059

Today was my Grandpa's 75th birthday dinner at Hoss' with the family. It was nice getting to see everyone, and I ate entirely too much. It hurt to move.

After dinner, Guy and I headed up to Tinsletown to see The Reader, which was very good -- very dark and disturbing. During the movie, I got a text from my mom informing me that Busia was not doing well, and that they were all heading to the nursing home. Once the movie ended, I hurried to Saint Mary's where I spent half the night there with my family (dad, mom and three aunts) waiting by her side. By 3:30a, Busia was still stable. My dad decided to stay with her, so the rest of us went home to get some sleep.

(disclaimer: I intentionally shot this photo off center so that Cassandra could make a cameo. She says she reads this..so, hi!)

058

I got off of work at 10am and started my trek back to Erie. When I got in town, I drove straight to the car garage to get my car inspected. I've got to say, this is the first time I've ever gotten an inspection that didn't need ANYTHING, other than just the inspection. I guess it helps having a brand new car, eh? hah. Then, mom and I went to grab a quick lunch at Panera, and then to Sam's Club.

Later, I met up for 1/2 price dinner at Smuggler's Wharf with Tom. Our entire bill came to $25, which was awesome. I was stuffed after dinner, but managed to shovel down a shared dessert with Tom. It was delicious. We then went to see Yes Man at the dollar theatre. It was funnier than I thought. After the movie, we made our way downtown to Plymouth to have some drinks with Mike. Lots of laughs & good conversation..and enjoyable evening!

057

Got off work by 12:30, and spent some QT time with the boy. We went to Pittsburgh Mills to see The Wrestler. We both liked it, although it was actually a pretty melancholy movie. But, definitely worth seeing. Micky Rourke was up for an Oscar for the role, and I can see why. Afterwards, we stopped at Target to grab some stuff. I got the stuff I needed (ie; cat food, litter, some other random snack items I don't really need) and Ryan spent some time perusing the garden section and seed display, debating whether he should grow his own potted garden. Now, the kid is struggling to keep a house plant alive already and keeps his apartment dark (read: no sunlight) but, I entertained the idea for awhile until he came to the conclusion that it probably wasn't a practical idea. Later, we met up with Katie and Ryan for 20cent wings. Delicisi-oso, as always.

056

haha. He looks so evil. But, you guessed it, nothing exiting happened today. I worked a double -- but, it was a GORGEOUS day outside. I was quite disappointed that I had to spend the entire day inside. I didn't even get the chance to make it to church for Ash Wednesday. I did, however, manage to not eat meat.

055

I got my new Wii game in the mail today! I ordered it a few days ago -- and when I saw it outside my door, I was super excited. It's basically a game where you get to play doctor, and perform surgeries. I am such a nerd, but I love that kind of stuff. I'd been trying to find it, but only rarely would I find it at a GameStop, and it cost $50+, so I was a little iffy. I finally decided to order it from Amazon, where with shipping, it cost me $29 total. Yehaw!

054

Slept until noon today. oops. I hung out with the boy for a couple hours before we had to go to work. I made us philly cheesesteaks for lunch (and packed another one for him to take for dinner). mmm. Then, it was off to work for both of us.

This picture is in reality, awful, but I thought it was trippy. It's what I see everytime I emerge from the Fort Pitt tunnel. I absolutely LOVE the view of the city at night. It's completely breath taking.

053

I worked all day today and while I made good money, it sucked. I really do not want to work anymore Sundays. All it is is parties. I hate it. After a long shift, I made a stop at GE and picked up some slow churned (read; low fat) Strawberry Cheesecake ice cream. mmm. Then, the boy and I hung out and watched the Academy Awards -- Slumdog Millionaire seems to be taking the cake this year!

052

Another awesome GNO! Katie and I met up and went shopping at Robinson for awhile. I returned my too short pants to NY&Co and bought an incredibly soft and wonderful sweater from the Gap. Originally $68, marked down to $15. Yay sales. Then, we met up for dinner with Elisa at "Johnny Carino's" I got some delish baked cheese tortelloni. We went and saw Confession's of a Shopaholic, which was really cute. Pretty different from the book, but I still enjoyed it. After the movie, we headed back to Katie's house for fondue!! It was amazing and I left in a chocolate and wine coma. Hooray for GNO :)

051

Friday night was date night with the boy♥ We met up with dinner at Texas Roadhouse (mmm peanuts & rolls) with Elisa, Dave and Katie. Dinner was yumm-o. Afterwards, we decided to go bowling at the fabulous Norwin Bowl. We played some pool first (I honestly suck) and then, when a lane opened up, we played a couple games. Elisa kicked ass and we dubbed her the Alpha male. I did so-so, and the boys? Not so much. haha. After two games, we had enough of the disco balls and fog machines. But, it was a great night! I love double dates :)

050

I've been contemplating expanding my cable package for some time now, but wasn't super willing to pay the $100+ bill per month because a) I hardly ever watch TV and when I do, its mostly the basic channels I already have and b) the boy has cable and I am able to go watch it whenever I want. But, I found a slick deal through Comcast that I actually qualify for. I was all set to order it and realized they make you go through a live chat with an employee. UGH. I went through two of them and the 2nd girl was very..dumb. It took her 15 minutes to respond to anything, and I eventually just logged off. Maybe I'll attempt to order it another day.

I also saw Push with Erin after work. It was actually quite good.

049

I wake up to this almost every morning. At night while I'm trying to fall asleep, they act like terrors and run all over the place. But by morning, I usually wake up to these furballs lounging on me, purring contently. I don't mind though :)

Wednesdays are always full days at the OG. I work my double, and its fabulous [or, I lied]. Best part of the shift? When these two hideous drag queens came in. Now, I've got nothing against drag queens. However, these two didn't even look convincing. They weren't even attempting to mask their masculine voices so they honestly just looked like two large men in (ugly) women's clothing. I really should have gotten a picture of that. I could have been discreet enough..maybe.

048

Worked this afternoon, then sat in the bank drive-thru for a good 20 minutes. I was a little salty. Then, I went to 20 cent wing night tonight with the usual gang -- Katie, Ryan and Dennis. Kris joined us later and I got some wings to take to the boy since he's at work. He already ate, but he appreciated the gesture.

That's about all for now!

047

On my drive to work tonight (er, this morning?) I realized I hadn't taken a photo yet today, so I stopped my car on the trek up TV hill, and snapped a picture of our sign. How exciting.

I gave my dinner shift up to Angela tonight (glad I did, apparently we were dead) and decided to be productive. I bought a new mop this afternoon at Target and mopped my entire apartment. Cleaned the kitchen, litter box, etc. A clean apartment is a happy apartment :) I even got some sleep! I laid down around 7:30p and slept through to midnight when my alarm went off for work.

046

Woke up to a gorgeous day in Pittsburgh. The sun was shining and the birds were chirping. It was very convincing that spring must be somewhere on the way :) Of course I spent the majority of my day inside, at work. I don't often work Sundays, but realized that if I want to make money, weekends are the day to do it. I'm not really willing to give in and work fridays & saturdays yet..so I figured I'd start with Sunday.

045

Valentine's Day 2009. It was by far the best one I've ever had. I spent the afternoon with Katie and then later when the boy got off work, I headed over to his place. He surprised me with some sweet gifts and made us a delicious dinner (lasagna, garlic bread and veggies. mmm) Then later on, Elisa, Dave, Katie and Ryan came over for some wine and game night. We had a blast and it was the perfect way to end an already perfect evening :)

044

Nothing like winding a long, busy week down than with a girl's night! I definitely looked forward to it all week. Katie and I did a little shopping this afternoon and then later, we met up with the usual group (plus Angela and Melissa) for dinner at Uno Chicago Grille. I had an amazing Raspberry Colada drink. Then, it was off to the theatre to see He's Just Not That Into You -- great movie!! Then, some coffee, desserts and more laughs at Eat N Park.

043

Another long day of working both jobs, but thats what my life has succumb to these days! Between shifts, I hung out with Ryan for a couple hours since I hadn't seen him since oh, I dunno..monday?

After work, I returned to find this cute little Valentine's card in my mailbox from Elisa :)

042

After a long day at work, nothing is better than either a) swinging by the closest drive-thru and picking up a greasy, comforting meal or b) coming home, and throwing together something equally bad. However, after waking up this morning, stepping on the scale and realizing I'm FINALLY dropping pounds again (hallelujah!)I decided to throw together a huuuge chicken salad instead. Paired with balsamic vinegar and a large glass of Crystal Light, I'm set! And, I am enjoying every single bite.

041

Yesterday after work, I made a quick stop at the grocery store and then spent the rest of the day in sweats, cuddled on the couch with the fur kids. I took a few naps off and on, due to being exhausted. I attempted to watch The Secret Life of Bees, but fell asleep. oops. I shall try again later.

I got a call from my mom, letting me know that they had gotten the call that Busia wasn't doing well. By the time I went to bed, she was doing a lot better though, so I can rest easier. Either way, if you could keep her in your prayers, it would be much appreciated.

040

Ryan and I babysat my nephew, Joey for a few hours this morning. At first, Joe was a little weary of Ryan and wouldn't go to him without crying, but eventually, he was fine and even let him dance around with him and read him a story. After I dropped him off with my sister, I stopped at the mall to look for new black work pants at NY & Co, I found a pair, but after I brought them home I realized they were too short. ugh. Who knew there was such a difference between avegerge and petite? Lame. The rest of the night was spent working, where I made $60.

039

Happy 75th Birthday, Busia!! I woke up early to frost the cake (and channeled my acquired DQ cake writing skills. ha), then headed out with mom and dad. We went to church and then swung by the nursing home to pick up my grandma. My aunt was hosting her little birthday shingdig, and as always, it was a great time. My aunt's are hilarious! We started playing "Fact or Crap", but the questions were ridiculous, so we stopped. Afterwards, I packed up my stuff and made the trip back to P-burgh. All in all, a nice relaxing weekend.

038

I spent the day with my mom. We met up with my aunt & cousin's for lunch, then did a little shopping. Went to Sam's Club and got some stuff for me to bring back to Pittsburgh with me. Afterwards, we came home and I started baking Busia's birthday cake for her birthday party. My mom WAS going to buy one from the store, but I insisted on making it from scratch. Carrot cake..mmmm. I didn't, however, make the cream cheese frosting. That came from Duncan Hines. lol. I also watched Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist and then Swing Vote, with the parents. To which I fell asleep. oops.

037

I'm back in Erie for the weekend for my Busia's 75th birthday. When I got home, I lazed around then went and got mexican food with the parents. Afterwards, mom and I watched The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and then at midnight, I headed over to Jerry's for a small game night. It was a BLAST, and lots of laughs were had :)

On a sad note, I'd like to extend my sympathies to the Spagnol family. Yesterday, a truly remarkable woman was taken from this earth. Pam, you will be sorely missed by many.

036

After work tonight, I made a pit stop at Target for some essentials that I was either out of, or running out of. I got two kinds of shampoos because I wanted to try the new Herbal Essence swirly kind. It was too pretty to pass up. And good news -- it smells delish!

035

I worked a double today, so nothing exciting happened. I'm not even making that up, either! So, I guess when nothing happens, I post pictures of my fur children ;)

034

It was a very productive day! I finally got my bum to CCAC to talk to a financial advisor. Found out that I can't start the nursing program until NEXT spring, but that I already have about half of the classes already done. This means less classes which = cheaper than I thought! I registered to take two classes this summer to knock a few out. I'm actually excited to go back to school!

I met Katie in Oakland for dinner at Hemingway's. Afterwards, we went to our favorite ice cream joint, Dave & Andy's and had the delicious birthday cake ice cream. Simply amazing.

033

It's sad that the only picture I really have worth posting for my day -- is a picture of my workspace at work. I guess its fitting though seeing that today/into tomorrow is probably the worst shift yet. There might be another time I'm forgetting about, but for now, this one takes the cake. I agreed to pick up a co-worker's shift (so she could go sit 2nd row at the Super Bowl, none the less!) and it was a 1p-7:30 shift. Ok, not bad. BUT..I am still scheduled my regular shift from 1a-10a. Not even a six hour turn around. Nice, huh?

032

SIX PACK BABY!!! Pittsburgh is officially the first team to have won six Super Bowl's in franchise history :) This was my little "super bowl spread" for our little get together. None of my friends were able to be there, but Ryan had some of his friends over from work, so it was still a good time. Needless to say, RYAN wasn't very happy the Steelers won, but he's a die hard Cowboy's fan (apparently they have a whole rivalry?) and from Arizona, so I can't hold it against him ;)
Afterwards, the city of Pittsburgh was going crazy! Fireworks were going off all over town and people were screaming left and right. It reminded me of my junior year in college when Steelers won Super Bowl 40. I had an early class the following day and couldn't fall asleep because of the noise!

PS -- I love me some Troy Polamalu. What a nice guy!