Football and IKEA Chaos

I would have to say I am a super star girlfriend who has recently earned herself some girlfriend bonus points. Last night we went to the Cardinals vs. Broncos pre-season game with a friend of ours. One of our friends is a season ticket holder and had two extra tickets and asked me if Andy and I would want to go with him. Of course I was not that interested because I just have no interest in football and especially not a Cardinals/Broncos game, but I said yes because I know Andy would want to go. He recently said he would want to go to a Cardinals game this year just to check out the stadium. I endured a whole football game for my man. Now that is love! Then this morning I watched the Badger game on television with Andy. I usually only watch half the game with him before I move onto Lifetime; but I watched the whole game with him. Talk about super girlfriend status. Even though I am not much of a football enthusiast I had a good time at the game last night with Andy and our friend and again this morning watching the Badger game this morning with Andy.

Oh, an update on our pantry door – following the Badger game we drove to IKEA (aka the cluster f*&% of all stores) to see if we could get a new door to replace the one Madison ruined (read how in an earlier posting). We got lucky and did not have to purchase a whole new pantry as they did sell the door separately. Also, IKEA is another store that should ban children. Talk about a playground for children, or parents that allow their children to think IKEA is a playground. We had to dodge in and out of the aisles so we didn’t bump into or run over children. It was chaos. On my way out I saw a box with a sign above it that read “Please give us your comments to help us improve our store.” My first thought was “Yeah, don’t allow children in your stores as it might help the actual customers shop better and faster.” Again, this would be a rant stemming from my previous post titled “Kids Should Not Be Allowed in Public.”

So, it’s been a good couple days filled with football and IKEA chaos!

Congrats to Me!

I just want to let everyone know that I was promoted to Marketing Manager just like the firm had promised. Remember about two years ago when I was promoted to Marketing Specialist and put in charge of the department I was told that when I finished my Bachelor’s degree at ASU I would get promoted to Marketing Manager. I got the news yesterday and I am pretty excited about it. It doesn’t change my duties at all because I am still in charge, but I am excited to have the proper title. So it’s time to celebrate!

Madison Strikes Again

We have had Madison for almost a year now and we have had to fix and replace so many things she has damaged that I thought she couldn’t come up with anything new to destroy in the house, but she found something to ruin and it just adds another thing on our list that we have to replace. Last night Andy just started making tacos for dinner while I finished up doing the Wii Fit (my latest obsession, and still is) when all of a sudden I heard a crash followed by Andy’s potty mouth being directed at the dog. I looked in the kitchen and saw Madison’s latest attempt at destroying everything in her path. In our kitchen we have a tall glass kitchen table with wrought iron high boy chairs. When we moved in I purchased three tall and skinny pantries from IKEA that matched the kitchen nicely. It was a temporary fix for not enough cupboards in our small kitchen and was suppose to last until we could re-do the kitchen the way we wanted. They are tall and skinny, made from wood with glass doors trimmed out with silver/metal. Madison was sitting on one of the high boy’s, which she has been told a thousand times that she is not allowed to sit in them, so Andy yelled at her to get down. When she jumped down toward the pantries the wrought iron high boy followed her and crashed into one of the glass doors and shattered in a million pieces all over the kitchen. It was quite the sight to see. To my surprise I did not get mad, yell or scream, but instead I just laughed internally and gave Andy a hard time for his out-of-control dog. By the way, it was not the time to give Andy crap about his dog misbehavin’ or rub it in that his dog it out-of-control while I laughed as he swept the floor. Yeah, not a tactful time for that. Madison was put in her cage while Andy cleaned up her mess for the next two hours. We are now down to two pantries and will be making a trip to IKEA this weekend to see if we can just replace the door instead of buying a whole new pantry. One pantry was not cheap even though it was purchased at IKEA so we are hoping we can just buy the door since we think I bought all three in pieces like IKEA usually sells their stuff. Anyways, hurricane Madison strikes again!

New Reality Show For You Addicts Out There

Last night Andy and I were watching this new reality show called America’s Toughest Jobs. Ok, I am hooked on reality television, but this one is different. They take people and put them on the toughest jobs and if they can survive then they go onto the next tough job and if the boss on that job decides they just weren’t cutting it then they get sent home. Last night was the first time this show aired and I just happen to stumble across it as I was channel surfing on my Direct TV guide and I am glad I did because I am now hooked. The first tough job these people had to do was crab fish. I don’t know if you ever saw the reality show called Deadliest Catch about crab fisherman, but Andy and I were addicted to this show for a while. It’s where you go crab fish up past Alaska in the Bering Sea in the freezing cold for hours on end. Plus it’s a death trap of a job because you could easily get killed. These innocent people who perceived themselves as tough had to go be crab fisher people and let me tell you if I was on this reality show I would have just said “Let’s save the competition and I will just quietly go home right now.” I am no quitter, but if you think I am going to stand on a boat in the middle of no where when its 10 degrees outside you have got to be kidding me. Andy of course agreed with me that there was no chance that I would have survived the first challenge. He thinks I can’t handle physical labor. It’s not that I couldn’t handle the physical labor part, it’s the part of being in the freezing cold all soaking wet on the verge of my death as this shabby fishing boat rocks up and down bringing in tons of sea water every time the nose of the boat slams back into the sea on the downturn of each wave. No thank you! This is from the girl who moved south to Phoenix to escape the Wisconsin cold winters. I will keep watching this reality show and see if I come across a tough job that I might actually do…but I don’t think next week is the week for me because according to next weeks preview it’s on Ice Road Truckers. Again, cold weather and I just don’t go together. If you are looking for another reality show addiction I would suggest this one is for you. It’s on Monday nights at 9pm and I think it was on ABC, or CBS…or maybe was it NBC. Who knows…that is what the Direct TV Guide is for!

The Phone Order Fear

Last night was Andy’s big draft day for his fantasy football league. Just like millions of other men out there in the world he was looking forward to this day when he could pick his players to create his fantasy league. As you read earlier I just don’t get it, but even though I don’t get it I was being supportive last night. I did not make fun of him once and I even took the dog out to go to the bathroom while he waited online for the next chime to let him know it’s his turn to pick. I even ate dinner at 5pm with all the other blue hairs in the world just so Andy could make his draft on time which was scheduled for 6pm. I am not a fan of eating at 5pm, but I am such a good girlfriend that I gave in only after probably one joke about accommodating his fantasy draft. Andy wanted to order Chinese food for dinner because he said he was hungry for it; however, I think it was because he didn’t trust that I would have dinner cooked by 6pm. Anyway, Andy has this weird issue with ordering food and I just don’t get it. Anytime we order food he makes me order because he just doesn’t like calling. He will throw a tantrum if I don’t order it. It’s actually pretty funny. I asked him 20 times last night for a reason as to why he has an issue on ordering food over the phone and he doesn’t know why this is. I remember his mother telling me that Andy was always like this even as a kid he would make his younger brother order the pizza. Which, by the way you can order your pizza online now instead of over the phone so you can imagine how happy this makes Andy. He will actually order pizza online over Chinese food if I refuse to call. The only reason why I refuse to call is just to see if Andy will actually give in and call, but he just won’t. Andy’s issue is actually to my advantage because when he pulls the “I am not calling” thing he says “I will buy if you call” which works out to my benefit. Anyway, maybe someday he will surprise me and pick up the phone and make that call to our favorite Chinese delivery and place the order for Moo Shoo Pork and Chicken Fried Rice!

Sweating It Out At Dave

Last night we went to see the Dave Matthews Band at Cricket Pavilion (which is an outdoor arena). I mean, what else do people do when it’s 112 degrees outside; go to an outdoor pavilion to see a concert? Well, on Thursday night Andy mentioned going to see Dave and my first thought was the memory of two years ago when we saw Dave in the month of August at Cricket and it was so hot out that I was miserable and we agreed never to attend a concert outside in Phoenix during the months of June, July or August. After I reminded Andy of our last experience we both agreed on Thursday night that maybe it was a bad idea after all. Well, on Friday we both agreed that at least it was something to do and we had a couple friends that were going and it would be fun to tailgate with them. After this agreement I checked the weather and it said 112 degrees for Saturday, which brought back nightmares of two years ago, but I figured I would make the best of it. We got there early to tailgate with a couple friends and when we rolled into the parking lot the temperature on Andy’s car was reading 111 degrees. I was a little worried about swamp ass and being miserable, but we got lucky as we got to park in the shade. As we sat there in our own sweat with our friends enjoying our drinks our one friend made a comment that at least there was a breeze. If you think a hair dryer on high heat pointed right at your face is a nice breeze, then yes, there was a nice breeze; however, I didn’t see it that way as I sat in my own sweat because by now my shorts were soaking wet. We finally went into the concert at 8pm and I was thinking “Boy, it cooled off out here” and really it was about 100 degrees outside and not 111 degrees. I felt crazy for even saying that it felt like it cooled off because it was still 100 degrees. When we did leave the concert at 11pm Andy’s car registered 97 degrees and let me just tell you that I am so ready for fall weather. I did tell Andy that I would be the designated driver and drive us home because the pavilion was a good 30 minutes from our house. Let’s just say he took full advantage of his designated driver. It was too funny. He was cracking me up. As many people know Andy is a quiet guy, but when he drinks he turns into Chatty Carl. He always makes fun of me for being Chatty Cathy when I drink, but he was just as bad. He was cracking me up. We ended up having a great time at the concert even though I could feel sweat beads run down my butt, which was gross by the way. It was fun to hang out with friends and Andy’s drunken stuper was absolutely hilarious. Andy and I always seem to have a great time with each other no matter what we are doing and I like that we are able to do that.

Pool or Grass?

I read an interesting article yesterday in the AZbusiness magazine. It was talking about the future of Phoenix and I would like to share some information from the article. AZbusiness was predicting that in the year 2040 Phoenix will no longer be a metropolitan area, but instead a megapolitan area because the population will be 10 million people. The megapolitan will consist of Phoenix and Tucson being combined as one. It may seem kind of crazy since there is quite the distance between the two cities, but I guess seeing the Phoenix area’s growth it could be possible. Another thing it mentioned was that since water might be scarce in 2040 with 10 million people in the area that they would have to control how much water you use by making you choose between your pool or your grassy lawn. I thought about this for a minute. If a government official came knocking on my door and told me I had to choose between the grass we have in the front yard and in the backyard or our pool, what would I do? Let’s flash forward to the year 2040. I am now 60 years old and heading towards retirement, and who knows if I will still be living here, but for shits and giggles let’s just say that I still live in Phoenix in 2040 and I have both grass and a pool. I am also thinking about the summers in Phoenix and I am assuming that in 2040 the summers will probably be longer and even hotter, so my vote would be for the pool. Hey, I will be heading toward retirement and will have nothing to do all day long, but float in a pool. I need something to float in while I turn my skin into leather so I can be just like all my other retired friends here. That was an easy decision, but to think so far ahead it was kind of a crazy moment I was having envisioning being 60 years old and what life would be like. I am assuming Andy would also vote for the pool too. I know he wouldn’t want to do yard work when he is 58…remember he is younger than me. So, the decision would be hands down for the pool.

Any Suggestions Would Be Appreciated

I am looking for suggestions on cutting dogs nails, specifically a dog that is difficult and will not let you touch her feet. Andy and I have had Madison for almost a year now and we have never been able to cut her nails, so you can imagine how long they are. They are so long now that they are lethal weapons. Every time she jumps on me I feel her stabbing me in the side and it is painful. Andy and I have asked around for suggestions and I feel we have tried everything. We took her to PetSmart at least a dozen times and asked them to do it for us and every time they came back saying they were unable to do it. These are trained dog people so if they can’t even cut her nails then how are we suppose to? We were also suggested to use an electric sander. Andy has a small hand held sander looking thing that he thought would work, but of course the noise scared her more than anything, so that didn’t work. We also read online to give your dog Benadryl as that will knock them out and then we should be able to get those claws cut, but of course that hasn’t worked yet either. We have tried this approach a few times and so far I haven’t seen Benadryl knock this terror out at all. So, you see what we are up against? If you have any suggestions on getting these claws cut before she stabs me one more time please let us know. I am ready to try anything if it means no more abuse from the dog!

Kids Should Not Be Allowed in Public

Ok, so maybe my title is a little harsh, but it seems that no matter where I go in public I have to deal with kids who are not disciplined and were never taught how to behave themselves in public. On Saturday we were in Super Target and I was pushing the cart down an aisle where two kids were standing and they did not move over even though they saw me coming. They completely ignored me and did not move. They were between 7 and 10 years old and no parents were around either. So, now, besides knowing the parents didn’t teach their kids manners they also are not informed about child kidnapping or pedophiles. Folks, we live in a big city filled with pedophiles and kidnappers, so it might be wise to be near your kids in a Super Target. Of course their rudeness annoyed me. On that same day we were at Rock Bottom around 5pm for some drinks and I got up to go to the bathroom, but to my surprise I didn’t know the women’s bathroom is a playground for unruly brats! The bathroom was filled with 5 girls between the ages of 5 and 10 running around slamming doors, looking under the stalls and playing in the water. This was all done with yelling and screaming and of course the parents are not in the bathroom with them. Where were they? Probably sitting at their table thinking their children are behaved enough to use the bathroom alone, but they were completely wrong. These girls were monsters! These are only two examples of what happened this past weekend, but I find myself running into this behavior almost every time I leave my house. You know how they have smoking sections at most places? I propose having children/family sections in restaurants, hotels and of course airplanes. This would make my life easier. Maybe you can’t ban children from public places or segregate them, but maybe parents should go back to the good old days of beating (uh, I mean, spanking) their children instead of being afraid of discipline because it might leave a psychological scar that can’t be removed! That’s crap because I got spanked and I turned out just fine! Hopefully I didn’t offend any kid lovers or parents out there, but I am tired of bratty and misbehaved children roaming the earth.

It's Just Rain

Last night I realized that I am turning into an Arizonan rather I want to or not. When I first moved here I didn’t understand the monsoon season as it just seemed like another thunderstorm and I didn’t understand why people would drive slow in the rain since it is just rain and not snow or sleet. I also didn’t understand why people would stay in their homes when it rained almost like it was a blizzard and unsafe to leave their homes. I mean for god’s sake it was just rain. I did learn though in the last three years why they call a thunderstorm a monsoon. A typical mid west thunderstorm in Arizona is called a monsoon because it originates as a monsoon in Mexico and we are just getting the affects from it. Well last night we had another “monsoon” and we had dinner plans with Andy’s dad and Shelley (yes, they are in town) and I found myself thinking maybe we shouldn’t go to dinner anymore because of the rain. Then I was thinking “What is wrong with me? I am turning into an Arizonan who thinks it’s best to stay inside when it rains.” Well, needless to say we did go to dinner and I did get that thought out of my head ASAP because after all it is just rain and not a blizzard like most people think here.

Attention Shoe Lovers

I love shoes and so I went to my favorite (besides Nordstrom’s) shoe store, DSW, to find myself a pair of black strappy healed sandals. I figured DSW would have something like that, I mean it sounds so simple, right? Wrong! I was a little frustrated because I am overdue for a pair of black strappy healed sandals and this giant shoe store didn’t even have one pair in sight. I was shopping for black strappy sandals to replace the ones I had been wearing for a year. The ones I was wearing smelled so bad that they needed to be replaced. Who would have thought they would smell like that since they are not closed toed shoes and my feet have plenty of room to breath. Well, enough said about that because I was on the hunt for black strappy healed sandals. I first checked out DSW online hoping they would have something online that wasn’t in their store. Needless to say I struck out, but it was still a good trip to their website since I did purchase two pair of super cute shoes. So, now I am $100 down and still no black strappy healed sandals. I found this fabulous website called Likeit.com and I am recommending it to everyone out there. The website is all shoes and basically compiles all shoes that are out there on the web on this one website so you don’t have to go to 10 different web pages to find your shoes you only have to go to this one website. Anyway, I found my shoes and they actually came from www.zappos.com which I am going to recommend them to anyone and everyone who loves shoes. It was unbelievable how fast the shoes arrived. I ordered the shoes this past Sunday afternoon and they arrived on Tuesday. Can you believe that kind of service? At first I thought that I just got lucky on my shipment, but Andy said the last time he bought shoes he ordered them from Zappos and his shoes came two days later too. So, all you shoe lovers out there who rely on the website for your shopping I highly recommend using www.likeit.com to find a shoe, but I also highly recommend www.zappos.com as their shipping processes are amazing.

Understanding Andy's Fantasy

I guess I just don’t understand it…men and their fantasy football. This is something Andy is into a lot and I really have no idea why. For the last, almost, five years that we have been together I have seen him get so into this that he watches the games with his laptop next to him. I am assuming this is so he can watch scores of his teammates…or something like that. Since I don’t get why he is so into it I definitely don’t understand the logistics of it either. On Saturday, we were out and about and Andy says “Let’s go to Barnes & Noble.” I asked why because we never just go to Barnes & Noble, so his response was “because.” So, we went there. It was a good trip because I bought a bunch of books for work, but anyway, Andy buys two or three magazines on fantasy football. This is insane! They have magazines on this crap and I am assuming it must give tips on who to pick. Of course I made fun of him for a little bit because it’s my job, but he really didn’t care at all because he was focused on his fantasy! Maybe it’s not the actual activity that bothers me so much, but maybe it’s the name of the game…I mean fantasy football???? Why can’t it be called something other than a fantasy? Aren’t fantasies supposed to include feathers, lace, leather and hand cuffs? So, as I think about this I am thinking that maybe it’s not Andy sitting on the couch all day on Sunday’s watching all the games with his best friend, Mr. Laptop, I think it’s just the name of the activity that bugs me. I propose changing the name from a fantasy to Make Believe Football, or Enchanted Football. Since I really just don’t understand I decided to look it up online to get a better understanding of the activity. Can you believe that Wiki actually has information on Fantasy Football? I found out this crazy fantasy has been around since 1962, but the popularity of computers made this fantasy become famous in the 1990's. Well, if you are like me and don’t get it, but would like to, then here is the link so you can understand this fantasy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_football_%28American%29

One Dog and One Cat...For Now

As people know we have a crazy, hyper and out-of-control Boxer puppy, Madison. Many people have given us the advice to get another dog and that way another dog would keep her busy and occupied so she wouldn’t be so out of control. Andy and I have discussed this quite a few times over the past few months. I am worried about getting another dog and then having two crazy dogs. I am also concerned about the size of our house as it is on the small side and we might not have enough room for two 40 pound dogs. I am also concerned about our cat, Captain, as he is number one in this house. He is my baby and I wouldn’t want to upset him with another animal in the house. With all that said, I was very close to buying an eight week old Boxer/Shepard mix. He was absolutely adorable, calm and I really wanted him. Andy and I went to PetSmart to get Crazy some more chew toys so she doesn’t eat our house and they had one of those animal rescue’s there with some dogs to adopt. There was this family who was on the verge of saying “yes” to adopt the Boxer/Shepard mix and I was kind of hanging around to find out their decision on the adoption. Well, since they were taking too long we went to DSW and then walked back to PetSmart and since the family had left I decided to ask about the puppy because there is no harm in just asking…right? Well, I found out the family did adopt the puppy and will be back to get him. I guess that was probably a good thing for me since I was sold on the cuteness of the puppy and not thinking of all the work it would take to train the puppy. Since Madison was such a nightmare I see it as a blessing that the family did adopt the puppy. I know Andy would have been thrilled to have another dog in the house because since I have known him he has always wanted to have his own zoo. He also had no comments about not getting the dog. So, as of right now we still have one dog and one cat, but who knows…that could change on the next trip to PetSmart.

It's Four Months and 17 Days Away

OK, this might sound a bit premature, or even a bit crazy, but I am already excited for Xmas. I know its four months and 17 days away, but family-fun-time, holiday food and really cold weather is on my mind. I found myself listening to the Trans Siberian Orchestra on my way to work the other day…yes, I am aware it’s August. I start to wonder why I am so excited for Christmas this year as I really have not been that big into Christmas before, or at least I never even thought about Christmas at least until December 1st. So what sparked this sudden excitement in me? I thought it could be the fact that we just had the Xmas in July party and I spent a lot of time thinking about Christmas memories to prepare for food and decorations. So, I thought that could have put me in the holiday spirit. I also was thinking how it’s still really HOT here. August here is kind of like February or March in Wisconsin. That is the time where you are just sick of winter and you start dreaming of those summer days without wearing your 10 pound parka. August is kind of like that where you are sick of the heat and are ready for some cooler days. The days where jeans and a tank top are sufficient. That could be what drove me to dig out my TSO CD and pop it in my car for my 35 minute drive to work. I mentioned to Andy that I am excited to go home for a Badger football game in October and he said I was crazy to even think about that since its two months away. Imagine what he will say when he reads that my mind is already planning decorations and present buying for the event that doesn’t take place for four months and 17 days.

Doing Nothing is Sometimes Better than Doing Everything

This weekend was the first weekend since the last weekend in April that Andy and I did nothing. It was great! We have been so busy with visitors and plans with friends since May 1st that we have been so go-go-go that this past weekend was the first weekend that we had nothing to do and we loved it! It was so nice. We spent most of the weekend relaxing in the pool, which is always nice to do. We also went to see the movie Stepbrothers with Will Ferrell. That was a hilarious movie, but how can a movie not be funny with Will Ferrell in it? Although, Andy and I agreed the only down fall in the movie is when an unbelievably funny movie gets serious at the end and is not funny anymore. We don’t like when movies do that. Of course they need to wrap the movie up, but can’t they keep the ridiculous antics going until the end? I am no movie buff so I don’t know the answer to that. We also rented the Bucket List from Netflix. I fell asleep during the movie so I am not sure how it ended, but it was a slow movie and not my cup of tea. Andy thought it was just ok. By the way Netflix or any other kind of online renting is the way to go. You get the movie you want and you don’t have to gamble with the movie store on having the movie you want to see. As soon as you send it back they send you the next movie on your list. I signed us up a few months back and we both love the service and the idea of renting your movies online and having them delivered to you. Well, this is also coming from the couple that grocery shops online too. Yes, we do grocery shop online. We order all of our groceries online and they deliver them to our door and bring them in our house for us. Some might say that is crazy or high maintenance, but we don’t like dealing with all the crazies in the grocery store. By crazies I mean the old people that don’t move their cart when you are coming down the aisle and need to pass, or the mothers with a million kids running around uncontrollably, or the idiot who is checking you out at a snails pace. So, yes, any service that we can do online from the comfort of our home is something that you can guarantee we will try. Hey, this just gives us more time to do nothing and sometimes nothing is better than everything!