commiserating

One of my coworkers is having a BAD DAY. I approached her by asking if I could help in any way.

"I have chocolate," I offered.
"I need beer," she countered.

I feel ya.

The perfect business

Some jobs are really seasonal. Take my tax guy, for instance. He must be kinda bored right now, post-April 15th and all. That got me thinking of other seasonal jobs...and I came up with the perfect business. It's a tax preparation-fireworks-costume-Christmas store shop stand office! You would be rolling in the dough ALL YEAR LONG baby!

Aloha means hello and goodbye

I know this is going to come as a shock, but our 7-day trip in Hawaii was fabulous! Let me give you just a few of the highlights:

• new friends - Bethany & Jerry from San Diego
• helicopter tour of the island
• volcanoes
• whale sighting!
• rain forests
• best margarita ever - passion fruit!
• boogie boarding
• snorkeling - it was like Finding Nemo!
• white sand beaches
• black sand beaches
• Lava!
• waterfalls
• traditional Polynesian Luau
• booze cruise
• mai tais
• gorgeous winding roads

There are lots of great stories and pictures, but those will have to wait for now. In the meantime, this is a picture of me with the world's best margarita. I love passion fruit!

btw

We will be in Hawaii in 2 days.

TWO DAYS, PEOPLE!!

This. Changes. EVERYTHING.

For the last 16 years, I thought I was 5 foot 3 inches. I identified with this factoid. It was a part of me, like my hair color or my middle name.

I learned today that I am actually 5'4'' (and a smidge). I used to think of myself as a little lady. 5'4'' is actually ABOVE average (average height for an adult female in the United States is 5 feet 3.8 inches). Does this mean I am TALL and never knew it? What if I actually CAN reach the top shelf? What if I don't actually NEED to sit 2 inches from the steering wheel? I don't even know myself anymore.

Aloha!

Ben and I booked our trip to Hawaii!! We leave on April 26th and return on May 4th. I cannot explain how excited I am!!

So, if you are looking for me sometime in the next 3 months, I can be found at the gym. Wish me luck!

Merry Christmas and happy trails!

Ben, myself, my mom, dad and sister are heading up to South Dakota tomorrow (wish us luck on spending 6 hours in a car together!) for our Christmas celebration. We will be with my mom's family, eating, drinking and being merry. We will play bingo, in the Hanson tradition, and laugh until our stomachs give out. I'm really looking forward to it.

We will return on Christmas Day, as Ben and I both gotta make our endz, meaning we go back to work on the 26th.

I wish everyone a fun, safe and relaxing Christmas!! Happy birthday Jesus!

work safety vol. 2

So, just yesterday I posted about the carbon monoxide alarm going off....well, today my office was evacuated!

When I got into work today, I noticed a smell and the alarm was still going off. I was feeling lightheaded, but wasn't sure if it was just my aversion to mornings, acute carbon monoxide poisoning or me overreacting.

I had a meeting at 9:30 with a vendor, which I took off-site as not to poison someone that works for us. As we sit down with our coffee, I see a firetruck screaming down the road. I joke, "wouldn't it be funny if it was headed to my office?" Well it was.

My building was swarming with 2 firetrucks and half of the Olathe Police Department. Turns out, we have been exposed to slightly elevated carbon monoxide fumes for a few weeks.

Woohoo! Half day off! Question: should I really be this excited about my health being in danger? Who cares?! I can have a beer with lunch on a Thursday! Totally worth it! Plus, if I have done anything stupid in the past few weeks (only a small likelihood, really), I can blame it on the CO. That's a win-win-win!! Right?

little sweeties

I was on the Kansas City Plaza last night, ringing a bell for the Salvation Army, and this little sweetie walks by, hand in hand with her mom. She is staring up, mesmerized by the thousands of Christmas lights lining the buildings. She turns to me and says, "thanks for the lights!" I told her, "you're welcome!"

Later, another cute little one was lifted up to the bucket by her dad to drop in her change. Her daddy said, "can you tell her what this is for?" To this the little sweetie opened her big blue eyes even wider and told me, "for people who don't have food."

work safety

I was greeted at work this morning by the beep beep beep of a carbon monoxide detector. Shouldn't my company provide me with a safe workplace? Why am I the only one who is concerned about this? Maybe everyone else is too woozy from the poisoned air to be able to worry about it....

(slowly going crazy to the tune of beep beep beep)

new favorite past time

Okay, you may know my affinity for celebrity gossip. Don't get me wrong - I know it's brain rot. I am fully aware of that. But I pass it off as entertainment. Plus it really makes me feel normal. (Britney anyone?) But I found myself wasting too much time with it. So, I grounded myself. I am not allowed to look at celebrity gossip until after the New Year. Obviously, I need a new vice. So, now I am addicted to lolcats. I have been loving lolcats for a while now, but I have really stepped up my consumption. Not only do I visit http://icanhascheezburger.com/ daily, I vote on the new submissions. This means unlimited entertainment for Sal. Check it out: I even made some of my own for Milo and Alex! Click here, here and here.

Is there a 12 step program for this? Any help is appreciated.

Back in business?

Hello out there in cyberland! I realize it has been approximately one million years since I last posted. How very un-web 2.0 of me. And I can't promise that I will get back to regular posting, but I will try. I've had a very hard past 6 months and a few things that I enjoy had to be pushed to the side. Things are getting better, but I am still overwhelmed by life.

Anyway, I hope I still have a few readers out there. Thanks!

Happy Anniversary!

Today Ben and I celebrated our 1 year anniversary.

Labor Day 2007

Ben, Milo and I went camping at Cross Timbers State Park (in Toronto, Kansas) over the Labor Day weekend. We had a really great time.

Rednecks in Missouri? No way!

I probably shouldn't advertise this, since I live in the fine state of Missouri, but...there are a few rednecks in Missouri. Case in point: can you see the sticker on the window of the truck below? It's Calvin pissing on something (how clever AND original!!). In this case, it is Calvin pissing on PETA (People for the Ethic Treatment of Animals).

Yikes.

BTW, I took this picture while driving to work. Because that's safe. And you never know when you will see something ridiculous on your commute. Especially in Missouri.

I love this song right now

I'm not a big Matchbox 20 fan, but I love this song from Rob Thomas, called "Little Wonders." The lyrics are below.

"Little Wonders"
by Rob Thomas

Let it go,
Let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know
The hardest part is over
Let it in,
Let your clarity define you
In the end
We will only just remember how it feels

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain

Let it slide,
Let your troubles fall behind you
Let it shine
Until you feel it all around you
And i don't mind
If it's me you need to turn to
We'll get by,
It's the heart that really matters in the end

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain

All of my regret
Will wash away some how
But i can not forget
The way i feel right now

In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists & turns of fate
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away but these small hours
These small hours, still remain,
Still remain
These little wonders
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away
But these small hours
These little wonders still remain

August 27

Two years ago, these two crazy kids got engaged on Lake Poinsett in South Dakota. Let me tell ya...that was a pretty good day.

Good/Bad news

Good news: NBC is bringing back the American Gladiators!
Bad news: They will probably completely change it, making a mockery of the awesome previous version.


Here is a clip of the ORIGINAL AG. How can anyone improve upon this?!?

what did you get me??

Happy 1/2 birthday to me! You have had 6 months to shop, so I bet the present you got me is pretty good!

In Memory of

my dad, Chuck Peterson.