bravenation

Ganked from Effie:


1. What time did you get up this morning?   6:00 AM (It's illegal in Virginia for me to sleep past sunrise and I look horrible in orange with prison bar accessories)
2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. At least that's what Angel (aka E) says but take it with a grain of salt as she can't remember what she just ate for lunch.  *g*   (I totally love you, Angel, so don't kill me!)
4. What is your favorite TV show? Law and Order: SVU  (I can't live without the pretty!)
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? hmmm, I eat at work so something easy like a mini bagel or a pop tart...sometimes grits.  mmm... grits. 
6. What is your middle name? Michele (with one L because you can't spell hell....according to my mother)
7. What food do you dislike? sushi (sorry Angel)
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Christmas Eve and Other Stories, Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Because Christmas without TSO is just December.  (Totally Angel's answer but when she's right she's right and her conducting rocks!)
9. What kind of car do you drive? Sally Sue, AKA a Ford Escape Limited.
10. Favorite sandwich? A turkey sandwich on wheat bread that has been walked through the garden but no mushrooms.  Ick!
11. What characteristic do you despise? Self absorbed people are my least favorite...
12. Favourite item of clothing? My Gap sweatpants that I got in Celebration last year when E and I spent Thanksgiving with her fam in Florida.
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? If I say anything other than Venice, K would probably kill me. J  (damn skippy :)  To be serious it would be Venice.  I fell in love with that city when we were there.  Love it!
14. Favourite brand of clothing? Ann Taylor Loft
15. Where would you retire to? No clue...Fort Knox (Because robbing Fort Knox is the only way I'll ever have enough money to retire.)
16. What was your most recent memorable birthday? My 10th birthday.  My step grandfather had just passed away and we (Mom, me and brother) were visiting from Germany where we lived at the time.  Anyway, the 10th is supposed to be a big one but we had nothing planned.  I treasure this birthday because it's the one where my Grandmother took me into the kitchen with her and taught me how to make southern biscuits from scratch.  Playing in the dough was beyond awesome.
17. Favourite sport to watch? Baseball (Red Sox and Braves!)
18. Furthest place you are “tagging” this? The furthest recesses of my mind. (E's answer totally works :))
19. Person you expect to send it back first? No one....because, really...did you see when I last updated!?!?
20. When is your birthday? September 29
21. Are you a morning person or a night person? Morning....I love to get things done and out of the way so I can chill in the afternoon.
22. What is your shoe size? 9 ½. or 10
23. Pets? Tipper the Bitchy, Spencer the Gay, Mars the Awesome Cat, Maddie the Fattie Other Cat
24. ? Sometimes.  (?????)
25. What did you want to be when you were little? A pediatrician...until I learned how much I suck at science.
26. How are you today? Tired...work is killing me.
27. What is your favourite candy? Jolly Rancher Jelly Beans (Especially the red ones but then I live with a dastardly thief who ate ALL of the red 'lly beans.)
28. What is your favourite flower? Carnations (I'm so cheap).
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to? Friday.  I'm off every Friday in December, woo hoo!
30. What’s your full name? Krista Michele Collins (Beebo)
31. What are you listening to right now? Law and Order SVU  :)
32. What was the last thing you ate? chocolate chip cookie dough
33. Do you wish on stars? No.
34. If you were a crayon, what colour would you be? Blue
35. How is the weather right now? Cold and getting colder...bring on the 19 degrees monday morning...I'm ready, really I am.
36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today? Haven't been on the phone today, thank goodness.
37. Favourite soft drink? I don't drink soda.  I haven't had one in over 10 years. 
38. Favourite restaurant? hmm, Poncho Villa?!?
39. Real hair colour? Pick a strand and guess a color.  :)  Right now I'd have to say it is brown to light brown with blonde streaks, however in my lifetime I've had jet black hair, blonde hair, strawberry blond hair and the color it is now.  All this and I have never in my life had my hair colored.
40. What was your favourite toy as a child? my marbles...I totally loved beating the boys on base in Germany and winning their marbles.  :)
41. Hugs or kisses? both
42. Chocolate or Vanilla? hmm, both!?!
43. Coffee or tea? Neither. I do not drink either one.
44. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes
45. When was the last time you cried? Damn it, I really need K for this shit! I have no idea. (Here I am!)   My answer:  The day I watched the video "Ninety Nine Balloons" about baby Eliot.  This answer works for E to...I had to share the cryage...it's a rule :)  This all took palce about a month ago.
46. What is under your bed? The cats, some water bottles, some storage Totes that have something we once deemed important in them.  (Totally taking E's answer since it is our bed after all :))
47. What did you do last night? chilled on the couch since I had the day off (woo hoo!) and then I watched the  pretty on Law and Order: SVU and then bed...
48. What are you afraid of? Another blood clot, failure, getting in the way of K and Mariska Hargitay. (You're totally right, Angel)
For me:  Losing E to another blood blot.
49. Salty or sweet? Sweet.
50. How many keys on your key ring? 5--house, car, mailbox, storage unit, mom and dad’s house plus a gazillon store card key tags.
51. Favorite day of the week? The day that I get to flex out...for this month every Friday!
52. If you can choose your talent, what would it be? playing the piano
51. Do you make friends easily? Pretty much, growing up an army brat taught me to make friends quickly.
54. How many people will you tag this to? K. Because she hasn’t updated her LJ in three years.  (Hah!  See, I do read your journal and I just updated mine!)  By the way, it's only been two years...the last entry was in 2006.  Now repeat after me:  If I have 2008 apples and I give you 2006 apples how many apples do I have left,,,
55. How many will respond? None, since there are none...wow, that makes me a little lame.  :)

Wow.  I'm really on top of this updating thing, aren't I?

Let's do the last two months in a nutshell.  Birthday month was fabulous.  E really spoiled me.  Not that I don't deserve it, mind you. :)  I'm looking forward to her birthday month.

October was a blast.  E and I went down to visit the parental units and take them to see the Patriots play the Falcons.  It was fabulous watching Dad have such a great time.  Halloween was interesting.  We had a ton of cute little trick or treaters.  Not to mention an amazing number of very polite kids too.

November was a little busy. No wonder it's already the end of the month.  We did manage to head to PA to visit E's parents.  That's always fun.  We're heading back up next weekend to watch her Mom perform her Christmas concert. 

Thanksgiving was nice.  Crazy, but nice.  One of these days I'll relay the C&P drama but for now everyone in the family is doing really well.  We got home late Sunday, so I took a half day yesterday and we got the Christmas tree up.  The red room is totally decorated for the holidays.  We're going to put another tree upstairs in our room.  When we are done we'll have 3 trees. 

I think that covers everything...nothing too exciting.  The Christmas shopping is done except for E.  Not too bad.  I managed it all on Friday morning.

Now, before I forget, I was tagged by E this morning and I should complete it since I promised I would.  So here goes...

Name 10 of life's simple pleasures that you like most, then pick 5 people to do the same. Try to be original and creative and not to use things that someone else has already used. Tag 5 people on your list.

1. TiVo.

2. Doing anything with Elizabeth.

3. Sitting on the couch drinking hot chocolate on a snowy morning with only the Christmas tree on.

4. Watching favorite TV shows or movies.

5. Reading my Jamie and Claire books.

6. The quiet time in the office before everyone comes in and ruins it.

7. Climbing into our oh-so-comfy bed with its pillow top mattress and feather pillows.

8. Climbing into bed and watching TV or talking.

9. Sleeping late.

10. Accomplishing something.

I don't have 5 people on my list, so I tag Amy since E already got Taryn.

I've got the greatest girlfriend in the world!!!!  The best.  The Greatest.  The most amazing.  :)

I got home today after being delayed for over 30 minutes on the train.  That was fun.  On the plus side, I had the seat to myself for the entire trip.  Whee!  When I walked in there was a brightly wrapped present sitting on the coffee table and a very bouncy E telling me to open my present.  Not one to disappoint, I jumped right in.  Guess what it was?  Two boxes of nothing but sour apple Blow Pops!!!  Almost 100 of the greatest sucker / lollipop in the world.  Did I mention how fantastic E is?? 

I've got apple Blow Pops!!!  Woohoo!!

I totally forgot to mention the most fabulous name of the day.  I got it from ajc.com and an article about a woman arrested for fraud.  Ready for the name?   Berretta Jo Hogg.  I think it's the 'Jo' that gives it a certain je ne sais pas.

I'm sitting at my desk slowly watching the minutes tick by on the little clock in the corner of the screen.  It's simply not moving fast enough.  I was ready to go home before I even left the house this morning.

Nothing exciting is going on.  E stayed home again today.  She's in a lot of pain with her right leg.  She says it doesn't feel like clot hurt, but it's still mucho painful.  She did fall up (yes, up) the stairs Sunday night and it's very possible that she pulled a muscle.  I left her home this morning (very reluctantly) will some Midol and some muscle relaxants.  I hope she's feeling better.  At the very least she should be sleeping.

We took Jenn to Ann Taylor last night to help us spend some of the $25.00 gift cards we received from our last major shopping trip there.  I'm really excited about all of the pretty clothes.  Jenn was able to get some really nice things and we also got Gwen two pairs of pants and four (I think) shirts.  They're both going to look awesome!  I picked up some new black pants in a size 6 (yay me for actually gaining some weight) and the elusive black turtleneck sweater that I searched all over the place for last year.  We ended up with almost $1,000 worth of clothes for $400.00.  Pretty cool, huh?  And the best part is we still have two of the little cards left.  That's good cause we've gotta get E some more of the turtleneck sweaters.

After Ann Taylor, we introduced Jenn to the magic that is Cheeseburger in Paradise.  This restaurant is awesome.  E loves their burgers.  I love, love, love their baby burgers.  Technically they're called mini-cheeseburgers but I like baby burgers more.  Picture your normal restaurant burger....got it?  Good.  Now miniaturize it to about the size of a Krystal (White Castle for you northern folks).  The great part is that they aren't all squishy like Krystals.  I usually get 6 of them and have the leftovers the next day.  This time I ordered the 10 plate so that I could share the baby burger leftovers with E and have some for lunch.  Life is good.  The expression on the waiters face when I said 10 was great.  I know he was looking at me and thinking I was nuts.  I think Jenn enjoyed CIP, too.  I know she loved the 'Six String' onion dish we got as an appetizer.  Think shoestring onion rings.  Yummy, yummy, and YUMMY.

Birthday month continued yesterday with a great black t-shirt that says 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good' on the front and 'mischief managed' on the back.  I LOVE IT!!!  E has done such an amazing job with birthday month.  I bow down to her.  On my part, I'm already planning for E's birthday month and for Christmas.  I can't wait for the holidays this year.  They're going to be awesome.

Okay, I should get back to work, but I did manage to put off reading food stamp policy for 20 minutes or so.  Yay me.  And now I only have 30 minutes until it's time to leave.  Woohoo!

Fingers crossed that the train is on time and the fiasco from yesterday is not repeated.

It's been a minute since I last updated.  Shame on me.  In my defense, it has been a very busy few weeks.

First, the tooth.  I did make it to see the dentist on 8/23.  He told me that I had an infection in the tooth and he gave me some antibiotic and pain medicine.  It took over a week, but the tooth finally started to feel better.  Today it has decided to start hurting again.  Joy.  Dentist-man said if it started to hurt again I'd have to go see an endodontic (aka Mr. Root Canal Man) to have some more work done the tooth.  I've already had a root canal on the tooth so who knows what else can be done.  We'll see.  I'll have to call tomorrow and try to get an appointment.

Work is okay.  It's been crazy busy.  First they took Christine off of the intake schedule so that she could cover a case load for a worker going out on extended medical leave.  This impacts me by greatly increasing the number of applications I get and the number of days I have to be on intake.  Even worse then that, the number of days that I have to be the on-duty worker has increased.  That sucks.  I hate being the on-duty worker...for several reasons.  I hate that you have to see anyone that walks in...whether they're ongoing or intake.  Why the ongoing workers get to skip being an on-duty worker is beyond me...and they bitch all the time that they're so over worked.  At least they don't have to deal with walk-ins and deal with their every whim. /rant.  The other thing I hate about being the on-duty worker is that you have to stay in the office until 5:00PM.  No exceptions.  That means a later train home which makes us get home later.  It's just crazy.  Work is also being impacted by Hurricane Katrina.  There are several hundred of Katrina evacuees in the area and we've seen a massive increase in Food Stamp, TANF, and Medicaid applications.  We have 24 hours to complete the cases.  That can be tough when you get several at one time.  At least, the state (or commonwealth...whichever) has pretty much waived everything for these applications.  We can take the client's word for everything.  That's so good.  E's also been slammed at work.  They've set a special hotline for kids that are missing due to the hurricane and she's getting hundreds of cases each day and she had to work on Labor Day.  Poor thing.  I'm trying to spoil her more at home to give her a break from all of the stress at work.

On the 'I spent too much money on you and you're only two years old, so what the HELL are you doing broken (or breaking)' front there are several things going on.  First, Sally Sue (my car for those of you who don't know *g*) has decided that she doesn't like her tires and feels that she would look better in a brand new set.  Second, my poor computer.  My best uneducated guess is that the hard drive is going.  E was a great help and we rapidly moved pictures and files to be housed on her computer until I'm back in business.  Good news is that I've only had the computer for two years and I upgraded to a three year warranty when I purchased the computer.  The bad news is that Sony has no record of this.  Thank goodness I keep all of my paperwork I have the original print outs from when it was built and I have the original warranty card.  So I've got to fax that to Sony to see if they'll honor it, but it's possible that the warranty was voided when the bankruptcy was discharged.  If so, then the decision becomes one of do I fix it or do I just get a new one.  While I'd love a new one I don't want to spend a huge sum of money again.  But new ones are so preeeeety.  See the dilemma?  So far, nothing else is breaking (crossing my fingers and knocking on wood).  Thank goodness for E.  She's sharing her computer with me until mine is back to normal again.

I need to remind everyone that this is birthday month.  An official announcement was made on September 1st.  E embraced this idea (as she should, duh!) and has been spoiling me like crazy.  The massive spoilage began with the most beautiful leather binder/journal that was handmade in London.  I'll have to take a picture of it and post it later so everyone can see it.  It's just awesome.  Then I got a nice package from Amazon with DVD's!!  She gave me "Hercules", "Bambi", "Monster's Inc", and "The Aristocats".  She had spoiled me enough for 5 birthdays but we came home on Thursday to a rather large box sitting in the foyer.  I opened this to find 3 cases of my favorite cookies.  She had managed to find a place online that sold the Snackwell Chocolate Sandwich cookies.  5 CASES!!!!!!  I have 180 four packs of cookies!!!!!!!!  Elizabeth is AWESOME!!!  She's the greatest girlfriend ever.  I just love these cookies.  I could die happy and there are still 18 days to the big day.  Did I mention how awesome E is?!?!?!?!?

I think that catches up on everything major that has been happening, now comes the fun stuff.  I've started reading the "Outlander" series again.  I so love these books.  I'm on the third of five right now.  The greatest news is that Diana Gabaldon is releasing book 6 on 9/27/05.  Happy birthday to me!!  I also have season 10 of "Friends" coming.  I can't wait for that...then I'll have the whole series on DVD.  E also ordered me "T.J. Hooker" on DVD.  So far, just seasons 1 & 2 are out and they're mine.  Woohoo!!  Hooker is the greatest comedy that really is a drama ever.  So, so funny.

I got up early this morning and went to Walmart this morning for a stocking up grocery shopping trip.  We literally had an empty freezer, an almost bare refrigerator, and a pretty bare pantry.  I arrived at Wallyworld around 9:30am and checked out at 11:21:28 (at least that's what the receipt says and it must be right).  Every spare spot in the buggy was taken...even the bottom.  It was only because of my massive commissary grocery shopping experiences with Mom and Dad that I was able to make it to the checkout with just one buggy.  It did take two, however, to get the stuff to the car.  97 items and $280.22 later we now have enough food for a small nation.  :)  Big thanks to E and Jenn for helping me get all the stuff in and out of the bags.  I finally finished separating the meat and getting it into the freezer and cutting up the cantaloupe and watermelon around 1:30.  I'm so tired now I could sleep for a week.  Mmm, sleep.  Comfy bed, comfy bed.  We now have the greatest bed in the world.  I should spend more time in it.

I'm going to stop rambling now.  I wonder if there is a size limit to a journal entry, either way this one is a record for me.

It's my first tag...I'm losing my virginity all over the place.  Hee.

List ten fictional characters (not actors/actresses) you would want to have sex with and then tag five people. Any media (movies, books, video games, etc).

1. Marty Saybrooke (One Life to Live)
2. WonderWoman (see left)
3. Colonel Dearing (Buck Rogers...have you seen those uniforms?)
4. Stacy Sheridan (T.J. Hooker...without the padded butt stuff)
5. Alexandra Cabot (Law and Order:  SVU)
6. DeeDee McCall (Hunter...the greatest show EVER)
7. Catherine Willows (CSI)
8. Dylan Moody (One Life to Live...he was a bit dumb but very, very cute)
9. Samantha Waters (Profiler)
10. Deanna Troi (Star Trek: The Next Generation)

I'll tag the first person to read this fabulous list. :)

So I clicked on the wrong button and just lost everything I had typed.  Bummer.

Here's a quick little run down in case anyone cares. :)

Good news from E that she doesn't have another clot; bad news that she'll have this pain for the rest of her life.  I think that's a good reason to spoil her with something.

We're trying to decide on something to eat.  Too bad we don't have a house elf.

And finally, I stole the following from effie214 who stole it from divine_serenity I think.  Anway, it's fun so I hope you'll answer.

1. Who are you?
2. Are we friends?
3. When and how did we meet?
4. Do you have a crush on me?
5. Would you kiss me?
6. Describe me in one word.
7. What was your first impression?
8. Do you still think that way about me now?
9. What reminds you of me?
10. If you could give me anything what would it be?
11. How well do you know me?
12. When's the last time you saw me?
13. Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn't?
14. Are you going to put this on your LiveJournal and see what I say about you?

I have finally joined the live journal ranks.  I'm not the best at writing, but I do enjoy reading all the fun stuff said by my friends.  So, we'll give this a try and see how well I do.

I have to give thanks to E for setting up my journal and making it pretty and everything.  Thanks, babe.  :)

It's finally Friday and I'm totally exhausted.  I'm having a hard time stringing a complete thought together so if I ramble too much please forgive me.

This has been the week from hell.  It started out okay, but then the world caved in with the discovery of the 'vistors' on Tuesday.  Since that night, I've averaged about 4 hours of sleep a night if I'm lucky and everything that can go wrong has.

E's been out of work since Wednesday with her leg hurting.  Last night we went to the hospital for an ultrasound.  It shows something but they're not sure what.  Could be a clot, could be damage to the vein from the first evil clot.  So, she has to go to the doctor this morning and then we'll go from there.  I hoping with everything I have that it's not another clot.  I know she's worried.  I just want to make it better.

I feel bad that I haven't been able to stay at home with her.  When her leg is bothering her this much I just want her to rest it as much as possible and I hate knowing that she's at home alone.  The good part is that she has been sleeping in so she hasn't been up too long by the time I get home.  I really wanted to go to the doctor with her this morning, but damn work.  I have case that come to their deadline today and if they're not done I'm in trouble.  I know she understands but I hate letting her down.

Anyway, I should be working not playing here.  It was good to ramble, though.  I am really trying to work but I can only seem to focus on the clock.  I'm waiting for E to call and tell me what time her appointment is and any other news.  Why is the morning dragging?

Okay, really going to work now.  It's official.  I'm no longer a live journal virgin!  Woo-hoo.  Go me.  :)