092

I get home from work tonight to discover someone smashed the front door of my apartment building. Fantastic. I really hope it was someone who was pissed off and forgot their key and not some psycho trying to break in to the building. Hmm..

091

This week starts a busy next FEW weeks between both jobs. sigh. I'm working Angela's shifts in addition to my own, so I have to get up early all week. Fab. I will enjoy the paychecks, however.

The night was slow tonight at OG, which was lame. Ondrej decided to make a sash out of salad receipts, and dub himself "BEST BUSSER" which was quite humorous. I snapped this photo and sent it to his wife, who also works there. Her response? "That's my husband whether I like it or not!" lolz.

090

Today was a lazy day with the parents before I drove back to the burgh. We watched Slumdog Millionaire and ate lunch. Before I got on the road, I made a pit stop at the mall to get my eyebrows done. Hence why they are beet red. But, they look sooo much better. They were getting quite out of hand, for sure.

I spent the rest of the evening with the boy. We got pizza and Rita's, then just bummed around. He's playing some video game and I'm about to catch up on this weeks Grey's.

089

Had a girl's game night tonight with the Aunt's and my mom..which more or less turned in to a chatting/eating/drinking/texting session. No board games were even played. ha! However, it was still quite the blast and had me wiping tears from my eyes from laughing so hard. My aunt's are quite the hoot, and some of my favorite people to be around.

I brought some bruschetta (which didn't exactly fit the taco-style menu) but, it was a hit, with compliments all around :)

088

Went to the Britney Spears concert tonight! Brandon and I ended up deciding at last minute to go, and got our tickets this morning. We got a good deal too, paying $65 LESS than face value. Our tickets were for General Admission floor, and we ended up being only about 20 feet from the stage (and from Ms. Spears herself, at times) The Pussycat Dolls opened, and they were great too. The whole show was really good, with lots of energy. I've seen her twice before, and this was probably her best show yet.

087

I saw someone in one of my blog communities post a recipe for Ice cream bread. It was quite intriguing, so I decided to try it myself. The only flavor I had on hand was mint chocolate chip. The bread itself turned out looking cool..but the flavor? Not so much. It mostly tasted like salty, floury bread with chocolate chips. Oh well. It was worth a shot!

Later, Erin and I went to see Knowing, which turned out to be good, but slightly weird. The concept was cool though.

085

Today I want to share my new, delicious discovery -- dark chocolate peanut butter!! I found it in the organic section at Giant Eagle, and its simply amazing. I've only tried it on toast, but now I'm brainstorming about what ELSE i can put it on. mmm.

084

I found the long lost envelope of old pictures Ryan brought back from Colorado in October. We thought that they got lost in the shuffle when he moved, but apparently they ended up underneath my couch. So, my photo of the day is Ryan, circa age 3 :)

083

I love getting packages! My new undies from American Eagle arrived today -- 8 for $25! And yes, I am displaying my skiivies on the interwebz. haha.

082

I woke up fairly early to get on the road to West Virginia. When I arrived, my sister was still at the doctor's with Joey, so I met them there. Little dude has another fever :( But, he's talking like crazy now! It's weird how fast they grow in just a few weeks. Once we finished up at the dr.'s, we went back to their house for a bit before getting lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. I love that place. Joey was hysterical! He kept raising his arms up and it looked like he was "raising the roof" haha. Before I made my way back to Pittsburgh, we watched an episode of Intervention (she introduced me to it..good show!). Now I wish I had that channel!

081

I picked up a lunch shift, so I had to work for a few hours which is odd for me, for a Saturday. When I was done, the boy and I drove out to Irwin for a couple's night with Elisa and Dave. The boys hung around watching the music channel and talking video games while Elisa and I made dinner (stromboli and salad. mmm) After we ate, we headed out to see I Love You Man, which ended up being really funny. The trailer for Sorority Row was on, so I got to see myself on the big screen. haha. After the flick, we went back to Elisa and Dave's and watched an episode of Jon and Kate before calling it a night. We were both exhausted on the way home, I struggled to stay awake!

(by the way, that is the only picture I got today, and it is Dave imitating E turning into the Hulk when she gets hot flashes. haha!)

080

Friday's are typically my days to spend with the boy since we both work weird hours and hardly see each other. Once I got off of work, we went to Chili's for lunch then up to the Ross Park Mall to look around. I got some new sunglasses and a sweater from Forever 21. Then, we drove around for awhile and explored new neighborhoods before making our way down to the Humane Society. I decided to volunteer some time as a dog walker, and will hopefully start that soon. Good exercise for me and it gets the dogs outside! We ended our day by grabbing some free italian ice at Rita's, in honor of the first day of Spring :)

Later that night, I went out with some co-workers from OG. It was Kimmi's birthday, so a bunch of us went out. It was a really great time, but I always have fun with those folks.

079

Another gorgeous day in the burgh! It was a little bit chillier, but still equally enjoyable. Hopefully, spring is here to stay! On my way home from work, I took advantage of the weather and stopped to power-vac my car out. Got rid of all of the salt and crap from the winter..yay!

I then hung out with the boy for a couple hours before heading off to round #2 of work. He made us a yummy lunch and we watched some random movie on TV.

078

After working all day, I came home and was super hungry. I dug around the cupboards and decided to throw some things together and came up with a pretty delicious pasta concoction. Penne, chicken, zucchini and peppers -- mmm! That paired with the results show of Idol makes for a good way to wind down a long day :)

077

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Though I'm not Irish, I still wore my green!

I got off of work at 10 o'clock this morning and intended to take a quick two hour nap..but it turned into a five hour nap. whoops. I must have needed it, I guess.

Katie needed some girl time, so she and I met up at the Waterfront for dinner at Red Robin. I heart that place. Afterwards, I came home for a glorious evening on the couch watching American Idol (Adam Lambert, what is up with that Johnny Cash song?!) and then settled in to watch my latest red box rental, The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. I cried.

Ryan is having a "dude's night" tonight with a friend from work (beer & video games..not my cup o' tea) so I am going to curl up in bed with some good reads before turning in for the night :)

076

This is my $2.50 headwrap I got from Target awhile ago. It's perfect because it wraps my hair tightly, and prevents my hair from dripping all over my back and soaking my clothes. Except, it makes me look like a chemo patient..and Ryan hates it. He thinks it smells moldy (which, it does, when it needs to be washed) but I shall continue to use it :p

Before work, I watched Changeling and did a little "spring" cleaning and had cuddle time with the fur kids. It was a decent day.

075

I worked a quick lunch today, and for the first 45 minutes, we were pretty dead so I stood around and played with my cell phone. I failed to mention yesterday that I got my hair cut. It's pretty much the same cut I always get, but I got several compliments all day. Perhaps I ought to keep my bangs trimmed more often!

After work, I made a Target run and picked up some stuff I needed, including a heating pad. It's working wonders! Now, the boy and I are just hanging out the rest of this lazy Sunday. I'm about to make some french fries. Mmm salt cravings.

074

Ryan and I ventured out to Clearfield, PA with Elisa and Dave for another shot atDenny's Beer Barrel and the world's largest burgers. This was a third visit for Elisa, Dave and I, but Ryan's first time. The boy's decided to do the 2lb challenge and after shoveling the entire top bun (which is more like a loaf of bread in itself) and about 1/8 of the meat down..they threw in the towel. haha. Dave actually got farther than Ryan!

And aside from the server being a coke addict (I swear!), it was a good time! We stopped off on the way home and got ice cream from Bruster's. You've got to have the ice cream!!

073

I came home from work to discover that my apartment people had installed new mailboxes. It's about time! And probably explains the awful pounding noise for several hours yesterday afternoon. I even got a new mailbox key. How exciting.
I took a quick, but glorious nap, then made my way over to the boys place. I surfed the internets while I waited for him to finish his video game, then we headed out for a bit. We went to Half Price Books where I got a new book, and a book for my sister -- all for under $5! Then, we went to Giant Eagle where the boy spent several minutes scouring the produce section and stocking up on random vegetables to "vaccuum pack" It's his new obsession. Don't ask.

The rest of my night will be spent eating pizza and watching Role Models. I love lazy days.

072

It was a good day, for the most part. I found someone to take my dinner shift, so once I got off at the station, I ran a few errands and then decided to make dinner for the boy and I. I had been craving City Chicken, so decided to make that in the crock pot. While it cooked, I watched Milk, which ended up being a really good movie.

Around dinner time, Ryan came over and we ate dinner. It turned out pretty good! I burnt the crap out of my finger though while I was taking potatoes out of the oven :( After we ate, we met up with Katie and Ryan for ice cream. Birthday Cake from Dave & Andy's. mmm. The end of the night ended on a not so good note, but its okay now and not worth delving in to. BUT -- Grey's Anatomy was new, and it made things a little better!

071

Sadly, this is the first time I don't have a picture to share for the day. I worked all day, made decent money, and then forgot to snap a picture. I bought a few new movies -- Slumdog Millionaire, Role Models and Milk. I love movies.

So anyway, in order to keep the numbers correct, I'm making a picture-less post :)

070

First day back at WPXI after a week sucked. I won't get in to it, but lets just say some people could be a little friendlier.

Then, I worked a double at OG. Lunch sucked, but dinner was decent. Janine was sweeping the floor and said "Hey! I'm working! Someone take a picture and document" -- thus the photo. haha. She's a funny gal.

Other than that, today has been a little rough. I've been missing Busia all day, and I'm just kinda sad and melancholy. I'm not really sure when this is supposed to get easier.

068

The breakfast/dinner of champions. After my almost week off of work, I'm back at WPXI for my regular overnight shift. Which means, eating weird things at weird hours. Tonight, its a taco salad from Wendy's. I've never actually had one from Wendy's before, and I've got to say it was just alright. Nothing to write home about.

Other than that, I spent the morning/afternoon hanging with Ryan, then worked a dinner shift. Made decent money, then stopped at Giant Eagle to pick up a few groceries (mmm yogurt and apples) and try to return the boy's movie [Australia] from Redbox (the machine was broken. urg.)

067

I had to come back to Pittsburgh today. I've been in a weird mood all day because of it. Just a bunch of mixed emotions, I guess. Basically the past week and a half I've been surrounded by family, and now I'm not. I know I'll be okay, though.

As I was driving back today, I came thisclose to running out of gas. I thought I'd be okay to make it to Grove City before I had to fill up, but Katie and I found ourselves praying for dear life that we'd make it to the gas station. Someone up there must be watching out for me, because we made it to Sheetz at GC with 1 mile left to E ;)

It was also a good night, workwise. I worked for a little over four hours and made $120. Definitely helps make up for the past few days I missed out!

066

I spent the day with my family today. My mom, sister, nephew and I met up with our Aunt and cousins for lunch. Afterwards, Melanie and I dropped Joe off to his other grandma's house, and then we ran some errands. Stopped at Old Navy and Borders, where I bought a cool "weird facts" book for 5 bucks. Then, we went to Target so my sister could buy some lingerie for the bachelorette party she had to go to.

My parents babysat Joey tonight. The little stinker loves my cell phone, and got his grubby little fingers all over the lens, thus why this picture is foggy. lolz. But, he's a cutie (who always makes that cheesey "grin") I love being his aunt :)

065

We took my nephew to the zoo today since the weather was fairly decent. He seemed to really enjoy himself and liked looking at the animals. My sister and I had even more fun with the llama who kept trying to eat my sweater, and have staring contests with me. It was quite humorous.

Later, I met up with Katie, Mike, my sister, Melissa and Carly for a couple drinks and some karaoke at Rack N Roll.

064

Busia was buried today after a beautiful, yet tearful ceremony. I thought the funeral home would be worse, but it wasn't. I guess seeing the casket closed, knowing this was the final goodbye was what made it tougher. My brother gave a beautiful speech that caused the watergates to flood, again. Katie and Ryan were there, which I am completely thankful for.

As we left her at her final resting place, each of her four children got an angel from her casket to take with them. I thought it was neat, and a really cool design concept.

The rest of my day was spent with my family, Katie and Ryan, who ended up staying until later in the evening. I couldn't ask for better people in my life.

R.I.P Joan E. Wargo
February 7, 1934 - March 1, 2009

063

Today was Busia's viewing at the funeral home. In the end, we decided to keep the casket open because she looked SO much better than she did when she passed. She looked too good not to allow people to see her. Tons of friends and family showed up, and by the end of the day I was tired of telling people what I'm up to these days. I realize they are conversation starters, but it gets tiring.

The day was a lot easier than I thought it would be in terms of emotions, which I was grateful for. At the end of the night, it was weird seeing her one final time, knowing that would be the last time I'd physically see her face.

062

Last night as I was trying to pack my stuff to go home, the fire alarm went off. At first, I wasn't going to bother vacating because no one else seemed to be. Then, I realized that people were putting their coats on and heading outside. I quickly threw some clothes on, stuffed the fur kids in the carrier and made my way out. Three separate firetrucks! However, it ended up being just a small grease fire on the fourth floor. Better safe than sorry, but seriously? Dramatic. I did get to meet people that live in my building that I never knew lived there. And here I though civilization didn't exist there.

061

Over the weekend while I was home, my mom was telling me about these new "diet" bars she had read about. These bars were created by a bariatric surgeon, and when you eat it with an 8 oz glass of water, its supposed to expand in your stomach so that you feel fuller and eat less (much like gastric bypass, minus the whole surgery part)

In my never ending effort to drop pounds, I decided to try some. On my way back to Pittsburgh, I picked up a few bars from GNC. The trend must have caught on because there were only a few left, and only one flavor. Caramel apple crisp -- not my first choice.

My opinion? Not very tasty, but bearable with a glass of water. Result? Well, I honestly did not have much of an appetite most of the day after I ate it (right before lunch)..so, thats a start!

060

Busia took her last breath of life around 9:30p and passed peacefully with her family by her side -- as a tear ran down her cheek.

That tear signifies to us, that she is happy now. She is in a better place, where my Papa was there to welcome her with open arms. After nearly 27 years apart, they are once reunited again.