can't stand to even hear the word "vein." It makes me want to vomit. My family, of course, loves this and uses it whenever they can. So I'm in health class and we're talking about CPR. I get through the parts about breathing into someone else's mouth, I make it through the tournequit part...but then the teacher starts to talk about getting a nail in the bottom of your foot...I rush out of the room to the water fountain feeling like I might get sick, and instead pass out against the lockers.

So I learn to just zone out whenever teachers start talking about anything gross like blood or veins or internal organs or anything. At pastry school whenever anyone gets cut everyone looks at me to make sure I don't pass out or throw up...nevermind that else is missing a finger.

Now, after hearing all of this, you're probably thinking, "well, the perfect job for her would be something like a librarian." Well, no...paper cuts are too prevalent around all those books. Nanny? Nope...kids bleed all the time. What did I pick? I'm assisting in my dad's oral surgery office...yep. I'm going to stand next to him while he cuts people open and pulls out their teeth. That's how much I hate Olivers.

I found an apartment! It's perfect. In a great spot - Bryant across from Childrens - the rent is good, I'll have my own bedroom and bathroom but I'll also have a roommate (one of Mike and Lisa's friends lives there now but her roommate is moving out at the end of Sept., then I'll move in). I'm very happy. The only problem with it is that I can't bring Emmett...I'm not getting rid of him. We're too bonded. But I do need someone to foster him for a while until I move into an apartment that takes cats. So, if anyone would like to take care of Emmett for awhile, let me know. My lease in this apartment is only going to be 11 months, so you wouldn't even have him for a whole year.

In other news, I went to Frizzy's for the last Karaoke of the season last night. They had a singing contest, which I did not enter, and a photobooth contest, which I did not mean to enter, but somehow did and won (in the "funniest picture" catagory.) I had to split my prize of $20 in MightyBucks with the other 3 people in the picture, but with $5 in MightyBucks I can still do a lot of damage...so I got to the bar around 10 and promised myself I'd leave around 12 since I had to work today. At 12 I decided that I could leave at 1 since I didn't really have to get up until 9 this morning and I'd still get plenty of sleep. At 1 I decided I didn't need 8 hours of sleep to do my job. At 2 I convinced some of my friends to since 'Cecilia' for me, and couldn't leave until they did. When I left at 3 I wondered why we start working so early in the morning when bars are open so late...and why I'm not a bartender instead of a pastry chef. It seems like a much better job.

IPod Survey

I found this survey on Mikey's blog. You're supposed to take your IPod or any other music player of your choice, put it on shuffle, and then ask it the questions. The songs it plays are its answers.

What do you think of me, iTunes?
"I'm Still Remembering" by The Cranberries...Ok, so, it's been a while since I've used my IPod...

Will I have a happy life?
"Online Songs" by Blink 182...Do I go by the title and think I need to keep downloading music to be happy, or by the words and see that I'll never be happy? I think I'll download some music...

What do my friends really think of me?
"Mothers of the Disappeared" by U2...I don't have any kids...really.

Do people secretly lust after me?
"Mickey" by Toni Basil...Mickey is so fine, but what about me?

How can I make myself happy?
"Celebrity" by BNL...become one, marry one???

What should I do with my life?
"Breakfast at Tiffany's" by Deep Blue Something...anyone know Tiffany? :)

Why must life be so full of pain?
"Do You Realize?" by The Flaming Lips...the words of this song actually say, "do you realize everyone you know someday will die." I understand where the pain comes from, I was asking WHY!

How can I maximize my pleasure during sex?
"Next Time" by BNL...gee, great, thanks.

Can you give me some advice?
"Bye Bye Love" by Simon and Garfunkle...wonderful.

What do you think happiness is?
"40" by Franz Ferdinan...as in drink a 40?

If I Could Turn Back Time...

This afternoon after I left work I stopped by Mary's dorm room. It's beautiful, but that's not the point of this entry. The point is, I want to be in college again.

No, I don't want to go to school. I don't want to change my career - my job, yes, but not my career. I don't want to be 18, 19, 20, 21, or even 22-years-old again. But I want to go back to my freshman year in college knowing what I know now. I want to walk into St. Joseph's College Residence knowing that I should go to class and do the reading because it really will make my life easier at the end of the semester - no one can read an entire Sociology text book in one night and expect to pass the exam.

I want to sit around my dorm room drinking 7-Up and Peach Schnapps (Canada never did have any good alcohol...) and watch girly movies and know that my biggest problem is that my roommate might come home with her boyfriend and kick me out at any minute. I want to enjoy the times I spent with my friends more and know that as we get older life gets tougher, and I should have enjoyed those minutes more instead of complaining about insignificant things I can't even remember now.

I wouldn't change everything I did, but I would do everything the same. I would keep the same major, the same friends, stay in the same dorm. But I would be more myself. I wouldn't be afraid to show people what I believe in and how I feel, because I know now that I'm going to tell them sooner or later anyway, and if they're true friends they still love me. I would treasure the pressure of writing a paper at the last minute and enjoy the time I got to spend with my friends during our all-nighters.

As I was leaving Mary's dorm I got into the elevator with a bunch of boys and another girl. One of the boys asked the other girl if she was a freshman, and she said no, she was a senoir. Then he asked me, and I just said no. I didn't tell him it had been six years since I was a freshman, or that the next four years will fly by for him and he should love them because he'll look back some day and wish he was in college again.

Yesterday we had dinner at mom and dad's house. Baby Julia was excited to see Grandma Julia, of course:
















and Lisa seemed to go a little crazy:

but I think everyone enjoyed their food...

Buh buh buh buh

Julia was baptised on Sunday. The ceremony was beautiful, short and sweet:

After the ceremony, we all went to Esther and John's house for a party where we were entertained by boys:

Babies,

and Bees:

Maybe lay off the phone...

I woke up way way too early this morning (thanks to Emmett drooling on me...who knew cats drooled?). As I rolled over I said a silent prayer : "Please God, let me go back to sleep. I need to sleep so I can do well at my interview this afternoon. Please help me do well at my interview. Please let me go back to sleep."

Then I had the oddest dream. God was sitting in a big rocking chair, but I couldn't really see Him, just from His lap down - the rest was covered in clouds. On His lap and in His arms were the cell phones of everyone important to me, and He was rocking them like He would rock a baby to sleep...

Well, I got some good news today. Mike and Lisa will be home a day earlier than I thought. Actually a year earlier than I thought, but, I thought they'd be home Friday and it turns out they'll be home on Thursday. YAY!

I handed out resumes today. I'll keep you all updated on what comes from it.

Tonight I think I'll go to Frizzy's for karaoke. Very little can make you smile when you're sad quite like drunk people singing badly, thinking their good...

Oh, yeah, and Scott is finally writting in his blog again.

When it rains...

you know the phrase "when it rains, it pours?" Well, I believe it. I'm not going to get into all of my current issues, because I don't feel like it, but, if anyone knows of a cheap apartment in a good neighborhood, a place looking for a pastry chef that wants to pay said pastry chef lots and lots of money, someone looking for a roommate who I could live with, or maybe just has good news that will cheer me up, let me know.

How Sammy's Grown...

Esther sent me some pictures today, and this was one of them:

I couldn't help thinking about how big Sam has gotten and how he's changed. He's not a baby, and he's not even a toddler. He's a little boy. He asks such intelligent questions (like asking Leah what a wedding is) but still has great responses to her answers (after Leah's whole explanation on love and two families becoming one, Sam said he was going to have a wedding right after Mike and Lisa's so he could have cupcakes too...). He's working on figuring out the world (Baby Julia, named after Gramma Julia, is called Baby Gramma Julia), and it's so much fun to watch.

So, I was looking at these pictures of him, marveling at how much he's grown, when I came across this picture from when he was just over a year old:

and realized that maybe he hasn't changed all that much...

Her First Smile

Isn't Julia the cutest? She gets that from me, of course...

Homing Hippogriffs

I'm addicted...go to Harry Potter Games and click on Homing Hippogriffs. It makes me feel smart because it's a little kids game and I can get really far.

I hate traffic

I like to consider myself a fairly intelligent individual. However, there are a few things that, no matter how long I live, I don't think I will ever understand. Traffic, for instance. I'm almost positive that for as long as there have been people there have been traffic problems. I mean, can't you see rush hour during the caveman times? All the men walking home at the same time, beating each other with their big clubs tyring to get in front of each other. Not much has changed, really, except that now we can't step off of the path to pass the caveman in front of us (unless, of course, you're one of the jerks who makes their own lanes during rush hour and drives down the side of the highway...) We're stuck on the road, sitting there for hours, listening to bad music. So, if this has been a problem for millions of years, why hasn't anyone done anything about it??? Seriously. Add a lane to the road. Change the traffic light patterns between 4 and 7 so they're green more often in the right way. Raise the speed limits and pull people over for going under them.

So, as much as I hate traffic, I understand it. I don't understand why no one has fixed it, but I understand it. There are traffic lights, construction, slow people, car accidents, and other unaviodable conditions that cause it. But, have you tried to get out of Darien Lake after a concert recently?

I left Dave Matthews as soon as the last song ended (I thought I was leaving before the last song, but he ended 1/2 an hour before he had to...) It was 10:30. I didn't get out of the park until after 1:00. And I didn't just sit around and hang out. I got right in the car and into line to get out. Now, this example is similar to rush hour traffic, but different in the sense that EVERYONE IS GOING TO THE SAME PLACE. EVERYONE WANTS TO GET OUT OF THE PARKING LOT. There's no one going into the park. There's no one going behind the park (they closed that exit). So you're choices are right or left out of the parking lot. WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG TO GET OUT?

If anyone can explain this to me, or solve this problem, let me know. Or write to someone who can do something about it...

Julia Helene Eagan is 26 days, 23 hours, and 55 minutes old as of this minute. Isn't she beautiful?

I'm sick

You know how horrible it is to have a really bad cold in the middle of the winter when it's freezing outside and it hurts to breath because you've been coughing so much and you're nose won't stop running but it's all stuffed up and then it hurts because you blow it so much and your throat hurts and your head hurts and you're achy and you have a fever? And you know how good it feels then to get home and crawl into bed and get warm and take some NyQuil and go to sleep? Yeah, that's the one good thing about colds in winter - the warm bed or warm bath and tea and chicken soup part. Summer colds just all around suck.

My head hurts.

My lungs hurt.

My throat hurts.

My nose won't stop running but it's all stuffed up and I can't breath. And it hurts because I've had to blow it so much.

I'm too hot to sleep, even with every fan I own pointed at me, because I have a fever and it's 800 degrees outside.

When I finally do get to sleep the fans blow the little hairs around my face across my eyes and nose and tickle me and I wake up.

And I think my goldfish is dying...his nose is turning black.

Pretty Mary

I've gotta get to work, so I can't write a long post on the events leading up to this picture (not that I can remember them exactly, anyway), but I'm pretty sure that's wine on Mary's dress, and that that is not her first glass in her hand...

Best wedding of the year...

Last Saturday Mike and Lisa got married. The party started sometime last year and ended Sunday morning...here's what I remember of it...




The party, for me, started Thursday night with the bachelorette. For pics of that, go to
Katie's Blog. I could tell stories, but I think I'll keep them between me, Lisa, the girls, and the hotdog vendor...

Friday was the rehersal dinner. I, honestly, don't remember much after getting home from the Church. I don't have any pictures of that, either, but I'll post some if I get them.

Here's the first picture of Saturday. We had gotten our hair done, and were enjoying mimosas and bagels with the Battaglia's.





Then the flowers came. We rushed to get dressed, put on make-up, and make ourselves beautiful before the photographers got there.






The ceremoney was absolutely beautiful. Very "Mike & Lisa." I'll never forget watching Mike hold Lisa's hands with his eyes closed during the ceremony with the biggest smile on his face.
After the ceremony the Boys had stocked the trolley:

So we drank while we waited for Mike and Lisa to finish their pictures.

And then we drank some more...

And took a nap...

Finally, after dodging some paparazzi:

Mike and Lisa got to the trolly.

The reception at Pearl St. was a blur of cake,

speeches,

Dancing,



































and kissing (ok, this was the only kiss I got at the reception, but I liked the picture and wanted to post it...)

Oddly, I don't remember much of the end of the night...this is how it ended for me:

Somehow, I managed to get up Sunday morning in time for Brunch and then Taste of Buffalo.

Birth Story

Ok, so, after 4 hours of sleep I feel like I can write now. I tried last night but I couldn't really express how I felt. It was weird. I had nine months to get ready for this...I read all the baby magazines Esther had, I watched all the Baby Story and Special Delivery and Birth Story and Materinty Ward I could. I had been there, kinda, for Sam, Aidan and Noah's births (I was in Buffalo when Sam was born in CT, and in NYC when the twins were born in Buffalo). We got over the gestational diabeties, and even went out for ice cream and chicken finger subs once or twice or a few hundred times. I talked to Esther about what she learned in lamaze, I talked to my friends who had babies about what they went through. And then I figured, all I had to do was go sit in a bar somewhere until John called and said, "It's a girl," or "It's a boy" and then run to the hospital to see the baby. Afterall, I wasn't giving birth.

But then Thursday night Esther went in to be induced. And I was a little nervous. I didn't sleep well. I blamed it on the cat. He wouldn't lie still so I could sleep. That's why I got up 2 hours before I had to. And all the diet coke I had during the day on Thursday.

Friday morning when I called home and Mimi answered the phone in her worried voice saying, "Julia?" not, "Hello?" I almost drove right off the skyway. I was using my hands-free, but in a half a second I thought, "Why is she worried? where is mom? what's wrong with Esther? What's wrong with the baby? Why didn't anyone call me? Are they OK? How do you get to Childrens from here?" Of course, everything was fine. Mom was on her way to the hospital to sit with Esther so John could go home and shower. Mimi should not answer the phone.

Around 9:30 when Dad came out and said they were taking her in to do a c-section I felt a little sick. Not my "ew-blood" sick, more of a "don't hurt my sister" sick. I knew it was a possibility, and they had been talking about it seriously for about 3 hours, but it was scary. And the waiting room got kinda quiet. Of course, we were most of the waiting room. It was Dad, Louis, Mary, Mike, Lisa, Me, Mo Gina, Ginny, Jim, and Mom, but Mom was in waiting with John then. When she came out she and Ginny cried for a minute. The the midwife came out and asked for a camera, because the baby was almost out. I was surprised at how quick it went. I was also surprised when the midwife came out a few minutes later and said, "You have a girl!" Not that she's a girl, I thought she might have been, but that she didn't let John tell us. Anyway, everyone yelled, Ginny, mom, Gina, Lisa, and Mary cried a little bit. And then when John came out and said "It's a girl," we all cried. I felt so relieved, because I knew he wouldn't leave Esther and the baby unless they were doing well. It was like and emotional weight that I didn't really realize was there was lifted off my chest and I just wanted to, well, cry. John had 3 pictures of Julia on the camera, and we could tell she was OK, and he said Esther was OK, and I didn't feel so sick anymore.

The midwife let John hold baby Julia up for us to see and take pictures of later. She's absolutely beautiful, as you can see, and from the first minute John held her up I was in love with her. I'm so proud of Esther and John. I have decided, though, that this is why I won't be having babies anytime soon (among other reasons). I could hardly handle it emotionally when Esther had a baby!

In a few hours I'm meeting Gina, Mary, and Lisa to buy some pink and purple clothes and then we're going to the hospital again. I'm sure I'll have a few more pictures to post then...

Welcome to the World

Julia Eagan
Born July 1, 2005 9:55 pm
7 lbs., 2 oz.

YAY!!!

I woke up at 5 this morning (excited about my new niece or nephew coming today...or maybe about the wedding next week...) and couldn't get back to sleep, so I was reading my old posts and I found THE STATE GAME !!!! I will never get anything done again.

makin' breakfast...

Last night I dreamt about bacon and eggs. I woke up and swore I could hear and smell them frying. I couldn't, though. Well, maybe I could, but they weren't frying in MY kitchen...so I got out a frying pan, the eggs, and the bacon, then saw the oreo's on top of my fridge...Oreo's dipped in milk with diet coke to drink is the breakfast of champions, right?

Books

Mikey memed me again, this time I have to write about books. I'm SO SO SO tired, though. This sympathy pregnancy I'm going through is really getting to me. So, I'll try to answer the questions, but, I've been forgetting a lot of stuff lately too, due in part to the tiredness and in part to sympathy-pregnancy-brain, I think, so if I leave a question blank or something, forgive me...

NUMBER OF BOOKS I'VE OWNED:
Own all by myself? Probably not as many as Mike...I got a lot of hand-me-downs...people tend to forget about middle children. Now, though, Mom and Dad love me most, so I do own about 50 cookbooks, most of which I'm currently using to hold up pictures of my drunk friends.

LAST BOOK I READ:
I read a book with Mary yesterday in the check-out line at Wegmans, but I don't know the name of it...it has something to do with animals and there were lots of bright colors. The last Big-Girl book I read was...well...I started a book called Candy Freak. It was really really good and I want to finish it, but now I have cable so I don't read so much. The last book I totally read was called Skin by Roald Dahl. It's a bunch of his short stories. Very very odd, but good.

FIVE BOOKS THAT MEAN A LOT TO ME:
1. The Bible -- I've actually read a lot of it. I had to. For school. And I guess for my eternal salvation, too.

2.My Baby Book -- it's short - hardly any written words and even fewer pictures, but I've gotta love it.

3. The Pink Motel -- I don't know who wrote it, but I can remember Mom reading it to us when we were little.

4. The Way To Cook -- Julia Child is my hero. If she does't explain how to make something in this cookbook, you don't need to know how to do it.

5. Where The Wild Things Are -- It reminds me of Mike.

THREE PEOPLE WHO NOW MUST RIGHT ABOUT BOOKS:
1. Leah
2. Lisa
3. Raissa

Ok, maybe Dad likes the boys. Everyone should go read this:

Pictures of Moosen

It's great. I'm a little jealous.

I'm sorry...or not so much...

Esther got to be a guest poster on Mike's blog while he was in Alaska (I would have been, but he changed his password...I don't know why he doesn't trust me.) One of her posts was about the awful things she'd done to Mike in the past. Well, I decided I should apologize, too, for all the times I was mean to my siblings. So I sat down and opened up this posting page and stared at it. And then got some juice. And then thought, "Oh, yeah, I can say I'm sorry for that time I got a restraining order against Louis...no, wait, that was Bart and Lisa on the Simpsons..." Then I had to pee. Then I thought, "What about the time I plotted to kill...nope, wait, that was Stewie on Family Guy." Then I needed some popcorn. And then I needed more juice. Then I remembered something I knew wasn't from TV. "Remember," I said to myself, "that time we were at the doctors office and we all had to get shots so I went first and pretented it hurt and cried really really hard so Emma would be scared...wait, no, that was Ben, Art, and Emma..."

Then I got bored. So instead of wasting my time trying to come up with something I did as a child to apologize for (which, apparently, there is nothing), I looked at pictures of the trip I took to Cailfornia with Mom and Dad, because I'm their favorite child.
.

Hot, hot, hot

So, who loves their job? I love my career, but, at the moment, I don't love my job. You know why? It's SOFA KING HOT in the kitchen. I get to work and walk as slowly as possible to the door, savoring the 90 degree, 98% humidity, because I know that as soon as I walk into the kitchen it's going to be 800 times worse. And it's only June. My candy thermometer broke the other day because it was too hot. A CANDY THERMOMETER. Those things go up to, like, 1000 degrees. I suggested working naked to beat the heat, but there's some problem with a health code and insurance issue, so they make us wear long pants and a thick, long-sleeved coat. And a hat.

Yesterday wasn't as bad, it was only about surface-of-the-sun hot. So we decided that it was cool enough to eat, and we actually made a staff meal for lunch. One of the girls from the office came down to get some of the lunch we had made and said, "It feels so nice and warm down here. It's freezing up in the office with the AC on!" I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or throw a knife at her. I opted to go sit outside in the sun and cool off.

Why, why, WHY do I continue to watch CSI??? I know it's only going to scare me. There's going to be a dead person on it. And then I'm going to think that dead person is in my house, under my bed, or in my bathtub, or in my closet, or under my sink with Emmett. Maybe someday I'll learn...until then, I better go buy some dead person and monster reppellant from Toys R Us...

Why you shouldn't eat too fast.

Have you ever been really busy all day and forgotten to eat, and then when you realized you hadn't eaten you eat so much so fast that you feel sick? Well, this morning I got up early, like 7:45, so I could get to the Race for the Cure by 9 (I was in Colden, and that's really far away from EVERYTHING, which is nice when you want to sleep or hang out outside by Mo's aunt's pool, but not so nice when you have to be in Buffalo by 9...). Anyway, I woke up and rushed to Delaware Park so I didn't get a chance to eat much. I did have a piece of gum, but I don't think there's much nutritional value there...then I got to the Park and all the donuts were gone so I had to settle for 4 apple slices from McDonalds. They had a tent and were handing out apple slices and yoghurt. Nice and healthy, but I wanted a Krispy Kreme. So I walked the 5K (and didn't come in last) drank some water, and went home. I had turned the fans off when I left last night, so it was SOFA KING hot in my apartment I couldn't do anything but sleep until the fans cooled everything down. Then i got up, showered, packed some stuff up for tonight, and left. I realized about 1/2 way down the 400 that I was starving. I mean, I'm not gonna blow away or anything, but I was definitely hungry. So I got to moms house and within 2 minutes ate an avocado, a chocolate cupcake with cream cheese frosting, about a cup of cream cheese frosting, and had a can of diet coke. My sugar is definitely up. But it won't be for long, 'cause I'm about to go vomit...

2 Dead Women?

Sometimes when I get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night I'm scared to walk past the bathtub because I'm afraid there's a dead woman in there, too. Maybe it's Agnes' sister, Levern. What if she reaches out and grabs me when I walk by? I've tried to talk to Agnes about it, but she must be asleep (or dead) because she won't answer...

Nothing New

I really want to post something today but I have nothing to write about. I'll keep thinking...maybe something good will come to me.

All Growns Up

I feel really grown up today. This feeling probably started last night. I got home from a great dinner at Mom and Dad's, which I cooked, and felt kinda like having a bubble bath and a glass of wine. So I did. I lit some candles, opened a bottle of wine, and had a bath. Then I went to bed at 10:30. That made me feel very old...

This morning I was awake early, thanks mostly to the alarm clock of the woman downstairs that could wake the dead people in China, so I went to Bagel Jays and took bagels to Esther's house. Mary, Lisa, Esther, and I packed up all of the baby clothes so she could take them to be washed at Mom's house. Then I came home. This is where I really grew up.

I had about 2 hours before I had to start getting ready for the Bison's game tonight, and I had planned on taking a nap. However I got home and started putting dishes in the dishwasher. Then I cleaned my stove. Then I cleaned my kitchen floor. Then I moved all of the stuff that doesn't belong in my living room into the spare bedroom. And I cleaned the bathroom floor and sink and bathtub and counter. Then I vaccuumed. I vaccuumed the entire apartment. And you know what I learned from vaccuuming? The dead woman AND Emmett move from under the bed when I vaccuum the bedroom...

It's 4:15 am and I'm awake...again. This time it's Emmett's fault, though. Well, I guess I can't really blame the cat. He kept jumping up on my bedside table to get to my glass of water and in the process knocked everything off the table and woke me up. He did this 7 or 8 times before I realized he probably didn't have any water in his bowl, so I got up and walked to the kitchen to fill his water bowl. Now he's sound asleep on my pillow and I'm wide awake listening to my goldfish blow bubbles in his bowl...

.

Gotta Love Grandmas

I can say honestly that my grandmothers love me. Most people probably don't think that's a big deal...I mean, who's grandmother doesn't love them? Well, my grandma might love some of her grandchildren, but she sure doesn't like them, and never shows her love. Anyway, she loves me, and she shows it. Not by hugging me all the time or anything, but she talks to me and is normally pretty nice to me. This love isn't just given away or anything, either...I've had to spend hours and hours talking about religion and other fairly boring stuff, as well as doing good deeds like driving to the store and buying Depends. Anyway, last night at Lisa's shower we played a game where there were presents and you could steal them away from people. I stole a paper towel holder away from Katie B., which I really really wanted. I was really excited about it. The very next turn Mimi got to go, and she stole my paper towel holder! I wasn't too upset because I figured she'd give it to me, but nope. She didn't. Why does she hate me? And why does she need a paper towel holder? Does she keep paper towels in her bedroom? I don't think she does...

Worse than that, though, was what Grandma did right after I got there. I went right from work so I was sweaty and smelly, but wearing a skirt and everything so I looked OK. Aunt Gretchen hugged me and told me how great I looked and asked if I had been sick because I had lost so much weight. I said no, I just don't have enough money for food anymore. Aunt Barb was right there and also started commenting on how great I looked. I was basking in their praise when Grandma said, "Well, it's not like she's gonna blow away or anything." Gee, thanks Grandma. I know I'm not tiny, but you don't have to point it out like that.

I Like Grapes

Has anyone ever seen the Ellen Degeneres stand up where she talks about trying to fall to sleep, but all you can do is think about stupid stuff like, "I like grapes..." It's so funny. Unfortunately, I'm wide awake and it's 5 am. This is my thought process as I woke up.

(To myself in my head:)
how do you make pastry cream? 3 quarts of cream, 10 oz. of corn startch, but how much sugar? and how many eggs? whole eggs or just yolks? Then whipped cream and bananas...no, wait, that's banana cream pie. Mmmmm...banana cream pie. Oh, shit, I'm awake. It's still dark out, I shouldn't be awake. Ok, keep you're eyes closed, you'll go right back to sleep. I know creme brulee has 19 egg yolks and 1 1/4 cups of sugar, but it doesn't have any corn starch and only 1 1/2 quarts of cream, then 1/2 quart of milk. SHHH! STOP THINKING! GO TO SLEEP! ok, ok, ok...damn diet coke. why does it have to be so tasty and so full of caffine? I wonder what the girl downstairs is doing...maybe her kid is up. We could play with his cool toys. what are their names? Trevor, I think, is his...like the frog in Harry Potter.

(I open my eyes, but keep talking in my head:)

WAIT! I SAID KEEP THEM CLOSED! now I'll never get back to sleep...I could go sign up for cable and internet...aw, but look at Emmett, I can't move, I'll wake him up.

(Now my other personality is awake and starts to talk)

ME #2: He's a cat. You can wake him up. You have been all night, every time you move.
ME #1: Not on purpose. No, he's too cute lying there. Besides, maybe if I close my eyes and stop thinking...

(I close my eyes...)

I like grapes...HAHAHA...Ellen is so funny

I Love Family Days

Yesterday we had a baby shower for Esther at mom and dad's house. It as nice and fun and everyone had a good time, but the best part was after everyone left and the boys came back and we all hung out on the deck and drank wine until dinner, then ate steak. Sam ran up and down the deck until he was tired of that and then he turned in circles until he was too dizzy to move, and we passed Noah and Aiden around until they were tired of being held and then they impressed us all with their walking abilities.



It was such a great day, but I can't believe how exhausting it was. At least I made it home before I fell to sleep...

Viagra makes men go blind?

Last week I was at my parents house and I wrote this post:

I'm at mom and dad's house. They have 800 channels, but Mom insists on watching Headline News. I don't know why, since of all the news networks Headline News is my all time least favorite, but, no matter, it's her house, she can decide what to watch. So, during the past two hours I've heard the same 3 stories about 1500 times. One of them is:

Viagra Makes Men Go Blind.

Now, I'm Catholic. I was born Catholic, raised Catholic, got a degree in Christianity and Culture in college. I've learned all of the bible stories, I know all the commandments and the misc. rules, and what will happen if you break those rules and do something bad. Well, I can tell you this...it's not the Viagra pills making men go blind. Next they're going to say Viagra is making hair grow on mens hands...

But then I somehow posted that on Mikey's blog, and had to delete in and wait until I had time to repost it here, on the right blog.

Emmett's Three Thigs

Lisa memed Emmett Pumpkin. Since he can't type he doesn't have a blog, so I'm typing his answers and posting them on my blog...

THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Pumpkin
2. Emmett
3. Emmett Pumpkin
THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. n/a
2. n/a
3. n/a
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. my beautiful soft fur
2. my big green eyes
3. my white tipped tail
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. my hair loss problem
2. my consistantly wet paws
3. my eye boogers
THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. american
2. SPCA
3. Cecilia's apartment
THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. new people
2. loud noises
3. being kicked in the middle of the night
THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. cat nip in my scratching post
2. a litterbox
3. Cecilia's lap
THREE THINGS YOU’RE WEARING NOW:
1. a light blue collar
2. cat food on my face
3. eye boogers
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTIST (the same one Cecilia likes...)
1. Dave Matthews Band
2. BareNaked Ladies
3. Indigo Girls
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS (same as Cecilia...)
1. Cecilia
2. Lie in Our Graves
3. 100th Meridian
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE:
1. I love Cecilia much more than my previous owners
2. Pumpkin is a lame-ass name
3. I'm totally litterbox trainer
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. tails
2. pee-smell
3. how they mount me
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. sleeping
2. licking myself
3. pooping
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. scratch my scratching post for some catnip
2. sleep on Cecilia's lap
3. eat some bacon
THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING:
1. paper weight
2. pillow
3. lap blanket
THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. Chuck E. Cheeses
2. NYC to see Cats
3. Sea World
THREE KIDS NAMES YOU LIKE:
1. Emmett Jr.
2. Pumpkin Jr.
3. Emmett Pumpkin Jr.
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. get the bacon grease out of the jar under the sink
2. get back into the wall behind the bathtub
3. eat the goldfish in the living room
THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL/BOY:
1. I'm extremely clean
2. I like pretty things like flowers (to eat)
3. when I'm cranky I I just want someone to rub my belly
THREE CELEBRITY CRUSHES
1. Tigger
2. Symba
3. Snowball from Stuart Little
PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW MEMED:
1. Zepplin
2. Fergie
3. Midnight

Emmett Pumpkin

Hello! I took some great pictures of Emmett Pumpkin. Isn't he cute? Ok, so, he is actually a she, but I'm calling her him...anyway, he's so cute and I love him.

Scott memed me, and now I have to fill this out. It's a good thing, actually, 'cause I'm too tired to think of anything to write about by myself...
THREE NAMES YOU GO BY:
1. Cecilia
2. Ceil
3. Poop
THREE SCREEN NAMES YOU HAVE HAD:
1. Goalieceil
2. Garveyc25
3. Nhldork31
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. my hair
2. my smile
3. my nose
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU DON’T LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF:
1. my legs
2. my stomach
3. my butt
THREE PARTS OF YOUR HERITAGE:
1. Irish
2. French
3. German
THREE THINGS THAT SCARE YOU:
1. the dead woman under my bed
2. being alone
3. any type of pain -- physical, mental, or emotional
THREE OF YOUR EVERYDAY ESSENTIALS:
1. 8 hours of sleep
2. my cell phone
3. my computer
THREE THINGS YOU’RE WEARING NOW:
1. my glasses
2. a bandana
3. Monkey sandles
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE BANDS OR MUSICAL ARTIST
1. Dave Matthews Band
2. BareNaked Ladies
3. Indigo Girls
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE SONGS
1. Cecilia
2. Lie in Our Graves
3. 100th Meridian
TWO TRUTHS AND A LIE:
1. It's much too sunny outside for me to consider going to work today
2. I still occationally wet the bed
3. I'm my parent's favorite child - they told me so while we were in Napa
THREE PHYSICAL THINGS ABOUT THE PREFERRED SEX THAT APPEAL TO YOU:
1. stomach
2. shoulders
3. lips
THREE OF YOUR FAVORITE HOBBIES:
1. sleeping
2. watching TV
3. pooping
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO REALLY BADLY RIGHT NOW:
1. go back to bed
2. watch some TV
3. eat some Mighty Taco
THREE CAREERS YOU’RE CONSIDERING:
1. stay-at-home care-giver for Emmett
2. restaurant reviewer (have you noticed Chuck E. Cheeses has never been reviewed?)
3. fat character actress, like the mom on What's Eating Gilbert Grape
THREE PLACES YOU WANT TO GO ON VACATION:
1. Ireland to have an Irish Car Bomb
2. Italy
3. mom and dad's house
THREE KIDS NAMES YOU LIKE:
1. Julian
2. James
3. William
THREE THINGS YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE:
1. get married
2. get the stamp from Desidario's off my hand
3. get totally moved into an apartment
THREE WAYS THAT YOU ARE STEREOTYPICALLY A GIRL/BOY:
1. I just bought pink shoes for fun.
2. I can't parallel park.
3. I like the Yankees for rich men in tight white pants
THREE CELEBRITY CRUSHES
1. Orlando Bloom
2. Angelina Jolie
3. George Clooney
THREE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW MEMED:
1.Lisa
2.Raissa
3.Leah

Cat Saga

Hiya! So, Emmett came home with me on Saturday. I opened the box he (ok, so, she's actually a she, but, I like the name Emmett so I'm changing her to a him...) came home in and he ran under the dishwasher. Luckily the dishwasher connects to the cabinets so Emmett spend the first 24 hours or so of his life with me in the cabinet. I went to work on Sunday and when I came home, Emmett was gone. I was sure he was dead somewhere. Then I realized that he had run into a hole in the spare bedroom closet that goes into the bathroom walls. So I sat in the closet and talked to him through the hole for hours and hours. He never came out. I had to work on Monday and when I came back home he still hadn't come out. He finally came out at 1 am Wednesday morning (another story in itself...for a small animal he sure can sound like a big man coming in to rob and kill me...), and went back into the kitchen.

So, Yesterday I woke up and was getting ready for work when I heard Emmett coughing behind the bathtub. I was a little sad that he had gone back into the wall, and confused about how he had gotten there since all the doors were closed, but I looked for him in the kitchen and he wasn't there, and who else would be coughing behind my bathub? So I talked to him for a while through the hole in the closet and asked him to come out. I told him if he did I'd make sure he got medicine so his cold went away, but he just kept coughing and coughing. Finally I gave up and went to get some breakfast...Emmett was in the kitchen cabinet. So, I have no idea what's living behind my bathtub. Maybe Agnes the dead woman decided to shower.

Chuck E. Cheeses was a big success. I got a new wallet with all the tickets I won (well, everyone else won and gave to me. After a few beers from a sippy cup it's hard to actually win any of those games...). It's a SpongeBob wallet. I also got 2 packs or Smarties and 2 plastic rings with big beautiful stones.

Well, I'm off to get my dress fitted for Mike and Lisa's wedding. I don't know how many days are left, but, not many! YAY!

Jury Duty, Emmitt Pumpkin, New Lessons, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Wow, this is going to be a long long post. That's what I get for not posting...

First, I had jury duty. I liked it. Probably because I only sat in the big room that everyone starts out in for, like, and hour. Then they pulled me back into the smaller room with about 25 other people and they questioned us forever. I was positive I was going to be put on the jury, but at the last minute they kicked me off. It was a little bit like Survivor. Really. I was sitting in the front row, which means I was on the jury, and the woman came in with the bibles to swear us all in, and said, "Cecilia Garvey, you can collect your things and go to the front desk. The rest of you place your right hand..." I was so sad. But then I was mad...They kept me there and questioned me for 800 hours and they knew right away they didn't want me. Stupid lawyers. One of them was named John Hickey. I like to call him Richard.

Yesterday I went to Petsmart and I met Pumpkin. Pumpkin is a 7-year-old yellow cat. I'm in love with him. So I filled out an application to adopt him. I hope I'm approved, because I dreamt about him last night. I'm changing his name, though, to Emmitt. I think it's OK, because, first of all, he's a cat. Cat's don't know their names. So it doesn't matter. And second, I'm going to sit down with him and tell him, "Emmitt, your old owner called your Pumpkin, but that's a stupid name, so I'm going to call you Emmitt." He'll be fine. And he can keep Pumpkin as his middle name. That's what they do with kids on Adoption Story on Discovery Health Channel.

Today I learned that no one should move bookshelves upstairs by themselves. Especially if I built them. There's a good chance they'll fall apart and the bottom half will drop on your foot halfway up the stairs. I also learned that if you hammer screws into a bookshelf they'll fall apart when you try to move the bookshelf upstairs.

And, the most important part of the blog:


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

Yes, today is the best holiday of the year - my birthday. I'm celebrating by unpacking and doing laundry. I'm saving all my real celebrating for Chuck E. Cheeses. I can't wait! They have tie-dyed t-shirts there. I'm planning on getting one and wearing it for the next week, at least...

Moving Day, Part 1 and Happy Birthday Leah!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEAH! And George Clooney. His birthday is either today or tomorrow, and I'm sure I could figure it out, but, since he won't be reading this blog, it doesn't really matter if I'm off by a day, does it? Anyway, Leah, I hope you're birthday is great.

So, I'm moving today. I've moved everything from my bedroom from the downstairs apartment to the upstairs apartment. Well, except for my mattress, my dirty clothes, and my dresser. All the drawers of the dresser are upstairs, though. So, I stopped moving stuff for some lunch, and now I'm going to move my bathroom.


OH MY GOD!!! LISA KRAMER IS ON TV! I'm watching the noon news on Channel 4 and a commercial came on and Lisa Kramer was on it...I wish I knew what it was for...

Ok, sorry, ADD...

Anyway, I'm off to move my bathroom. It may take a while, I have a lot of rubber duckies and Mr. Bubble. But I'll update again today and let you all know how the move is going.

Ok, so, I was memed. I have to write about the stupidest thing I've ever done. But, and I've seriously been thinking about this since Mike memed me on April 22nd, I can't think of anything stupid I've done! I'm pretty SMRT, I guess. But I'm sure I've done something stupid, so if you can think of anything, comment and let me know.

In the meantime, LISA HAS A BLOG! And she better keep writting in it, because it's funny. If you can't think of anything I've done that's stupid, you can just read her blog.

Now I have to meme 3 other people...

Raissa - I know you won't read this until July, but when you do, you've been memed.
Lisa - since you weren't officially memed, I'm memming you, even though you've already written your meme blog...
Katie Battaglia - you need to start a blog, and your first post should be on the stupidest thing you've done.

HELLO! I'M BACK! Aren't you happy? I am. Except that it's 2 am and I'm wide awake...that wouldn't bother me if I didn't actually work tomorrow and the next day AND the day after that(time is normally irrelevant to me...I can sleep at any time, so if I'm awake, I'm awake)! I'm very sorry about my long absence, but I broke my computer, and then Esther and John moved (boo for me, YAY for them!) and took their wireless with them. So, you might ask, how am I updating right now? Well, let me tell you a little story.

I've been saving money for about a year for no particular reason. I decided recently I would buy a new computer. I told Dad, and he said he'd take me out to get me one. I said no, I wanted to get it myself. So he said he'd take me to help me pick it out. Then we discussed laptops vs. desk tops. He likes lap tops. I do too, but I like the price of the big computers. So today we went to CompUSA, and he looked at lap tops for himself, and then bought me one too. I love him. Who said you can't buy love? After that we met Mom for dinner at Siena. It was good, but the best part was the company. Mom had just heard Alfie's heartbeat (for those of you who don't know, Alfie is Esther and John's baby...that's the name I gave it) so they spent a lot of time talking about the baby and I was a little jealous, but it was all good...I figure I was too young to really be jealous when Louis and Mary were born, but now that I'm 6 this new baby is really going to effect me.

As for the internet, I think the guy next door with the pool also has wireless internet, because as long as I'm in the bathroom, the living room or sitting against the wall in my bedroom I can get online. It would probably work well in the spare bedroom, but that room scares me. That's were Agnes the dead woman lives when she's not under my bed.

I Love Traveling...

Today I flew to NY. My flight, that was supposed to leave at 8:55, left at 10:20. By that time I had gone through a large Tim Hortons coffee (I didn't win roll up the rim...), a diet coke, and a bottle of water. So when we landed in NY at 11:30ish, I really had to pee. I practically ran off the plane to the baggage claim bathroom. After I peed and washed my hands I went into the baggage claim area. I had asked the flight attendant which carousel my bag would be on, but he didn't know what I was talking about. Our conversation actually went like this:

Me: Do you know which number our bags will be on in baggage claim?

Him: I don't know what you're talking about. You have a flight number, right? 2030-something? I don't know what you're talking about.

Me: Ok, thank you.

So, granted, I didn't really make much sense. I could have asked which number CAROUSEL our bags would be on. But, really...he works in the airline business. He should know what I was talking about.

Anyway, I made it to carousel #1 (my flight number was listed on the TV screen, so I was pretty sure I was at the right place) and I had been there for less and 2 seconds when a security guard started yelling at me from across the airport.

Security Guard (in an Indian accent): Miss! Hey, You, Miss! Have you seen your bag yet?

Me: Uh, no, not yet, bu...

S.G.: Then you must go to that office!

Me: But my flight...

S.G. No, you must go to the office and report your bags. They did not get here.

Me: Ok, but I just came from Buffa...

S.G.: You will never get your bags unless you go to the office and report them not here!

Me (under my breath, walking to the office): Ok, but, my flight just got here...we aren't even all off the plane yet....

So, of course, as soon as I got to the office my bag was the first onto the carousel from my flight. The man then yelled, as I walked to get it:

S.G.: Miss, are you on the flight from Buffalo? Why did you not say so? Is that your bag?

And he kept talking as I walked away.

I love NY...

Sometimes when I'm talking to someone about something especially interesting, or especially boring for that matter, I think, "Hm, this would make a GREAT blog subject." That's what I just thought in the middle of the conversation I was having with myself while painting the ceiling of my hallway. Here's how the conversation in my head went:

Me #1: I hate painting, I hate painting, I hate painting...

Me #2: But think of all the things you're learning from it. Responsibility, not to put too much paint on the paint brush, not to kick full buckets of paint, that dish soap gets paint out of the carpet...

Me #1: and that drinking before 11 am is OK if you get up by 9 am.

Me #2: I'm still questioning that last one...

Me #1: Shut up. I'm going to write in my blog.


So, this is why I don't get any painting done.

Random stuff about Me.

I got this email from my mom, but then answered the questions about myself, like I was supposed to. I sent it out, but thought I'd post it here, too, so everyone can learn some random stuff about me.


1. What time did you get up this morning? I have no idea what time it was when I got up the first time to go to the bathroom...it was much too early, though, so I went back to sleep and got up and dressed when Mary called at 10:13

2. Diamonds or pearls? Both

3. What was the last film you saw at the movies? Hitch

4. Favorite TV shows? L Word, Ellen, Family Guy, the one where the wives switch places, and the one where the nanny comes in and takes care of the really bad kids and teaches the parents how to be parents.

5. What did you have for breakfast? Gatorade. Then coffee and an everything bagel from Tims.

6. What is your middle name? Catherine

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Chef Boyardee Ravioli. Or lobster. Or fois gras. Or anything I ate in Napa except marrow.

8. What foods do you dislike ? Marrow. And liver. And cilantro.

9. What is your favorite chip flavor? Lays cheddar and sour cream.

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Bowling for Soup's new CD. I just got it yesterday.

11. What type of car do you drive? Ethyl. a '96 Saturn.

12. Favorite Sandwich? grilled cheese that's done just right with a lot of cheese that all melted and not burned bread.

13. What characteristics do you despise? slow drivers in the left lane. and not trying to make someone happy when it's easy to do.

14. Favorite item of clothing? my Flying Bison Sweatshirt and my rubber duck pajama pants.

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? I'd love to go back to Napa, or go see Italy or Paris...or to Gulf Shores for some crab claws.

16. What color is your bathroom? bright pink. But the ceiling is white now. Thanks Raissa :)

17. Favorite brand of clothing? Flying Bison Brand. And anything from Target.

18. Where would you retire to? I'm semi-retired right now, and spend a lot of time in bed, so...I guess my bed in South Buffalo.

19. Favorite time of the day? Nap time

20. What was your most memorable birthday? my 6th birthday. My whole kindergarten class came to my birthday party and we had a circus theme. After that all my birthdays seem a little fuzzy...

21. Where were you born? Flowood, Mississippi

22. Favorite sport to watch? hockey

23. Who do you expect to send this back to you? Mary

24. Person you don't expect to send it back to you? Momma

25. What fabric detergent do you use? Tide

26. Coke or Pepsi? Diet Coke and regular Pepsi

27. Are you a morning person or a night owl? neither, really...

28. What is your shoe size? 7.5

29. What is your ring size? I don't know, but I'll say 7.

30. Do you have any pets? a beta fish named Marzipan

31. What did you want to be when you were little? rich...

32. If you could have dinner with anybody in the world,who would it be? my family. Or Jesus. Or Malto Mario, if he was cooking.

You know what my newest reason for disliking Bush is? HE ALWAYS INTERUPTS ELLEN! WHY CAN'T HE HOLD A PRESS CONFERENCE DURING THE PRICE IS RIGHT???? I mean, really...I know Ellen probably did not vote for him and Bob might have, but Ellen is funny and I WANT TO SEE HER SHOW DAMMIT!

Ok, sorry...I'll write a real entry as soon as my internet is fixed.

10 Things I've Done

I'm stealing this from Scott, but he stole it too, so it's OK. The other day in his blog he wrote about ten things he'd done that probably no one else had. So, here it goes.

Ten Things I've Done That You Probably Have Not:

10. Got 100% on The State Game. Really. I did.

9. Got sick the day after having my throat blessed. One day after mass the priests blessed the throat of anyone who wanted to stay and stand in line. Esther, Mo, and I stayed and waited so we wouldn't get sick. The next day I thought I was going to die.

8. Bought a pool for my bath toys. Well, actually, one of the rubber duckies came with his own pool, and I make him share it with the rest of them. I think it was the Hideki Matsui duck that came with the pool...he shares with Giambi, Hippo, Cookie Monster, Frog, and Plain Duck too, though.

7. I've been six-years-old for 17 years. It's true. Just ask my parents.

6. I won twice in Roll Up The Rim on one cup of Tim Hortons tea. You know how when you order tea from Tim's they give you 2 cups? Well, at the Tim's on Bay and Bloor in Toronto they give you 2 Roll Up The Rim cups (everywhere around here they give you 1 Roll Up The Rim cup and one plain Tim Hortons cup). I won on both cups. 2 free cookies!

5. Went to College for fun. Ok, I didn't actually go to college for fun. I did occasionally do some work, but I knew the whole time I was there that my degree wouldn't get me anywhere. I mean, Christianity? What kind of job would I get with that??? Yet I stayed there for 4 years...

4. I saw Aaron Boone hit the homerun that beat the Red Sox on October 16, 2003 to send the Yankees to the World Series. Of all the great sports moments I've seen, this was probably the most exciting. Maybe I'll write a blog on that game someday...

3. I traveled all the way to the UK to eat McDonalds, Johnny Rockets, Pizza Hut, and Domino's. I also slept through all the bus tours, skipped the church tours and went right to the gift shops, got kicked out of Windsor Castle (they mean it when they say "Do Not Open"), and sprayed Guinness all over my homestay bedroom...maybe you should be glad you didn't do this.

2. Spent 3 weeks in Mexico with people who have nothing. There were people who were dying of thirst and I couldn't give them water...literally.

1. Have spent hours upon hours bonding with my roommate while I'm showering. Ok, so, my roommate is a fish named Marzipan who lives in a bowl in my bathroom, but I bet none of you can say that, either...

Cookies contain fat?!?!

My homepage when I open Explorer is Netscape.com. It's a fairly informative page, meaning that I get the important news, like "the sport most americans hate" (according to Netscape the #1 most hated is dog fighting. I'd have to agree), as well as fun stuff, like quizzes to see whether or not I'm a good kisser (of course I am, with all the practice I get). Today when I opened Explorer and netscape came up the first story I saw was titled "Girl Scout Cookies' Dirty Little Secret." As a former girl scout and a current cookie maker, I had to read it. It turns out that anyone who is surprised by this secret probably does not know how to turn on a computer, and therefore is not reading anything on Netscape.com.


Girl Scout Cookies' Dirty Little Secret
It's that time of year when Tagalongs and Thin Mints tempt you from street corners everywhere. Girl Scouts are in full swing peddling their cookies, but what they won't tell you is that the delicious tidbits are packed with high levels of unhealthy trans fats, a component of the partially hydrogenated oil used in the cookies that is particularly bad for heart health.


Is this really news? Cookies are bad for you. I'm a little disappointed with Netscape for putting this on their page, and it if wasn't for the fact that they told me I'm sexy (according to a quiz I took the other day), I might have to find a new homepage.

On a completely different note, everyone should check out Raissa's blog. I'd put it over on the side of my blog but I forgot how to do that, so until I see Mike again and have him show me, use that link.

Fifty Nifty United States

Today I got up early and had done everything I was obligated to do by 1. I was really excited and thought I could spend the whole day catching up on stuff...like painting...but I got home and looked at my couch and thought, "well, a short nap during a movie won't hurt." So I pulled Me, Myself, & Irene off the shelf, but inside the box was a home video entitled "Summer 1994." It put me right to sleep. I love my family, but, man, we're boring. Even Louis and Caitlin (10-years-old in the video) doing dances couldn't keep me awake, because the rest of the video (almost 2 hours of shots of the trees and grass around our house) was sofa king boring. So I slept until 4. Then I woke up and and thought, "Well, at least I can make myself a nice healthy dinner and do some recipe research." I checked my email first, though, and mom had sent me this: Place the States. I got nothing done for the rest of the day. But, I can now tell you where every one of the 50 states goes (well, the square ones in the middle I don't always get right, but no one cares about them anyway). Yes, I know I should have learned that in 2nd grade, but I didn't. I'm proud of myself for learning it now. Maybe Ellen will let me come on her show and show everyone how smart I am...last week she had a 10-year-old who knew a lot about presidents, but I bet he doesn't know where Colorado is.

Dave makes me Happy

You know how some songs take you right back to where you were when you heard them the first time? Or, maybe not the first time, but at a special time? All of Dave Matthews songs do that to me. Whenever I hear them I start to feel a little drunk and I can feel the heat of the sun and I'm right back on the lawn at Darien Lake. Maybe that's why I love him so much. His music makes me happy because I was so happy at the first Dave concert I went to. And the 3rd and 4th. The 2nd was only so so. But, anyway. Dave concerts make me happy, and that's why I'm happy today (well, one reason...others reason include lunch at Duffs, grape juice, cookies, sunflower seeds, and a great nap...the rest I'll tell you about in another entry...maybe...) I found out recently that Dave's coming on Wednesday July 27th. Tickets go on sale April 2nd at 10 am. I'm can't wait. Anyone wanna go?

5 Questions

Mike stole an idea from somewhere and had someone as him 5 questions which he answered on The Royal Toybox. He then proposed that anyone who wanted to play his game could leave a comment and he would write back with 5 questions for them to answer on their blog. Here are my 5 questions from Mike:

Dear Cecilia:1. if you could be reincarnated as any animal, what would it be? 2. if you chose "housecat", to whom would you belong?3. what was your favorite age? which was your favorite grade?4. you have received wondrous praise from someone special. who is it, and what did you do to deserve said accolades?5. what is one thing about you that you have never admitted on The Short Bus?

So, I'll answer them. And then anyone who wants to can leave a comment asking me for 5 new questions, and I'll come up with some for you to answer in your blog.

1. If I could be any animal it would be a turtle. They carry their house around with them and when they're sick of people they just go inside. No one thinks they're antisocial...
2. If I were a cat I would want to belong to someone with no kids (an no hopes of having kids) who could lavish all their attention on me. And not some crazy cat lady. I want to be the only cat in my owner's life.
3. Looking back I don't see why I didn't like Kindergarten more, but I seem to remember crying every day when I got there...I guess my freshman year in college was my favorite grade. No one expects you to do well, and there's all that free beer...yum...free beer...my favorite age would be now, 6-years-old.
4. I would like to be praised by God for being a good person...since that probably won't happen, I'll just be happy that mom noticed I did the dishes tonight.
5.Hm...one thing I've never admitted here? Well, I have a problem...it's actually Scott's fault because he put the link to the FEMA Kids Page in his blog, and they have online coloring there. It's so addictive! I can't stop. I even signed up for a membership at coloring.com...