and we're back!

With everyone posting on their blogs, I didn't want to feel left out, so here I am! Its weird, I see Karissa and Amber almost every day, yet I feel like we haven't spent buddy time together for a long time. Its fun to see everyone writing on their blogs again.

Lately, it feels like Kevin, Aiden and I are in our own little routine, with no time to spare. Kevin doesn't get home until 6:15 or later, we eat, go to the gym, come home put Aiden to bed, laundry or cleaning, or "stuff to do" time, then go to bed.

One thing that I'm pretty happy about is that I'm getting more photography gigs. I have 3 weddings set up for this year... senior pics, baby pics and engagement pics. That keeps me busy and puts a little extra money in my pocket. Now only if I can save some money to get some newer camera equipment. As much as I'm going to LOVE going to Hawaii, a part of me kind of wishes that money could have gone to new camera gear. God knows I'm not the best money saver (I could learn a thing or two from Karissa and Amber and their coupon cutting skills) I don't think I spend too much on material items, but more on activities and spontanious purchases for Aiden. :) ok ok and maybe Target visits without a shopping list doesn't help either. I've been thinking of getting a second job to help pay for the camera gear because I really really want new stuff (especially if people are going to start really paying for it) I'd only work like 2-3 shifts a week. Finding the time to work would be the hard part! Plus Aiden wouldn't know what I looked like by the end of the week!

Kevin and I are going to the Y at least 3 times a week (and using our bike at home 2 times a week) I love it! Sometimes we have to remind eachother why we are doing this, but for the most part getting there isn't hard. Aiden also likes the daycare :)

Ok, there, I posted something. Now time to go to bed!

Holiday Baking.

Yes, I said baking... as in cookies, fudge and holiday goodies. I have never done this before, but since we are not giving gifts this year (saving our moolah for Hawaii) I thought it'd be a good idea. Now, I'm not beginning this venture with high expectations. I'll be happy if just one of my goodies turn out edible. Plus, I went the idiot proof way, and bought the Jello, Bakers, and Planters cookbook. Meaning all my goodies will have either bakers chocolate, nuts or pudding in it! ha!

I'm pretty excited about it!

We went shopping for Birthday/Christmas presents for Aiden yesterday, and got a majority of it done. The biggest gift that he is getting is a play Kitchen set. I know he's going to love it, and we've been waitig all year to get it for him. We also got him a digital camera for kids, a chalk board/white board isle, big box of legos (we thought he's about ready) and some other odds and ends. As I was looking at the toys I thought "where were these things when I was little!" Like that game where you move things with your mind. Anti-Gravity boots (making you able to jump REALLY high)

Once again, I procrastinated planning his Bday party, and now I'm a little stuck on where it'll be. But when they are this little I don't think it really matters as long as theres 1. a cake. 2. friends. and 3. presents!

I can not stress enough how much I'm looking forward to this whole potty training thing to be OVER! He does ok most days but then some days he just doesn't care :(
I also can not wait until he sleeps later than 5:30, 6:00am. We thought we would try to make his bedtime later, but he still got up at the same time, just crabbier. 5:30 is ok on weekdays because thats the time I get up for work anyway. But Saturdays? C'MON!

So there is my rambling for today. I wanted to write on my blog, and didn't have anything interesting to say, but decided to write anyway. Hope you are still checking my blog. yes, you, my 4 readers.

WANTED: Cheeseburger

I really want a cheeseburger. Yeah, you heard me. The whole point to this post is to declare my NEED for a juicy grilled cheeseburger.

If I had a cheeseburger right now I would put it on a homemade oversized bun. It would be smothered with grilled onions, ketchup and a small amount of mustard. I would have a pickle spear (sorry Karissa) on the side. My cheeseburger would be on a plate accompanied with rippled potato chips and french onion dip.

Doesn't that sound delicious? You know what tastes yummy after a cheeseburger? a big brownie with chocolate frosting on it and a BIG glass of milk. mmmmmmm.

Hotel Rant

work seems to be the only thing inspiring me to write on my blog, sorry, I think facebook rotted my internet brain.

With that being said, here is my new hotel story.

Today I took a call and it went a little something like this:

Me: "thank you for calling... blah blah... how may I help you?"

Old shivering voice lady: "I want to make a reservation"

Me: "sure! Have you stayed with us before"

Old Lady: "Of course I have! you people never remember a face, do ya, we're just another paying customer aren't we!"

(because I instantly knew who she was by her decrepit old voice and I could totally see her through the effin phone!)

Me: "I'm sorry, I think I missed your name" (because you never gave it to me!)

Old Lady: "Mary Johnson"

Me: "ok, I'm sorry, let me bring up your information so I can make a reservation for you..... are you the Mary Johnson from Dickinson?" (only Mary Johnson in our system)

Old Lady: "No, dangit, I'm not. I'm from Mohall"

Me: "I'm sorry, Ill have to get your information from you, I can't seem to find your name in our system"

Old Lady: "I've stayed there many times, at least 2 last year! I have the reciept from my last stay sitting in front of me right now!"

Me: "Can you give me the confirmation number so I can look up your last stay with us" (because obviously this whole process is 'easier' than just giving me your phone number and zip code)

Old Lady: "2******" (doesn't matter)

Me: "oh, weird, I'm getting an Isabelle Johnson. But you say its under Mary Johnson?"

Old Lady: "Well Hell yeah, its under Isabelle Johnson... thats the name I go by, but my real name is Mary Isabelle Smith" I haven't gone by Mary Johnson since I lived in Dickinson"

Me: Taking the deepest breath possible and trying my damnedest not to laugh my ass off at her stupidity I say calmly "Oh, I'm glad we're on the same page now.. haha... now when are you coming to stay with us?"

Old Lady: "well I don't know yet, my sister has a doctors appointment sometime next week, so I'll call when I know for sure what day"

I couldn't help but giggle as I was thanking her and telling her I look forward to helping her with her reservation later in the week.

Silly lady and not knowing her Doug Damned name!

HI

HI!!!!

ANOTHER trip to the ER

Yup... Kevin is in the ER again. He tripped over Aiden's horse and did something to his ankle. He thought he should get an x ray. So here I sit. I hope he didn't break anything!

Here are some more pics from the wedding...

SNEEK PEEK! Mr and Mrs. Suda.

Well... Here they are... some of them anyway. These are the "just for fun" pics. I haven't gotten the others all done yet, and they are in RAW format... which means they are HUGE files and not easily postable. These pics were just jpegs. so it was easier to post. There are a TON more... but here are some of my favs.


First Dance

My favorite picture out of all of them :)

I don't know why I love this pic so much, but its very artsy :)

Cutest pic of Ali :)

Right after the ceremony

THE kiss :)

Such a little man

HEEEEY!!

Waiting for something good...

Warning: This is a "poor me" post. This is me venting... because thats pretty much what I do best I think.

First of all... Beginning on July 1st, I will be paid by the hour. I'm currently a salaried employee. Now theoretically this should not affect my annual pay... theoretically I work 40 hours a week (uh huh)...I have the same responsibilities and the only thing changing is that now I have to punch a timeclock. Well, for some reason, this makes me mad. I can't explain the reasons behind my feelings, because I completely understand why they are doing it. But, It constantly feels like I'm being held back with this company. The entire time I've worked at the hotel, I've always had to ask for my raises... never have I been reviewed... I have to remind them that my anniversary has come and gone, and still am waiting for my "evaluation". I don't know exactly how many raises I've gotten, I think only 3 or 4 and two of them were because of a promotion and the others because I had to insinuate that if I didn't get a raise, I'd quit. When I was hired as AGM, I was given the minimum pay for the position. I have a feeling that if a person with my experience walked in, they would have offered them more. Plus all my experience is with THEIR company... pppfff.

Little secret (you know for all 4 of you that still read my blog) I'm lookin' for another job. I need a change. Not only because of the above reasons... but because I'm 28, I've worked there for 9 years and I feel like I am holding myself back just because I feel comfortable there. I feel like I'm letting my mind rot. I'm not learning anything new, I'm not being challenged. I don't want to be one of those crabby, "stuck in her ways" employees. Now, I'm not in a hurry to find another job... I'm just keeping my eye on the classifieds, if anything catches my eye, I'll look into it. Being that my college degree was an obvious mistake, I'm not specifically trained in anything useful so I HAVE to get experience in some sort of field or two so I have more career options.

I would give anything to stay home with Aiden all day. He spends 8 hours at daycare. I only see him for 4 hours a day... 4 HOURS! Thats it. thats all we have. Heidi spends more time with him than I do. I want to be the one to teach him things, like how to behave, manners, ABCs, numbers, potty training. I know he is two, and I know he's going through the terrible twos... but he hits ALL the time. He screams... and boy do I mean SCREAMS. we spend most of our 4 hours with him either telling him not to hit me, putting him in time out, fighting with him in public or getting him ready for bed. We're tired from work, and too often we let him free play alone or watch tv. I think if he was with me all day, he wouldn't need to act out so often to get attention. My house would be clean all the time, I would learn how to cook and I'd feel like cooking more healthy, homecooked meals. However, since we have two car payments, a house payment, utilities, cable (maybe cancelling this), medical bills from Aiden and Kevin's stays and surgeries, student loans, credit card debt, and now the freakin' Jeep's axel and transmission is all F'ed up.... GRRRRR. I can't afford to stay home. I think we should move into an apartment, buy used cars, and eat mac and cheese.

Oh, and I am honestly very sad about Michael Jackson's death. I understand he was a freak, I understand he probably did bad things at some points in his life and by no means do I overlook that part of him, but I loved his music. He was talented. I believe he deserves all the praise that he has recieved in his career. No one can argue that he didn't work hard for everything he had (and lost apparently) Almost all of the biggest and best have died an early and unexpected deaths. I can't say I'll miss him, because I haven't been following his story lately, I don't know what he's been doing, he hasn't released any new music. I can say that I will continue to enjoy his music and videos, even if they have been played over and over and over again for the past 2 days. Its just something I don't get tired of. Everyone has their favorite artist/celebrity/athlete.... Michael Jackson was mine and I feel for his kids. The only father they will really know is the one they read about in magazines and watch in documentaries. The oldest is only 12.

Well anyway, thats all the junk on my mind at the moment. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful that I have a job, a husband that loves me so much, and Aiden (smartest cutest kid ever!) On a daily basis I'm a pretty happy person. I just think its time for a change.

*ok I'm done now*

Whats in the box?

Last Friday a guest asked if we could hold a package for him. It was supposed to get to the hotel on friday when he was there, however, it got delayed and will be here on Monday. His parents were coming through GF on Thursday so they could pick it up when they were in town. I asked him how big the box was and he told me it weighed 7lbs, but he didn't know how big the box was going to be. I told him if it was too large, we wouldn't be able to hold it for him so I asked what was in the box. He said "all you need to know is that its nothing alive" So I agreed to hold it. The box came on Monday along with our new crockpot (for bisquites and gravy... ewww). In all the excitement of our new crockpot and things, Jan cut open the box, but then noticed the packing lable said it was for a guest so she put the box aside. Enter April.... coming back with lunch, I noticed the box and was like "ooooo whats in THIS one?" As I opened the box, I saw something inside with bright packaging, I pulled out the object to get a closer look. What was it? a big flesh colored vibrator. So here I am in the lobby holding a vibrator. Jan, laughing her ass off, says "PUT IT BACK!" So I threw it back in the box and shut the flaps. But, C'Mon... it was already open! I had to see what else was inside! So I carefully pushed aside the packing paper, and saw the following: An anal probe, another vibrator with a remote control, and an inflatable bondage chair! So by this time, Jan and I are giggling like little school girls. The funniest part is that this guy (and his wife) was having his father pick this box up. But wait... they have to take it across customs into Canada! I'm pretty sure they aren't going to let you take an unmarked box across the boarder when they don't know whats inside. I picture this elderly couple innocently carrying this box of sex toys (I'm guessing worth over 400.00) and the customs guy ripping open the box... HAHAHAHAHA!

anyway, it was hilarious.

Aiden the Builder

Last weekend Kevin and I bought a shoe rack so he began putting it together and Aiden REALLY wanted to help. He said "wait daddy, be riiiiight baaack, wait" He ran downstairs, got his Bob the Builder helmet and tools, ran upstairs and said "ok, I'm ready help you now"

Cutest. child. ever.

Kevin couldn't refuse that offer, so here they are working together on the shoe rack.

I would also like to add: NOTICE KEVIN USING THE DIRECTIONS!!! I love my husband, he's a real man.

Cindy

So... what do you think? Not my BEST stuff, but I love the places she brought me to. Cindy's cool, she's my new assistant (unpaid slave). She's an awesome photog herself so its important that she likes these pics. To me they all look the same, just with different backgrounds.

and yes, her shirt says "Its cool to eat at school" just because I know you're gonna ask.

Oh Yeah! I have a BLOG!!! I almost forgot...

Yeah, so its been a loooong time since I've blogged. Damn Facebook. So as all of you, my 5 faithful followers, already know... Kevin is in Ohio, and I'm bringing Aiden to DL tomorrow. I work this weekend (with Karissa, WOO HOO!) and I start the Night Audit next week...ick. Butto you better get your butt home!!!! Not only because I don't want to work the audit, but also because We have your presents from your parents and because we have yet to celebrate your birthday!

Today I took some senior pictures of Cindy. She's pretty cool, and showed me some awesome places in GF to take pics. Weirdest thing happened... I picked her up at her apartment, and when I pulled up I was like "no freakin' way" it was Katie and Andrews old apt. on 12th ave. north. It was really strange walking into the exact same apartment, but with someone elses stuff in it. There where these two guys sitting there playing guitars (and two more guitars sitting on stands) and they were pretty good, I told them I had a friend that may be interested in jamming with them some time, and they said they're always looking for people who are good enough to jam with. They play mostly blues. It was fun to listen to them. but anywho....

I'm pretty sure I have a chemical burn of sorts on my face. I used this new face wash stuff, and should have looked at the ingredients, as the main thing is Benzyl Peroxide... which I'm allergic to. Thought I may have gotten over that, guess not. My whole face is one big red, itchy, dry mess. Its RED RED, like fire engine red. I look like a molting snake... with bright red skin... anyway, enough of the visuals... but it hurts a lot, and it stings and I can barely move my face....

Good 'Ol Devils Lake Good times at the PaddleWheel!

Karissa and Wendy. I interupted their serious conversation with a "LOOK AT ME AND SMILE, DAMNIT!"

Wendy looking adorable! I liked this one a lot black and white... so here ya go.

me and my Cous Mindy

"hey, hey, HAAAEYYY!"

Tab told me I should do this...

silly people

This is what made me giggle this morning... I was standing behind the front desk.... breakfast is in the lobby...

GUEST: "Where do we get our free breakfast?"
ME: "You get it right there" I pointed to the breakfast buffet area 5 feet behind her.
GUEST: "How do we get our free breakfast?"
ME: "You... get it... right there...behind you"
GUEST: "I know where it is but how do we get it?"
ME: "...."
GUEST: "We just sit right there?"
ME: "Yes, you sure do"
GUEST: "We sit anywhere"
ME: "Yup"
GUEST: "Uh.. ok"
ME: " :) "

So the guest and her daughter walk over to a table and sit down

GUEST: "So are you the only one here today"
ME: "yup"
GUEST: "So you'll be the one getting our breakfast"
ME: "....um... no, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you"

(because I am obviously the confused one in this whole conversation)

ME: "You help yourself, its a complimentary, continental breakfast"
GUEST: "We have to get it ourselves?"
ME: "Yes"
GUEST: "uh... oooookaaaay...thats different...."

HELLOOO!!! You're at a Comfort Inn, a three star hotel... its like she never heard of this whole continental breakfast thing before... Then she walked over to the breakfast and said to her daughter "I guess this is all they have"

C'Mon... we have waffles, eggs, pastries, oatmeal, fruit, bread, bagels, juice, 3 cereals, muffins... if you can't find something you like out of all of that.. then go to Perkins down the street!

Then instead of reading the directions on how to make a waffle (you know the three step process of fill cup, pour into waffle machine, turn handle...) She just said "how the hell do you do this? Am I just supposed to KNOW how to do this?"

Then her DAUGHTER who looks like about 7 or 8 said "Mom, it tells you how to do it right there..."

So I laughed as this mother slowly but surely figured out how to make a waffle... they sat down, split their waffle and left, after quitely complaining that there wasn't whip cream and fruit to top it with... hahaha.

Whatever, lady.