This is my 100th post. I've been dragging my feet in posting, because I felt like this post should be extra special. Sadly, I've choked...so instead of coming up with something creative I'll wish everyone a Happy Holiday (insert your favorite winter holiday here).

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

HAPPY CHANUKAH!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

and my personal favorite...HAPPY WINTER SOLCIST!

Playoff Sunday in the land of the Puffy Hands. Taylor already has a commanding lead over Dudek. I would need some sort of miracle to beat Altitude. To date, I've had three players play and Jenny has had one. I'm only beating her by 2 points. Things don't look good. Still, I'm happy that two of the league ladies made it to the playoffs. I'm not giving in yet Altitude--maybe Tomlinson will fall down in an off field accident involving a wiener dog and a lemon. What? It could happen!

Wrapping presents today and watching the game. Packing a box of stuff to take to the new office tomorrow to make it feel a little more like home, and considering starting baking palooza 2006!

Hope your day is awesome!

Hey Kids!

How are you all? What a long week it has been here. Taylor and I are just dreaming of the weekend at this point.

I'm finishing up at work tomorrow. My desk is cleaner than the day I moved in. I'm a piler--so having a clean desktop is pretty amazing for me. I'm not all that sure what I'm going to do for the next day or so, but I'm sure I'll find something. I have a "farewell" party this afternoon. That should be interesting at the very least. I know I'll be the butt of a more than a few jokes, but it should be in good humor, so that is fine. A volunteer brought me breakfast this morning, which I thought was incredibly sweet. It was also delicious, and I left the house without breakfast or lunch, so it was certainly a nice treat!

Taylor had a particularly rough night last night. Check in with him later for details. Mathew, you have to give me a play by play this weekend of what he said. I'm thinking "Holy Crap" just like the Taylor doll might have said.

We got two wedding invitations this week. We are up to 4 weddings in 2007. The record is still 2005 with 8 in six months, but it looks like 2007 could give it a run for the money! Good think I have a new simple black dress to get me through these fun times! I'm excepting a chunk of babies in 2007 too. One of the women in my book club just had twin boys-Benjamin and Noah. Congrats to Caron!

I'm exhausted today. I got virtually no sleep last night. My office is so plain and quiet right now, I bet I could drift right off...

I'm nearing post 100...I'll have to do something special to commemorate.

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. I've been transitioning from Assumption to Anna Maria. I spent two days working there last week, which was interesting. It was actually kind of good, because it allowed me to get the nerves out of the way As I get ready to go in for my real start day on Monday I'm just excited-not scared. That said, I'm terribly upset at leaving AC. I'm doing much better than I anticipated. My VP threw a nutty last week, so I'm remembering why I want to go, which has made it far easier. Oh well-either way, the decision is made and now I just live with it.

Sneaking out a few minutes early today. I need to make dinner for my favorite birthday boy/ I'm thinking meatloaf right now-which I don't like, but he loves. We shall see how motivated I am by time I get home.

On a Christmas roll. Lots of my cards are out and I picked up more last night. I've got all but one package out in the mail and that should go out in the morning. I've started my wrapping and have most of my shopping complete--all without going to the mall. I'm a proud woman! I've even got a few ounces of spirit! Candles glow happily in our windows and Christmas Carols are required in my car at all times. Ho-Ho-Ho to you!

Happy Birthday Taylor!
Happy Birthday Alexander!
Happy Birthday Golic!

where are my readers? where are my com mentors? were you offended that I made fun of the mis-matched girl? I promise you it wasn't you. She isn't a reader!

Notes on my life...

Well, I spent my first two days at my new job. It was great. It was tough at first, but I've decided that I like it overall. I'm working hard already-lots of good events coming up. I might go to Italy in July, so that is a win. It seems like all the people I work with are great. All women-which will be interesting, but still great. There aren't a ton of young people in my office, but the coordinator for the department is actually younger than I am, so it is cool to have someone who speaks my language.

I'm back at Assumption for the rest of this week and next. I'm just wrapping up some stuff there and saying goodbye to all of my students, parents, and volunteers. It is really tough to say goodbye after six years, but the VP in my department is really making it easy for me.

Think Taylor noticed that I'm home...doesn't seem like it...

Ross is a Navy Fan
Grace is a UCLA Fan
It is a good day for both :)

Holy Moly! Betty White is on the Bold and the Beautiful too! She plays the mom from the Wonder Years Mom!

Oh mu god... the mom from the Wonder Years is on the Bold and the Beautiful! How sad...

Have I mentioned that I love all of the "I love the..." on VH1. Right now it is I love the 90's, 1992. This is old school. They are talking about Amy Fisher right now--which my friend Jodi and I used to love. I remember in high school when we made the Amy Fisher Memorial Bridge out of toothpicks in Science class. Ironically, we loved our science teacher that year...he must have though we were freaks!!!!!!!!!

I'm pretty sure one of my coworkers doesn't match today. Now I'm not style maven, I'm just a girl who wears one article of black every day, but I'm really quite certain she looks bad! She is wearing a plaid preppy skirt, with a button down striped shirt. Bad combo. the colors coordinate, but there is no way she should be wearing the two things together. She is usually really fashionable, but today she is a total glamour don't! I can't look her in the eye! I can't wait for tomorrow when she is back to herself and we be comfortably together in the same room!

According to the radio, the average woman kisses 33 men before she gets married. 33! I'll share that my number was substantially below the 33 men average. In fact, somewhere out there is a woman who is a little whorish who kissed 55 men to balance me out. I'm proud to say I was able to name all 11 men I kissed, in order, on my ride in today. Poor Jeremy almost got forgotten--what a non-memorable summer that was! Everyone share...what's your number?

Happy Baby Birthing to Matt Lauer and his annoying wife. I consider myself part of the Today Show family, broken as it may be, so I'm excited for another addition to the group! Babies are fun--no, I'm not pregnant!

Is it December yet? Is it? Doesn't it feel like it should be? Thanksgiving is over, the semester is all but done, it is time for December. I can't do the winter wonderland crap until it is December. I'm trying to push myself into the spirit by listening to the music, which for me is what symbolizes the holiday. I'm shopping up a storm and feeling good about the deals I'm finding and the great items for people. Still, if it is after thanksgiving and people are going to insist on all the lights being up, then it should be December.

Think I might go to Wheaton this weekend on my way back from Barrington. They are having their holiday Chorale Concert. For those who don't know, I sang in the Chorale for four years and looking back, I would say it was one of the things that got me through college. Rehearsal twice a week for two hours (which I skipped a fair amount one year...) seemed like a lot at the time, but it was four hours a week to totally decompress and just be Heather. I'm not the greatest singer in the world, but I always felt at home when I was on that stage in the Chapel with those people. I used to make the SGA Treasurer demand the Student Banker change his hours so I would always have one special person in the audience. Jenny, Sarah, and Laura always made it a point to come cheer on the rest of us in our little click who sang. It meant was so much a part of my time in school and I didn't even realize the significance at the time. It makes me really sad that Rachel and I don't talk now, because when I remember Chorale I have fun memories of Krissy and other good friends, but Chorale was about my and Rach. We sat together for four years-even forced other people to switch seats with us so we could be together when singing different parts. We made the bold move to the front row in our Junior year. We gave nicknames of Muppet characters one year to all of the boys. We were just two people doing what we loved, in a series of foreign languages, and even when we didn't know who or what we were in any other aspect of our lives, we were just Heather and Rachel sitting on that stage. We were doing something that had been the thing in our lives that was probably the most natural thing on the planet-even easier than breathing. My first real memory is of singing a solo in kindergarten and I would venture to guess her first real memories are of singing too. It is heartbreaking to look back on that special thing and time and know that we aren't friends anymore over such a silly thing. Oh well, I guess people change and grow and you can't expect things or friends to stay the same. Still, I miss singing on the holidays and since I have such negative feelings about them lately (you would too if your November/December was spent entirely in the car), I though a trip to Wheaton to relive a special memory might help punch up the spirit. I think I'll even wear black and white to complete the feeling! Anyone who is local is welcome to join me. I would love the company. We can complete the experience by going to Friendly's for peanut butter cup sundaes with mint chocolate chip ice cream.

What are your favorite holiday things? For me it is the music. I don't need a winter wonderland, I don't need a certain drink or food, I just need to sing along to the sounds of the season. When I finally have kids and get to stop traveling for the holidays (every year on Christmas, I promise myself I'll get knocked-up so I don't have to travel the following year), I'll find a place to sing in a Christmas Eve concert. Might even get me out of the seven courses of seafood dinner...

I clinched a playoff spot! The Moon Pies are in!
I'm hoping to stay in 2nd place and play Quacker's in the first round.
Not playing Taylor or Jen would be a win for me.
Still pulling for Gold Stars or Baghdad Bombers or Proud Papa's to make a come from behind victory and knock out Altitude. Anything can happen in two weeks baby!

How was your Thanksgiving weekend? Ours, well, ours was quite expensive. Taylor and I broke down on the way to PA on Wednesday night. To make a long story short, we spent a lovely evening in Danbury CT (home to Martha Stewart's prison), then were picked up by Taylor's dad and taken to a fun-filled family weekend. Turns out it is the transmission in the Honda-which is what we thought. Our car is in CT getting fixed by a friend of the world famous "Uncle Marty", we have David's station wagon, and David has Ross's car. He was pulling for the Beamer, but I think he got the Subaru wagon instead. We are very grateful to all involved and are proud to announce the "No-N0-mobile" (the Silver Honda) will be back and running on Saturday. We decided it was better to just pay the cash and fix it than to deal with the hassle of getting a new car right now. Overall, it was probably a coin flip in terms of value, but for the added value of not dealing with new car shopping now, we think this is a win. Thanks to all those involved in keeping this as painless as possible.

While in PA, we did have a great time. Friday we went to Pat's Kind of Steak in Philly and got a cheese steak "wit whiz". It was good, but ordering there is like being at the soup natzy! It was a somewhat traumatizing event, but fun all the same. We then walked around an open-air Italian Market where I felt at one with my people. It was fun to be with other brunettes for a change, having spent Thanksgiving in a room full of blonds!

Taylor dragged Emilie and I to Valley Forge National Park. He was in his element, and we pretty much let him have fun since he had been under a tremendous amount of car stress. I love my man, but what a history dork! Turns out he was extra excited because he and Alex had been watching a documentary on Valley Forge in the morning. Somethings don't change!

So, tonight is just a normal night at the MacFarlane house and I couldn't be more excited. I've already won my fantasy football game (kicked the unbeatable Jeniffer's butt!), so I've benched the rest of my team so they don't screw it up for me, so there is no pressure to watch the game. Think I'll head home, jump on the elliptical, start dinner, and wait for the hard working family man to get home. Fall Finale of Prison Break is tonight. I've got $10 bucks that says that Michael, Link, and Sarah all live!

we were just talking about Rob and Amber, or "Romber" as they are sometimes called. Turns out they have not one, but two things in the works...a Fox reality show about being newlyweds and then the fabled Amazing Race All-Stars--also featuring Mirna and Charla! So awesome!

Richard Seymour is nasty good! He's got bit mitts!

new website for visiting...courtesy of Emilie!
http://www.celebrity-babies.com/
Heidi and Seal had their baby today and and Nomar and Mia are pregnant with twins.
Fun times for the knocked up!

Live Broadcast!
Happy Thankgiving from Danbury Conn!
Taylor and I are trapped at the Hilton Garden Inn.
We wish you all a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

See those of you in Phoenixville CT in a few hours!
Have wine ready!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU DAVID FOR THE RESCUE!

Happy Early Thanksgiving everyone. Taylor and I are headed off to visit with his family for the holiday. We'll be enjoying the great state of PA! It will be good to see everyone, especially his grandmother who has been sick in the past weeks. I hope you too have a great Thanksgiving wherever you spend your day. Take some time to simply enjoy the togetherness of the group you are with. Enjoy a smile, a glass of wine, and a hug. At the end of the day, those are the things the holidays are about.

Wild day here at Heather's Daily Rant. Hope you enjoy the new site!

I've got real issues lately. See, I can't seem to complete thoughts lately. I can't have a conversation, because I sound like an idiot. I can't get out the thoughts in my head. I keep using the wrong words for things. I'm a mess. Add to that, that I've become a total klutz. I spilled on not one, but two brand new tops last week. As I write this, I've just dumped coffee all over myself, staining my very favorite top. I rinsed it the best I possible while wearing it at the office, but I'm totally heartbroken! I was hoping to wear this outfit for thanksgiving! ARRGH!
So, that is why I haven't written lately. I sound like a dope. Well, today you can just listen to my dopey rant and hope that it will at the very least be entertaining.

We looked at more houses yesterday. Just drove around checking out open houses. Yesterday was specifically about the town of Rutland. This is a town filled with developments on top of farm land. That being said, we liked Rutland and you can get a fair amount of house there compared to some other towns we have been looking at. We shall see--I can tell it is going to be a long process. Though we looked at a bunch of houses, there really are no good stories to share. No velvet wallpaper this time.

Patriots had a win, though we missed it because we were in the car. Glad to hear things are on the upswing there. My fantasy team is likely to have a loss this week to Ross's Bagdhad Bombers. I'm a little embarrassed by this, but hey, he is fighting a war for me, I guess it is okay if he beats me in football!

Speaking of Ross, I miss him like hell! I'm actually going through a thing where I really miss everyone. This weekend, it was Jeniffer. I was looking though photos trying to find a picture for my friend Carrie of her boyfriend Alex from college when he looked like a dork. It was fun, but I had to go through tons of photos to find it. Pictures always make me miss Jenny, since we put together the yearbook together for some many years. JJ-our senior one, while terribly laid-out, wasn't as bad as I anticipated it might be of just photos of us. Yes, one of us is on every page, but other people make the book some too!

Okay-I'm going to get some work done now that my shirt is mostly dry and I can leave the office...

I got a new job! I took a position as the Director of Alumni Relations at Anna Maria, which is a small catholic college in Paxton, MA. Paxton is right next to Worcester and my new school is only about eight miles from my current college. I'm excited about the new position and moving to the Alumni side of the house. I don't have to ask for money anymore!!!!!!!!!!! Well, I'm sure I'll have to do it some, but not like it is my job. I'm so excited!

I'm really sad about leaving Assumption. It has been like my home for almost six years. More details to follow.

My best friend in high school won a spelling bee in the third grade. I hope Akeehelah wins her bee too!

I have news! I have news!

Don't put those unemployment jokes away just yet...in a few weeks you will be able to pull them out again when another MacFarlane in our family starts her new job...

Taylor started his new job this morning. Unemployed jokes are off the table, but you can pick on him for his commute. He is now doing a very similar commute to mine, and called while I was getting ready for work to complain about how terrible 290, the highway that runs into Worcester, is. I've been saying this for almost six years! He has always said I was too dramatic, that it couldn't possibly be that bad. Today, he learned how bad it is! I've got a feeling that our moving timetable may have just moved up!

Happy Anniversary Brian and Jeniffer!

crap! They are fighting. I can't believe it-I thought I would get at least one good episode of happiness :(

so, today is a great day for me! I'm home on vacation today, which is obviously a win, but as an added bonus, I'm hanging out with my two favorite girls--Liz & Grace! We had big plans to sleep in all day, but the body worked against us. I was up at 5:45 and couldn't get back to sleep. Totally unfair! Still, we watched television for a bit and chatted on the phone with friends for some time--not at all a bad morning. Now we are watching Dawson's Creek, which is as you know is one of my all time favorite vacation day shows. As previously stated--I didn't watch the show when it was on, but this morning I was shocked to flip on the TV to see Dawson and Joey in bed! I couldn't believe it! I've never seen this before-I can't believe after all these years of watching the show that I didn't know they hooked up! I'm so excited! They were the team I was always pulling for--and now I don't have to see them break up-just have all the sex. What a great morning!

Having friends over tonight. Haven't seen them in forever, which is really sad. We used to spend about three or four nights a week together but life hasn't allowed for that lately. It is sad, because we won't be living near the too much longer and then it will only get increasingly more difficult to be together. So, tonight we will break bread and hopefully enjoy a few bottles of wine, and enjoy!

Don't forget-today is Taylor's last day at work. That means this weekend is your opportunity to call and make unemployment jokes. I know I'll be calling myself the sugar mamma all weekend as he will be a kept man for two days. Call and take your shots-it will be like entertainment!

Ross is 41.1% done with his time in Iraq. Yahoo! I realized how fortunate we are that we can communicate with him almost daily by email and weekly by telephone when I was talking to one of my coworker's. Her son is over there too, but is in the Army, on the ground, in the city, playing with guns and the like. She has only heard from him once in three months. I wouldn't survive without Ross's funny emails and photos. Keep them up kid and get your ass home!

Everyone good out there? Know Alex and Emilie had a great trip to Florida. The pictures look like they frolicked in the water and enjoyed their trip. Glad all went well (including the beautiful wedding) and that you're back safe and sound. See you in a few weeks for Thanksgiving!
Alex and Carrie should be celebrating their first week of co-habitation. Hope that is going well. Alex, give her the biggest part of the closet, she is a girl!

Thinks are fine with Taylor and I. He is going out with 35 of his closest co-workers for lunch today. I told him to play nice, but we will see how it goes. It must be so bittersweet to leave a job. He has been there since right out of college. He has good friends. Some of these people came to our wedding (and almost stopped it with their damn contagious illnesses!). He has really grown up there, so it must be hard to leave that behind, as exciting as a new job is. Think happy, pleasant thoughts for him this week and next. I'll keep you all updated on his progress.

Going to Admissions to do a Class of 2011 interview. I love holding the fate of these kids in my hands!

It's election day people! Get out and vote! Enjoy being free to choose!

I have all of my answers picked out for the local referendums (Vote yes on one! I want wine in the grocery store!) but still haven't decided who I will vote for governor. Yes, I'm party affiliated, but Massachusetts Republicans are like Southern democrats, so it isn't hard to imagine voting Republican. Kerry Healy (R) comes with lady parts, so my gut tells me to vote for her, but I do like Deval Patrick. It might be a gametime decision for me. We'll have to see...

I didn't live blog during the Pat's game. I also didn't make it through the whole game awake, though I sure tried! I took a little nap during the third quarter, but was still lucky enough to see all of Brady's interceptions. Kevin Faulk and his stone hands need to be cut!

Busy week in our life. Seems like we are doing lots of running around. We looked at houses this weekend, which was a riot. We saw this one place that literally had velvet wallpaper! I laughed out loud at it-and so did the real estate agent! This same house had wood-paneled bedrooms, a rotary telephone, and a lampshade painted with a circus theme. It was so ghetto fabulous! Once we got in the car, we remembered that we had camera phones with us. I apologize to my readers, you haven't seen anything until you've seen a maroon velvet wallpaper bathroom. As we continue the search, I promise fun pictures of the crap!

Jen and Brian have pulled me into their web of myspace hell. Here is my about me for those who care:

I hate the dentist. I love music. I have two cats who I love like children. I've been old forever. I grew up in both New Jersey and Maine and they couldn't have been more different. I'm a fundraiser but that doesn't make me a bad person. I love to watch football. I married a man I met at 19. I have a degree in psychology that is pretty useless. I have a degree in business that is equally useless. I have joint custody of a cactus. I still love The West Wing. I live in the "other" state of Massachusetts. I love to take pictures, but recently lost three years of photos when my computer blew up. I'm a geek. I'm in a book club where we never talk about the book. I have a blog to entertain my friends and would like to find a way to make a living from it. My bedroom is painted blue, my living room orange. I'm a Disney nut. I am a terrible speller, but a good friend. I'm in charge of remembering birthdays for my friends and family. I like spring because everything comes to life. I drive 50 miles to work one way. I like flowers. I hate to do yard work. I'm a Yankees fan living in "Red Sox Nation". I like to shop at Ann Taylor. I want to make a Christmas list like when I was a kid. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I have one brother. I have another new brother. My skin is dry. I could eat pasta for every meal and be happy. I'm a random person.

JJ! I saw Cox make a good play at the end of the Broncos game. You've gotta get that jersey. Sounds like a good christmas present to me!

Speaking of football, I'll admit being a nervous Patriots fan. See, I liked Adam the kicker when he was nobody on the team. Then he won a few superbowls and became a hero. Then he left-and went to the Colts, virtually the enemy. And I was mad, because he went for money and that isn't the MO of the Patriots. It's all about team. But I want him to do well in general, as the Colts are my second team. That said, I don't want him to do well this week and I have this nagging feeling that the game could come down to a field goal--for either team. That is so much pressure for the new kid--Gostkowski--and if it should be Adam, well, he is money. I'm terrified for the ending of the game, and I hate night games in general, so this is a tough night for me. In case Tony Dungee is reading right now...GIVE THE BALL TO ADDAI (he's on my week-ass fantasy team).

I've missed football two weeks in a row. For those who don't know, I like to watch at least two full games on Sunday. I like to see the Patriots, then watch a few quarters of the late game, and a bit of the night game. Last week I was out with friends, then had book club. This week, Taylor and I spent the day driving around Central Mass looking for the right town to move to (more later), so I've been away and I've missed a lot. I'm a sad girl who's very out of the loop. Oh well...Next week I'm committing Sunday to having my butt on the couch!

Public Service Announcement: Newman's Own Mango Salsa is the best stuff on earth. You've gotta try it!

In and effort to stay awake, I might live blog. Stay tuned!

I can't help it, I deeply love Peyton Manning. I literally just watched a 20 minute special on ESPN about Peyton's commercials. I watched a show about commercials! I am so a marketers dream! He has a new MasterCard commercial debuting during the Patriots/Colts Sunday night game. Now I want the Pats to DESTROY the Colts, especially the special teams against Adam, but I feel it is important to share my love of Peyton with all! Go ahead Peyton.. "Cut that Meat!"

I know--I'm a crummy blogger. I've taken a few weeks off. Things have been so busy in my little world that the thought of writing it all down has made me sleepy. Here is the cliff notes version...

• We surpassed our campaign goal at work. My banners unfurled properly during our big black tie dinner with the proud number of $32.5M
• My banners unfurling meant I got to keep my job!
• Taylor was offered and accepted a new job. He starts on November 13th. He will be working in Worcester, MA--a few miles down the road from me! This means...
• Taylor and I are moving after the first of the year. We are going to "enjoy" the holidays first (can you enjoy the holidays if they are spent entirely in the car?), then put our house up and start looking. For those who are familiar with the terrain, we are thinking somewhere in the ballpark of 146. Our commute will be less than 45 minutes. I have no concept of that--I went from living in the same building as my office to driving 50 miles a day. The amount of time I plan on getting back (to say nothing of the cash we will save on gas and tolls) is mind-blowing!
• I lost to Taylor in fantasy football. Yeah, I know that isn't earth shattering, but it does make me sad.
• Taylor's grandmother came through her surgery very well. We will learn what comes next in the coming days.
• Jeniffer tricked me into using myspace. It is so scary. If you're a member, look me up. My page has absolutely nothing on it right now.
• I have another event at work tonight. This is my networking dinner. I wanted to postpone it, but that was strongly frowned upon, so here we go! Remarkably, it is almost completely full in terms of student (yeah!). I literally only have two seats. Go team!
• My nails are super long. They look good. I actually just cut one of them since they are so long! I'm very proud.
• We got slammed with kids on Halloween. We had to go out and buy extra candy! It was nuts. I'm estimating 100 kids in one hour. It was wild!
• My cats are so annoying I'm ready to strangle them! Grace is on a kick where she likes to knock down the lamp on my nightstand.
• We got an iPod! Welcome the MacFarlane's to the 21st century.

I think that might be all for now. After tonight, work settles down for me. I have no weekends coming up and just a few nights. I'm trying to schedule an alumni/parent trip to Southern Maine in December. That should be interesting. Nothing says fun like Maine in December!

Wish me good luck tonight at my event. I have lots of job hungry students coming to eat atomic chicken and beg for employment. Should be a good time!

Hope you are all well!

Heather

Alex is a jerk :( He just called from Walt Disney World. What a mean mean man!

OMG! Stuart Scott was just discussing if Bill Parcells wants Meredith and McDreamy to get together. I know he is happy with a win, but he isn't that happy!

Poor Taylor...he loves Drew. Me--I just love Tiki. How could you not like a guy named Tiki?

Happy Birthday Miss Jeniffer!
Happy Anniversary Alex and Emilie!

Part one of the Mission MacFarlane is complete Ensign Guida!
Be proud! Hope to move on Part two before you are home.
Don't hold your breathe for Part three.
We miss you!

We lost Peter yesterday. Please keep Kriselyn, Ashley, and the whole Barnes family in your thoughts and prayers. Live Strong.

Hi Readers--

Sorry I've been away lately. I haven't been home before 7:30 or so any evening in the last week or so. Getting ready for this dinner is out of control. Imagine planning your wedding, for over 500 people, who aren't really your friends or family, and you have to appease. Actually, it is pretty fun a lot of the time, and in the moment it feels incredible, but it means a lot of long nights. I will admit to being pretty low stress given the circumstances this year, which I'm pretty proud of, but I'm tired and I'm excited for Sunday to come and a good night sleep.

There is a debate on TV right now of the candidates of souvenir. They are talking about taking the tolls off of the Mass Pike. Taylor and I pay about a grand each year for tolls. We are all for the removal of the tolls. Let's hope it works...But now I'm not sure I'm willing to vote for my guy anymore...Crap!

Don't tell Taylor, but I've become obsessed with Dunkin Donuts coffee. I have to have one every single morning. I know it is bad, and expensive, but it is so good!

Oh gosh-stupid Christy M (and that is a man named Christy) just compared his campaign to the Boston Red Sox--basically not having a prayer. This guy is an idiot! I hate stupid people. You can't appeal to the people's sports fandom and hope they will give you your vote. The people who are that dumb aren't watching a debate on television on a Thursday night!

I missed my pilates class today. I'm bummed. I couldn't get away from my desk. My instructor is so adorable that just seeing her makes you feel better. It would have been great to articulate and roll like a ball, but I'll just have to wait until next week.

I got my hair cut again last night. It is really short now!

So, I'm already getting excited for Thanksgiving. See, I think Thanksgiving is the world's perfect holiday. The day is designed around cooking, watching a parade, taking a shower at noon, watching three football games, eating to excess, taking a nap, and going to bed by 9:00. I'm a MacFarlane, that is by far my perfect day! The food at Thanksgiving is really the best. Turkey, gravy, stuffing and cranberries are all you need in life. I really could eat that every week and get so excited to have Thanksgiving dinner. The last few days, when I've eaten little more than ice cream and coffee, the thought that Thanksgiving is under a month away has been keeping me going!

One of the vendors I am dealing with for the PC Dinner is named Marj Simpson. If you go back and pay attention to the actual pronunciation of that name--it is Marge Simpson! I almost laughed outl loud when I got a voicemail from her. Who doens't want to talk to Marge Simpson! Cracked me up.

Okay-all for now. I'll probably be gone for a few more days. Wish me luck unfulling!

The MacFarlane family would like to publicly acknowledge the Chicago Bears and thank them for both weekend fantasy football victories. Taylor took out Jeniffer and team Altitude because Sexy Rexy Grossman scored her negative 10 points, solidifying his 2 point win. The Chi-town defense scored 18 points, allowing team Moon Pies to sneak a win over the boss and team Rockers. First and Second places are now proudly owned by MacFarlane's, and of course, you will notice it is Heather is in first!

Welcome to new reader Jessica! For those who don't know Jessica, she and Chad are some of Jen and Brian's best friends. They all met playing Army out in good old Colorado Spring. Jess and Chad have since moved back to Alaska (yes-that says Alaska) with their two kids Alyson and Baby Ryan. I fell in love with the Jessica/Chad family in my two visits to Colorado. I demanded Alyson be my flower girl in Jeniffer's wedding, and Baby Ryan was the best date I had that night (Kriselyn and Taylor went together to JJ's wedding). Hope all is going well in Alaska Jess!

So, I worked again yesterday. I did a 30 minute presentation at my meeting. I did a pretty good job, especially considering I got to the meeting 15 minutes early to write up my notes on what I was going to say. I don't believe I took a ton away from Graduate School, but the one skill I gained was winging it. I didn't have to do a ton of public speaking at Wheaton, but in grad school it was a semi-weekly occurrence. I haven't been afraid of public speaking in years, because I have to do it so much at work (I'm much more afraid to ask a single person for money than a group of people to do almost anything), but I still like to prepare. After the first year of school, I realized that my undergrad degree, in Bullshitting (read: psychology) actually would help me in the real world. Planning is overrated. My masters should really be in speaking on the fly, because it is now one of my greatest skills. Now I just have to figure out how to word that on a resume...

After work yesterday Taylor and I went shopping for a new suit. Now many of you have been shopping with Taylor through the years and know it isn't fun. Some of you have even been clothes shopping with him and know that it can be hell on earth. When I told Kriselyn what I was doing this weekend she audibly gasped and offered to send me some painkillers. To his credit, Taylor was very very good. We got him a great grey striped suit. Men's suits are far different than those for the ladies, so I doubt I was much help except I kept the weird salesman busy. We all serve a purpose in life and today that was mine.

I think Grace has OCD. She gives herself a bath about every 23 minutes. Now Grace does have long hair and she wants to keep it shiny, but her cleaning is really out of control. This morning around 6:30, she was laying on my back while I was sleeping, and decided she absoulty had to have a bath. So, while sitting between my shoulder blades, she commenced with the licking. I thought I was having the strangest dream until I woke up and realized it wasn't a dream, it was just my cat being a Wack-job. Lizzie was wrapped around my head, refusing to yield my pillow, and Grace was worried about her shiny coat. Thus went my morning of sleeping late-ruined again by my feline friends.

I think we are going gourd shopping today! Nothing says fall in new england like a shiny new gourd! This post is orange in honor of October.

Happy Birthday to my brother. Boy are you old.

I can't open my blog correctly right now...I wonder if I'm having technical issues at work, or if the world is just conspiring against me.

bad week at work. Been here every night until like 6 or 7. Tempers are high right now. I walked out of a meeting yesterday because I was getting picked on...And today my assistant offered to throw some punches if anyone yelled at her for hogging the copier. We need to raise half a million dollars by this time next week. I swear to you that we aren't all going to be standing come next Sunday.

is everyone out there okay? My mom is going to the doctor. For those of you who know Carol-that kind of thing just doesn't happen. It looks like she might need a double knee replacement. Ouch! That being said, today she is out working in her garden. No one in my life can ever call me stubborn-I'm simply my mother's daughter.

have to work tomorrow. Patriots have a bye this week. Sunday I'm sleeping late and then considering drinking heavily. Anyone interested in joining me?

am I the only person on the planet who is off Lost? Something big needs to happen and soon, or I'm totally off the show.

I worked a lot today. I've spent no less than 15 hours in the last few work days on finding banners to unfurl--after my FOUR HOUR MEETING this afternoon, it was determined that I need to start again. Oh I love my job some days!

My husband collects mini-football helmets. Does anyone else think that is strange?

Amy heard Ernie's heartbeat today. How cool is that!

Going to make some hot chocolate with milk. Calcium is our friend!

Pray for Grammie...

Happy Birthday Bradley Whitford. I love you!

my joint custody christmas cactus is about to bloom!
yeah!!!!!!!!!

For the record, I would have been able to pay attention to my spell-checking if my husband had been around to drive my to pick up my car yesterday. Instead, I had to beg, borrow, and steal to find someone to drive me and I couldn't keep RJ waiting for a silly spell check. I simply clicked okay to everything that came up and slammed the laptop shut. I'll take a few misspelled words for a car that no longer pumps out blue smoke! Mean husband...I'll think of a way to pay you back...

I'm in first place this week in fantasy football! I won my game against Jenny (who is having altitude issues today) and then Julie pulled through in the clutch to win the boss-bowl, knocking Jim out of first place. It was a good morning for me!

Work is so nutty busy. My office looks like a storage cabinet right now. I have a cute office, a great window that overlooks a rose garden (kind of), but it have 14 decent size boxes in it right now. I can't wait until the 22nd!

All caught up on Grey's! Let the discussions commence! It is super good! Dr. Burke in jeans the other day...yummy! And if Meredith doesn't pick McDreamy, I'm going to quit watching. It's like the Josh and Donna thing-sometimes there are just people who belong together!

please ignore my last post--this is what happens when you don't pay attention while spell checking. Patience is my lesson, not petitions!

Pam believes we all have lessons in life to learn. We have to learn them to survive and grow and until we learn these lessons, the universe is going to keep smacking us in the face with them. For me, the lessons I need to learn are petitions and that independence isn't awash the way to go. It is okay to ask for help, that friends are there for you, there to help you when you need a hand, just like we help each other. Heather--learn the lesson!

so...my weekend...not going quite as planned...

first, Taylor has been sick. he has a stomach bug of some sort, so Friday night he was in bed very early and yesterday he was on the couch all day resting. he is feeling much better today, so that is good.

so, I went to get my oil changed yesterday, then to pop over to the mall to look for a (second) dress for PC Dinner. It took two hours for them to change my oil, which was especially annoying because I made an appointment. Plus, it is the most gorgeous fall weekend here and I wanted to get outside to enjoy it. I made friends with some folks in the waiting room, so it wasn't terrible, but come on, two hours is a little ridiculous.

I get my car, go have a very fruitful shopping trip at the mall, and head home. I wanted to get Taylor some ginerale to help his stomach, so I stopped at the store, about 2 miles from our house. On the ride home, my car started puffing a bluish smoke and lost power. I topped out at 30 MPH and the smoke got worse as I continued to drive. I called my dad, the mechanic, who gave me the very bad news that my car was likely in some tough shape. I called Firestone, and forced them to tow my car back to the shop for them to look at it. Needless to say, they are claiming they did nothing to it and it has nothing to do with the oil change. I'm no mechanic, but I did grow up around cars, so I feel pretty confident in my knowledge that blue smoke is in fact bad news, and that usually cars don't start puffing for no reason. When poor Oprah was towed back, Taylor and I went back too and I got into a nice fight with the guy. As it stands, they have my car and are doing some complementary diagnostic tests on her tomorrow. I'm sure they will find nothing wrong, but they aren't giving her back to me without some kind of explanation/compensation. Stupid car people! I'm off tomorrow and will be trapped at my house with no car while Taylor goes to work. Not my idea of fun! Please wish Opie positive thoughts to get well soon!

Big week in fantasy football. It is the boss bowl! My former boss is playing my current boss. It is also a girl-on-girl week, where I'm planning on beating Jeniffer into submission. I was pulling for Guida to have a win of Taylor, but not so much after his mass email announcing how great TAYLOR is for getting him into his fantasy league. IT IS MY LEAGUE! While I would want Taylor to get the loss under normal circumstances (because winning is important in this league and Taylor and Jim are real competition this year), I'm pulling for the Dr. Pepper's now that the Bombers started publicly mouthing off. Bad move Guida...bad move...

Grey's update. I finished season two and watched the first episode of season three. Holy good batman! Holy good!

in case anyone was wondering...day 12 of 12 straight it the worst. i'm wearing my glasses, and those of you who know me well know I wear my glasses out of my house no more than 3 times a year!

in case anyone was wondering...day 12 of 12 straight it the worst. i'm wearing my glasses, and those of you who know me well know I wear my glasses out of my house no more than 3 times a year!

Jenny's comments about the word perchance are both funny and well timed, as when I was working the phonathon the other night, I thought I saw a young phonathon romance blooming here at Assumption. The phonathon is a place for love! Everyone here thought that was a strange statement, but as we know Mason and Hayden proved that wrong! Sadly they didn't work out, though that shouldn't have been a surprise after the great Eiffel Tower incident. One of my biggest crushes at Wheaton was a phonathon boy. I stand my the fact that we would have had the most beautiful babies...

Just had a great pilates class at lunch. If you have never taken a class, you should give it a try. After a few classes (read:once you know what you are doing), it is highly effective. Tomorrow my abs and my buns will be in tough shape! Maybe it will help me get the 10 lbs I picked up this summer off!

Looking forward to the long weekend that is coming up. I wish Taylor had Monday off, then we could go visit my parents, but alas, he has to work. I'm committed to getting some good stuff done this weekend around the house. I want to cut down all the flowers for the year and hang the new blinds we bought for the bedroom. Don't forget to watch the divisional game on Sunday at 1:00! Go Lawrence Maroney (Elbow Macoroni!).

Boy--I have a boring life. I was just trying to think about what to post about, but I honestly have nothing new going on today. I'm exhausted! It was super fun to work with the phonathon kids. They did a really good job on their first night of calling. I got home in time to see a few innings of the Yankees game, read one chapter of my book and crash. It was not what I would call an eventful night!

I'm swamped at work right now. That being said, I feel like I'm not getting much done today. I'm moving items off my desk, but more things keep taking there place! This is also my least productive time of day, so that makes the work seem even more pronounced. Oh well-plug through a bit more today.

I'm making shepherd's pie for dinner. I'm trying it with ground turkey tonight, so we will have to see how that turns out. It is really warm here today, almost 80, and I'm turning on my oven! Oh well!

See-it really is a boring day in my world. Hope you all have something more exciting happening!

I have this cat calendar in my office that I just love...Most months. October is a black cat, which is fitting for Halloween, but this cat is terrifying! His head is huge! I swear he looks like he is going to jump off the page and scratch my eyes out! I might need to go back to September...

Speaking of being a pet person, I really think that non-pet people think we are weird. The other morning I was talking to Krissy as I was leaving the house. I was getting my coat, packing a lunch, the usual morning activities. As I gathered my things, I turned to Grace and Liz, told them I love them, and let them know what my plans for the day were and when I would be home. Krissy patiently listened, then asked me what the heck I was doing. It was then I realized that something that I do daily seemed really weird to other people. The pet people in the world understand talking to you pets-they are part of the family (Tiller is the most expensive MacFarlane I know :>) ). My girls are the little loves of my life-of course they deserve to know what time I'm coming home! I would offer any roommate the same courtesy, and these little peanuts mean more than just a stranger sharing an address, the are like my kids! Pet people are born with a little extra love to share with their four legged friends! I'll post some pictures of my little bugs for you all to gush over soon!

I'm going black tie dress shopping on Thursday for my work party. I'm guessing, like every single year, I will end up in something black. My goal is to get a dress in either red or blue, the Centennial Campaign colors, but if I were placing bets, it would be black! This year, I'm committed to comfortable shoes. I'm on my feet for well over eight hours, and in spiky heels, that is painful! After having bleeding blisters last year, this year I'm all about a real cute, low shoe. I'll let you know how it goes.

I'm working late tonight because my coworker has a test, so I'm covering the student phonathon. I run the program here at Assumption for the first three years I was here, and was a student caller for four years at Wheaton. I love the phonathon, so I'm really looking forward to a night with the student callers. I hope they do well, it will be the very first night ever for some of these kids.

So, I've temporarily walked away from my Grey's obsession. Just like a book that I'm enjoying, I have to walk away for a little bit right before the good part. Once I finish the season, I won't have another to pop into the dvd player, so it will be a huge letdown. With books, it breaks my heart to not know what is happening next, so I have to stop reading for awhile, ponder what is happening and how things will end. I might watch one of my three episodes left tonight, depending on what time I get home. I'm dying to know what happens, but I know I'll be sad when it is over. Either way, I'm committed to being caught up by the end of the long weekend on all things television, and starting my new book for bookshelf!

I was really grumpy when I woke up this morning. I didn't want to wear any of my clothes, couldn't find shoes I liked, didn't feel like drying my hair...Just one of those grumpy mornings. I stopped for a coffee on the way in, which is usually a treat, but even that didn't perk me up. So, I grabbed my friend Amy at lunch and we did some speed retail therapy! I got a baby gift for my friend's little boy, and bought two pair of cute shoes in under 40 minutes. Everything was on sale, so two pair of shoes for me, booties and overalls for Arlo all came to less than $60! What a deal and a great mood buster. Even Amy felt better, and she only bought herself some lunch! Retail therapy is sometimes the best! Wearing my new black sandals now!

Jeniffer my dear, you bring up a good point. Are you watching Studio 60 Folks? You should be watching Studio 60! Tommy and Aaron are genesis! Yeah and Thing are two words that really cover everything in life if used properly. I imagine at some point they will test the wrath of the thing on high. God I miss the West Wing--just this Sunday, after football, I was so sad because it was a few minutes before 8:00, I was folding laundry, and started humming the "West Wing Night" song I always used to sing. I was devastated when I remembered that there was no TWW and I would have to settle for watching...The Amazing Race? More football? I don't remember because it just wasn't special.

I have a confession to make--I've been taping Studio 60. I'm two episodes behind in an effort to have a little mini-marathon guaranteed to suck me into the show and have my hooked at the end of two hours. 10:00 on a Monday is a little too late, especially after a weekend of work, so I think I'll always tape the show and watch it later. I'm fearful that our VCR is going to give in on me soon. She has been a little temperamental in the last few weeks. I think it is because she knows that I want TiVo more than life itself, and she knows that with no TWW, she doesn't have a guaranteed use every week. As the TV season has started, she has become a little better, as she now knows that I watch Prison Break and tape How I Met Your Mother and then watch it right after. The use is making her feel needed, so we might just make it through another year. When the VCR goes (and no Alex, she doesn't have a name, but is definitely a girl) I will mourn, but I won't complain. I received this VCR as a gift for Christmas when I was still living in NJ, so I'm guessing I was about 12 years old. She survived the soap opera years in high school, the RA movie nights in College, and seven seasons of TWW. She is a member of the family, but she is old and when she decides it is time to rest, I'll give her a proper sendoff!

WATCH STUDIO 60!

I posted from the office earlier this week, but it didn't stick--I'm guessing it was Karma telling me not to do fun from work. I worked both days this weekend and I'm pretty pooped. I did mulitple presentations and more schuzing that I really wanted to, but I would guess that I secured about $3,000-$4,000, so that is a pretty profitable weekend.

I got home today in time to watch football, so that was a big win. Taylor is a bad fan, he didn't wear his jersey. I guess that is why Troy Brown had to play defense too. I'm a very traditional girl when it comes to sports-I find something that is lucjy and have to stick to it. I say you should stick to things that work!

I watched only my second live college football game yesterday. It was very good. Assumption beat Bentley for the first time in 24 years. The team got to shave the coaches head-fun times all around.

We watched the Lake House this weekend. This was one of the worst movies I've ever scene. Curious George, however, was awesome! Taylor, in an effort to be cute, bought me the soundtrack. It is so great-Jack Johnson was one of my summer loves.

I found my yearbook quote (see previous post for context), "Someone once said courage means holding on, but sometimes it means letting go". It doesn't really represent my life strategy like Jodi's does, but is still mostly relevent. Going to the world's tinyest school, we each got to list about 5-6 things with out picture. I don't remember all of my most memorably moments, and my weakness is ridiculous (Tall blonds who kiss my hands and call me princess--yeah, my high school sweetheart was so not the one), but I think my favorite saying would still be relevant "Dad, I didn't hit the rock, besides, the dent gives my car character". I'll never own a nice car-I'm too likely to ding the poor thing! The best I can aspire to drive is a Honda Accord. I know my place!

Notice the use of the letter D tonight. Our friend from Dell finally came and replaced the keyboard. This post is brought to you by the letter D!

time for apple crisp!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey everyone--

Hope you are all looking forward to a good day at work today. I'm going to be busy today with a bunch of meetings that i'm not really looking forward to having. the things we do for our jobs!

Worked late last night, then went home and watched some Grey's. I just finished episode 21 of season 2. I have to tell you, while I like McDreamy as much as the next gal, I think McBurke is the guy to love forever! Oh those intense eyes!

Had a funny phone call with Jenny last night. We finally beat the time zone issues and were able to chat. We agree that the word "boppie" is studip! Didn't women used to just hold their babies?

So, as many of you know, I get totally obsessed with CDs, or more specifically songs, and won't listen to anything else for weeks at a time. The most memorable occasions of this were Spilled Perfume in high school (oh, the Benjamin/Brent saga!) and then the great Call and Answer semester in college. This time it is Mary Chapin Carpenter's greatest hits CD. It isn't the whole thing, but about 6 or so songs. I've been thinking lots about senior year of high school, since one of the songs contains my best friend in high school's yearbook quote, "Some people say you shouldn't tempt fate, and for them I can't disagree. But, I never learned nothing from playing it safe, I say fate should not tempt me.". In retrospect, my yearbook quote (which I can't come up with off the top of my head) was about letting things go and waiting to see if they come back. Talk about being polar opposites! Probably how we got through high school, shared boyfriends, fights, and the break-up of Cal and Connor.

crap-meeting now! more later!

where are my readers? no feedback all week makes Heather a sad girl!

Taylor is watching some movie with marionettes--really scary puppet things. I'm refusing to watch and think my husband is a freak.

I'm beat already and it is only Tuesday night. I think that is a bad sign of things to come on day 2 of 14+ straight at work. I had a three hour meeting this morning. I made a few substitutive contributions, which was a win as I was one of only two people in the meeting not at the Senior Staff level. Lets hope I can keep it up an have two good presentations this weekend. Now...what to wear...

nothing really funny to talk about today. sorry to the readers who enjoy a good laugh with my posts. I'm just worn out and ready for bed, even though it is only 9:15. I'm earning that MacFarlane name tonight. Think I'm going to take my book (Marley and Me) and go to bed. Night folks!

taylor ripped the computer from my hands last night-that is why I didn't spell check, edit, or--you know--finish my thought. Chris Simms, the QB in TB was rushed to the hospital to have his spleen removed. Taylor wasn't looking to see if the kid would live or die, but rather to see who his back up is (no one, by the way). My Taylor always sees the big picture and in his Mathew league the big picture for him is having a harem of QBs.

yummy yummy apples! lots and lots of apples! well over 50 apples if anyone wants some. gotta love fall in new england!

someone from Dell teck support is coming to our house to fix our D key. Taylor was on the phone for the better part of an hour and in the end they agreed that probably something was just wrong with the D and they would have to come to the house and fix it...so annoying.

It is going to be a really long week at work. I have a huge reception on saturday that is all my responsibilty. Also have another big meeting/presentation on Sunday. It is a big time at work right now. We are reaching the end of a six-year, $30M Campaign in October. So we still have $1.5M in the next three weeks. So, if you call and I don't call back, that is why. If you are calling to make a gift to the Centennial Campaign, I would be happy to return your call!

So, I have no idea how I did in my week of fantasy football. I played Mat--the Proud Papa's. I made a fatal error in starting Ma. Jones because I really wanted to get out the door to go apple picking and didn't followup with the guys I had started. I benched Steve Smith, who did really well. If I lose, which I certianly could, it is my own dumb luck.

I made friends wiht this little old lady today at the apple orchard. she was 89 years old and there with her church group. we sat together

yummy yummy apples! lots and lots of apples! well over 50 apples if anyone wants some. gotta love fall in new england!

someone from Dell teck support is coming to our house to fix our D key. Taylor was on the phone for the better part of an hour and in the end they agreed that probably something was just wrong with the D and they would have to come to the house and fix it...so annoying.

It is going to be a really long week at work. I have a huge reception on saturday that is all my responsibilty. Also have another big meeting/presentation on Sunday. It is a big time at work right now. We are reaching the end of a six-year, $30M Campaign in October. So we still have $1.5M in the next three weeks. So, if you call and I don't call back, that is why. If you are calling to make a gift to the Centennial Campaign, I would be happy to return your call!

So, I have no idea how I did in my week of fantasy football. I played Mat--the Proud Papa's. I made a fatal error in starting Ma. Jones because I really wanted to get out the door to go apple picking and didn't followup with the guys I had started. I benched Steve Smith, who did really well. If I lose, which I certianly could, it is my own dumb luck.

I made friends wiht this little old lady today at the apple orchard. she was 89 years old and there with her church group. we sat together

So, when I got off the phone with Ross this afternoon, I promised him I would do something productive with the afternoon. I don't think this is what he had in mind, but I'm up to episode 14 of 27 of Grey's. For those keeping score, that is 23 episodes total since Monday. I think I'm actually qualified to be a doctor now. We used to think it was cool when Ross dated a doctor, now I'm glad he doesn't-boy are the neurotic!

Tomorrow, I'm doing something productive--even if the rain thwarts my plans to visit the local brewfest!

What did I ever do to the rain gods? Everything I have planned something this summer, it has rained. Today we were going apple picking with our friends and their two daughters, but no, fate had another idea--it rained. Instead of a beautiful drive through new England fall foliage and an afternoon of fun with the kids, we have done virtually nothing. I did get to pound through some of Grey's this morning, and Taylor and I had our weekly call with Baghdad, so the day wasn't a total loss, but certainly not as planned.

So what's up with people how have kids assuming those of us without sleep until noon everyday? I'm not in college--I don't stay up until 3:00 am then sleep until 1:00 pm! I have a schedule just like everyone else. True, no screaming child wakes me up at 7:00, but my cats pretty regularly take care of that. The whole family was up this morning around 5:00 listening to Grace vomit (my poor little peanut) while those families with kids were still sleeping. I have a lot of respect for parents-believe me, I know raising a child is the hardest job any person could ever have, but don't forget what life is like for the non-kid families. We still eat meals, we still go to work, we still get up at normal times. Twice this week people made cracks about how"it must be nice" in relation to not having kids. I didn't tell any of them to go off the pill or start playing Catholic Roulette--it was a choice they all made on their own, so I won't feel bad for going back to be this morning and sleeping until the late hour of 8:30!

So Taylor and I went to the Red Sox this week. For the two readers who might not really know this, both Taylor and I are Yankees fans. I refer to Derek Jeter as my baseball husband (someday I'll make a list of all of my husbands), and we make fun of Red Sox fans like it is our job. Still, someone gave Taylor tickets to the game on Wednesday, and we decide to take in the game. It was really fun. I love sporting events, the fans yelling, the sounds, the smell, the national anthem (I cry every time I hear it-I'm like an 8 year old), and the food. The food for me makes the sport. Taylor and I shared our bag of peanuts, enjoying throwing the shells on the ground, and even had a Fenway Frank. It was a great night, despite the fact that the people next to us got tossed for using stolen tickets, the guy three people down insisted he could yell loud enough to start the wave (which apparently can only go in a clockwise motion) and almost getting hit in the head with a foul ball. The Sox lost, the Yanks clinched the AL East, all was well in the world of the MacFarlane Family.

long post...computer crashed...more tomorrow...

Starting the second season of Grey's Anatomy. Still good! Hard not to be watching the season premiere of season three, but I'll survive! I did watch the season premiere of The Office. The best part of the Office is that it could be anyone's office. One of the best parts is that it takes place in Scranton, PA. Who lives in Scranton? Just like who lives in Machias, ME? Random--just like life!

I promise to write more tonight,but sadly readers, this is all you get for right now. As a teaser, I'll tell you about how our fateful trip to Fenway, my take on why the voting system in America's is screwed up (in a large-scale, constitutional way--not political Alexander), and why I'm ready for the weekend!

Bedtime people! Night!

I have lots to catch you on-so stay tuned to my real blog tonight.
This little tidbit of news just couldn't wait another second.

Morton Anderson, age 46, has been signed by the Atlanta Falcons. For the non-football nuts in the group, Anderson is a kicker and yes, kickers can be old. But kickers can't be ancient. 46 years old is old enough to be the dad--quite literally--of some of the players on the team. He didn't even need to be a teen parent-he could have fathered one of the rookies at age 24! Are you kidding me! Travel Europe, bounce your grandchildren on your knee, sleep late, but for goodness sake, don't join the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE!

All that being said, I've always really like Mort and his famous kicking brother Gary. Welcome back buddy--opening the Superdome, what a way to return to the game!

I'll talk about baseball later tonight and the historical game Taylor and I attended last nigh!

I'm home sick. The never-ending headache. Not quite a migraine, not quite not. Combination of the weather (damn sunshine), and stress. At this point, I almost wish it would turn into a migraine instead of this pain in the butt nag.

So, I'm watching season one of Gray's Anatomy. Right now both Mr. Willis of Ohio an Mrs. Landingham, both of the West Wing are on this episode. I don't hold hope for Mrs. Landingham, as she once was killed by a drunk driver on the very day she bought her first new car. Poor poor thing! Gray's Anatomy isn't bad. It is certainly better than daytime television. I did see a few minutes of Rachel Ray's new show. It wasn't that good. The View is also especially bad. I think Elizabeth Hassleback is pregnant again.

The cats seem to have a very good life. Both girls have been with me all day. I believe that animals know when you are sick and when you need love. They have both been asleep for the better of the day. I woke them up, they fell back asleep. I could really get in on this lifestyle.

Updates:
Peter made it through his surgery. They were able to take two of the five tumors on his brain, which should make him much more comfortable. Please continue to keep the Clow and Barnes families in your thoughts and prayers.

Welcome to Baby Arlo. Chloe and Tom had this little bundle of baby on September 11th an everyone is happy and healthy and I now have another good reason to visit Machias. Can't wait to meet your son!

Actually, I guess that is it for updates for the day. Book club was fun last night. It was the first time we have all be in the same room. Meg is back from having the baby and Karon is with us until she has her twins (she is a house!), so we had a nice full house-and more food than anyone could imagine. Anyone in the local reading area who wants some cheesecake, some on over! It was like a birthing class more than a normal bookclub. I can only tell you that any urges I had to have a child are now buried under discussions of breastfeeding, c-sections, mirrors, interns and an assortment of words I'm won't share with the general public. I love my cats and get plenty of motherly ambitions out by spoiling them rotten!

I woke up this morning with what appeared to be the early onset of a migraine. If you don't get them, thank your lucky stars. They usually involve vomiting for me, and last for about 24 hours. I took some drugs an went back to bed. I slept for hours! I got up at 11, took more drugs and the largest diet coke on the planet. While I'm trying to get off caffeine for the most part, it is a known headache reliever as it contracts the blood vessels in the brain. I was more than willing to give it a try on a day like today. I laid back down and now I'm feeling much better. Amazing what six advil in three hours will do for you.

I just had my weekly chat with Sir Ross on the phone. Taylor is actually wondering around the backyard talking to him now (that boy paces all the time!). Ross sounds really good! He is at work, watching college football on two big screen tvs. I understand that he is at war, but his job rivals Emilie's for being known as CandyLand! Ross is now in his permanent home, having just move into his trailer. Sounds a lot like college without the change of getting really drunk and hooking up. I'm proud to say that I can now talk to Ross without breaking down in tears.

Some little girl just came to our house selling candy bars for school. I should note that it is (literally Jodi) 1:28 in the afternoon and due to the near miss migraine, I'm still in my PJs. I haven't showered, haven't even brushed my hair. I must have just scared the life out of this poor little thing. I bought the damn candy bar though, so she should be happy. I fundraise for a living-believe me, she isn't getting much profit off that $1 candy bar. I would rather the school write me a letter and ask me for money that is at least all going directly to the child. And don't I already support her field trips through my taxes? Oh well, at least I got a yummy Heberts (they are AC alums) candy bar out of it.

Okay-I need a nap. More later.

The spellcheck on my blog doesn't recognize the word blog. Does anyone else think that is strange?

There is this new show on the Travel Channel called Kids Plan the Vacation (or something like that). It is awesome! If you get the chance, you have to watch. It is kids hopped up on sugar planning a family trip. The family visiting Boston right now packed for their parents and brought the dad only underwear and an old tutu and the mom only wool sweaters. It is a riot!

Friendly's for dinner tonight. Yummy stuff!

Alexander-keep reading despite my singular political reference. Lets be honest, the likelihood that I'm going to say something ridiculous that you can make fun of me for is greater than the number of times my damn liberal views will discussed in my blog. Keep reading, I'll be funny and non-controversial.

Speaking of my dear brother-in-law, he and Emilie are coming up for the weekend. They are going to meet Snow. Taylor and I will go have some yummy dinner with them, hopefully a nice glass of wine, and a nice visit. I'm looking forward to it.

Book club tomorrow night-can't wait! Hope you are all well!

Pray for Peter-he has brain surgery tomorrow and he an the Barnes family could use all the thoughts and well-wishes possible.

Well, I lost in the MacFarlane bowl this weekend. Taylor and Tiki Barber destroyed the Moon Pies and stupid Shaun Alexander. It was a tough week in the league for the women as Julie, Jeniffer and I all had losses. It happens. I play Dudek next week, so I'm hoping for a win. In all the years of the league I don't believe I've ever lost to Dudek, so it would be a tough loss.

Taylor is timing me with a timer for exactly five minutes of writing. Talk about anal, when I said five minutes, he took me literally. After more than two years of marriage he should know that I lie.

So, earlier tonight I saw a commercial for Kentucky Fried Chicken. I don't like there food and have eaten there about once in 10 years. What bothered me tonight wasn't the fact that they share restaurants with a place called Long John Silver, but rather their choice of music for their commercials. The place is called KENTUCKY Fried Chicken and they use SWEET HOME ALABAMA as their music! It is wrong! It is against every rule in the book! The marketing agency that came up with this should be fired! I won't eat there now out of principle-no matter how good the darn biscuit is. Alabama should require money for the use of their name in the song. They should get rid of all of the KFC's in the state an replace them with Tijuana Flats. The south should rise again and handle this abomination that is KFC infringing on the rights of Alabama. I'm calling Kriselyn and seeing what we can get stared to end this nonsense.

Knuclehead!

Today is a day of nostalgia. It is a day about remembering the past and the first major historical event of our lifetime. Before September 11, 2001, the most important day in many of our lives was the day we lost the Challenger. It was a horrible day when a crew was lost in front of our very eyes. We couldn't have been more than eight that day. Twenty years later, this event seems minor in contrast to the events of September 11th. It was a terrible day that change each and every American.

I won't usually share any political views in my rant. I'm a democrat in a family of republicans. I keep my views to myself and respect the views of those who don't agree with me. No matter what your beliefs are, this anniversary is one that brings feelings of regret, of fear, of terror, of hope. My father fought in Vietnam--deep in the trenches where men saw things they should never need to know. I know it was their hope that our generation would never know this fear, what it feels like to send people to war, to battle with the unseen enemy. I wish they were able to have their dream of our innocence come true. Knowing three people in two years who have been active in the military was not their dream for me. Kuwait and Iraq were not the places they wanted me to know in the same way they hated the words Korea and Vietnam. On this scary day, this anniversary of horror, I say thank you to the people who are willing to put their lives on the line to fight in the war. While I have very little respect for fighting for oil, the respect I have for people like Ross, Jeniffer and Brian are something I never imaged knowing personally. Men and women like you make our world a safer place, a place where I can rant, daily, about whatever nonsense enters my mind, an fight to make it so a women on the other side of the world, hidden behind her veil, can dream of my life-to be a woman with an advanced education, a wonderful husband, a TiVo, and the freedom to rant about politics and football, gossip and war, and pride in a nation. May we always have this freedom and never live in fear.

I LOVE THE SAFETY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TY WARREN IS MY MAN!

and now they have to kick it back off to us...haha!

and Seymour may have knocked Losman out for the rest of the game--I'm nasty!

I've spent my whole day painting. I'm covered in splotches of gray and black paint.

Amy thinks John Madden is the ugliest man on the planet. I don't think I would take it quite that far, but he is far from beautiful. Still, I believe if he was to get eyebrows waxed, he wouldn't be that terrifying looking. Still, he is a beautiful sight as we finally kick off football for the year! I am begrudginly pulling for the Steelers. I do still believe the Dolphin is the mascot most likely to win in a fight with any other mascot. I know the argument is that the lighting bolt of the Chargers could beat the Dolphins, but first it would have to catch the Dolphin.

I love Jason Taylor :) I've got no one in this game on the Moon Pies--it is super sad.

My new work study is from Norton, which is where Wheaton is located. I'm trying to bribe her into bringing me good Chinese food. She is a freshman--I mean first-year student--so she just might do it.

I got my new Vera today. It is a hint smaller than I thought, but I am able to get all the pieces in an I love it. She is so cute in green an blue!

I have to admit, I'm keeping up with Big Brother All-Stars. I don't have a favorite I would like to see win. I just hope it isn't Erica. She is a freakin wack-job!

Boy was that Pink song during kick off terrible. Who thought Pink would appeal to football fans? She doesn't draw women in and she isn't hot enough for men to care.

Charlie Batch-what a joke! Don't you kind of hope he gets knocked out and then we get to see that new kid they picke up this week?

There is a new woman at work who looks just like me. It is true-we really look a lot alike We have the same hair color and a similar cut, about the same height, same coloring, the works. Today we were at a going away roast for a friend, and she wasn't even in the room, and someone confuse me for her. I think it is time to get a new job!

Okay-I guess I have to vote for Boogie for BB All-Starts because I hate Erica and Janelle just got the boot. I miss Will.

I have to switch purses now!

One of my sick day guilty pleasures is watching an episode of Dawson's Creek on TBS. I didn't watch it when it was on TV, but like most TV shows, I had a basic idea of what was going on. It wasn't until I was out of college that I started getting into the reruns at all. Now, if I'm home sick, at 9:00 I watch an episode and it makes me feel a little better. I'm still upset that she picked Pacey in the end (It was called Dawson's Creek--you marry Dawson!), but that doesn't take away the joy of running across a great episode on a random morning.

On Labor Day, I watched Creek kids go to the Junior prom. Katie Holmes is now distracting to me. The whole Suri with the hair on top thing just have tainted her to me an now I can't look at Joey Potter the same way. I loved all things Joey Potter. Now I just want Dawson and Pacey to give in to their passion and be together--the show does take place in Massachusetts after all! Let the boys be together and lets put a ban on all things Cruise-Holmes!

I have a new computer!!!!!!!!!! His name, for those who care, is Millhouse. I like to name things and I think that my little silver Dell will last longer than our previous computer because he is named an therefore we will share extra love with him. I'm random, I know. I just have so much love to share and you can only squeeze your two cats so many times before they scratch...Welcome to the family Millhouse MacFarlane!

Fantasy football teams are set. Ross, I'm going to make changes to your team for you this week unless I hear that you are connected. I know it was supposed to take you some time to get internet ready in the desert. The Moon Pies are playing for keeps this year! I'm starting a variety of great players including the young Manning, S. Alexander, M. Hasselback, and more. I'm looking forward to playing the Dr. Pepper's in the first game. It is the all MacFarlane game and as with most things in life, I expect the lady of the house to end up on top!

I'm looking forward to a great weekend. There is Del's in my future and that makes me a happy girl! I love frozen lemonade like I love nothing else! That and football kick-off weekend, all things in my world are good! What is everyone else up to?

For those keeping score, my 3:00 meeting is now schedule for tomorrow at 11:00. Some things never change!

Looks like our Dell might be coming this afternoon. Big day in the MacFarlane household. Everyone cross your fingers for us!

We had a fun long weekend. Ross called us from Kuwait. It was great to talk to him and hear that he really is doing okay. He sends periodic emails, but you have to assume he is sugar-coating things to a certain extent. He really sounded fine though and he is already counting down until his return.

We went to Amy's 30th birthday party this weekend. We had a lot of fun. I found out that two more friends are pregnant. It seems the baby boom of our friends is going to continue. I'm very excited for Suz and Amy-they are due about a week apart, so that will be fun for them. Half of my book club is knocked up-the rest of us drank a lot at the party to celebrate our non-pregnant status!

We didn't do much during the rest of the week. We watched a bunch of movies, each read a book, and took naps. It was quiet, but it was nice.

I'm really reacting poorly to the changing of the seasons. They closed the ice cream place at the end of our street over the weekend. I just noticed last night and I burst into tears. Now to be clear, I went there once all summer, but I like the idea that I can have ice cream on demand, but more I like the idea of summer that comes from a place like that--someplace with teenagers and swingsets and radios playing loud annoying music. Then I noticed the trees are changing colors. All this on top of the kids all being back in school is just too much for me to take. I demand summer!

I'm exhausted today for some reason. I'm trying to get back off of caffeine. I liked the six months were I was substance free! Summer classes and the stress of my golf tournament put me back on the drug, but now i'm committing to get back off. I've started mixing my coffee with decaf in the morning, and I've all but given up diet coke. I'm willing to take the partial headaches that come with the withdrawal. I know I can do this, and I know I felt better when I wasn't so addicted, so this is my project for the month of September.

I've been busy all day at work, but haven't managed to do a single thing. I have a meeting with the VP today, which stinks. This man is a terrible manager and terrible with people, so anytime I have to talk to him I dread it. I'm hoping it is short and relatively painless. We will see...

Lunch time!

Looks like our Dell might be coming this afternoon. Big day in the MacFarlane household. Everyone cross your fingers for us!

We had a fun long weekend. Ross called us from Kuwait. It was great to talk to him and hear that he really is doing okay. He sends periodic emails, but you have to assume he is sugar-coating things to a certain extent. He really sounded fine though and he is already counting down until his return.

We went to Amy's 30th birthday party this weekend. We had a lot of fun. I found out that two more friends are pregnant. It seems the baby boom of our friends is going to continue. I'm very excited for Suz and Amy-they are due about a week apart, so that will be fun for them. Half of my book club is knocked up-the rest of us drank a lot at the party to celebrate our non-pregnant status!

We didn't do much during the rest of the week. We watched a bunch of movies, each read a book, and took naps. It was quiet, but it was nice.

I'm really reacting poorly to the changing of the seasons. They closed the ice cream place at the end of our street over the weekend. I just noticed last night and I burst into tears. Now to be clear, I went there once all summer, but I like the idea that I can have ice cream on demand, but more I like the idea of summer that comes from a place like that--someplace with teenagers and swingsets and radios playing loud annoying music. Then I noticed the trees are changing colors. All this on top of the kids all being back in school is just too much for me to take. I demand summer!

I'm exhausted today for some reason. I'm trying to get back off of caffeine. I liked the six months were I was substance free! Summer classes and the stress of my golf tournament put me back on the drug, but now i'm committing to get back off. I've started mixing my coffee with decaf in the morning, and I've all but given up diet coke. I'm willing to take the partial headaches that come with the withdrawal. I know I can do this, and I know I felt better when I wasn't so addicted, so this is my project for the month of September.

I've been busy all day at work, but haven't managed to do a single thing. I have a meeting with the VP today, which stinks. This man is a terrible manager and terrible with people, so anytime I have to talk to him I dread it. I'm hoping it is short and relatively painless. We will see...

Lunch time!

Tracy Chapman and Jack Johnson remind me of summer. Ross, can I borrow your car and pretend it is still warm out?

I want to go on vacation. Yes Taylor, I know we just got our house painted and bought a new computer, but I want to go on vacation! Krissy and Jenny, what happened to our supposed girls weekend? I'm thinking October in Mobile...

I have an exciting evening planned for tonight. Going home the way-back way to avoid the highway on Labor Day weekend, so that will eat up a good chunk of my night. Have you guessed I'm tired of commuting yet? Then a quick dinner and a trip to the grocery store. Have to have food in the house if people are coming over. Then, hopefully taylor and I will put up our new roman shades in the bedroom. I'm excited to have something new in that room, since it is still not "done" even though we have been living there for years! We have RV as one of our Netflix movies and a friend just told me it is really funny, so that should round out an exciting MacFarlane Friday night.

It doesn't appear that I can blog at all from home. I tried last nigh on the Super iMac (did I mention that it is purple--and that it is Taylor's!) but just got a bunch of errors and eventually the machine crashed. I hope you all have a great long weekend and I'll try to post a fun weekend update on Tuesday!

Bread and Water! Going to drink a lot tomorrow at Amy's 3oth/The Sacco Family Olympic event. Jeniffer would be proud of me carbo-loading in preparation! I miss you JJ! Can you come back from Germany already! No more international friends--but thanks for the FunShine Bear Card-I love it!

How is everyone? I can't believe it is September 1st-I'm ignoring September and instead choosing to celebrate today as August 32nd. Does that make me a tool? Maybe. Do I care? No!

It's Blue Hill Fair weekend. I wish I lived in Maine this weekend. The fair is a Sinford Family Tradition, and for a time, I was an honorary Sinford. Jodi-have a hell of a time and write me a really long letter--on paper--after telling me about all of your escapades. I have vivid memories of reading a similar letter my Junior year of college, sitting on a bench outside of Balfour overlooking Peacock Pond, laughing hysterically until I had tears running down my face. This recounting of events is the best and always makes me miss home, and the days of being single, young, and fearless! Listen to good country music--I hope you have the Bluest Eyes In Texas on your iPod and have a ball!