weekends are awesome! :)

good weekend.  busy ... but very relaxing and fun.  dinner last night with the family and denise, harry and danny was a blast.  then home to watch 24 and crochet.  finished this little guy ... 

then started another one.  Froggie is going in an easter basket for stacie and the one i am working on now is for kyle.  i want to make lots and send them to people and give them as presents!  how fun is that?!

today stacie and i went to kelly's and made these adorable little cupcake candies ...

they were surprisingly easy!  we are going to make them for easter too!  mom loved them and wants to help.  i am sure with the three of us, hilarity will ensue.  :o)

then i cleaned the apartment.  it needed it so bad and i just HATE living in a dirty home.  i did almost everything except the bathroom floor ... but i will do that tomorrow while dave is at school.  and i will *TRY* so hard to keep up with the clean so that it doesn't get gross again.  *sigh*  it is shocking how much cat hair, dust and my hair ends up EVERYWHERE!!! ;o)

dave and i just finished applebees take-out and now we are watching law and order.  i am crocheting on the couch.  i LOVE home and being with him and vegging out!  hence, i suppose, the dirty apartment.  lol.

here's to a good week! 

yup.

sometimes the kawaii images i find online are too perfect for words.  lol.  this is EXACTLY the way i've been feeling lately.  boss visit at the bookstore on wednesday just totally fried my brain and ate away a little part of my soul.  i came home and slept and then drank my troubles away.  yesterday was better but i did have another bad spell before bed.  i'm SURE the pms wasn't helping matters ... but i just really felt so low and defeated.  boss is very demanding and nit-picky.  just feel overwhelmed and not qualified.

musings on the real world*

* not the tv show.  i mean the REAL real world.

and so as my vacation nears the end ... i've been thinking about work ... and what i am going back to.  i work in a bookstore.  i manage a bookstore.  a corporate-run bookstore.  as far as jobs go ... and industries go ... it's really really not a bad gig.  but i just wonder why this all  stresses me out the way it does.  i definitely don't hate it at all ... and i work with some of the best people.  when i worked at the staffing agency, i used to pull into the parking lot and sit there, willing my legs to carry me into the building.  i used to get this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach and used to think up ways i could "get out".  and i never feel that way towards the bookstore.  But.  i am not happy.  well, not ... unhappy.  but ... there are a lot of times that my stress level is thru the roof.  i worry about being a good manager, supporting and teaching my staff.  i suppose a lot of managers feel that way.  i think i would be a much better assistant manager ... i told dave today i think i prefer to be a worker bee ... and not the hbic.

but then i think about my job ... and what i have to actually do ... and i wonder why i feel this way.  sure there are stressors ... there is in every job.  but do i put a lot of this stress on myself or is it really there?

dave and i looked at a house today ... and i can't believe how excited and hopeful i am ... how hopeful we are at this prospect and for our future.  but we would never be able to even consider this without my job.  not matter how much i craft and crochet ... we could not consider a house without my salary.  and again, my job is NOT BAD.  so why can't i reconcile all of the pros and cons and stop ... wishing for an out?  :/

*sigh* i think i have to learn how to take things a little easier.  figure out how to keep things in perspective.  work hard but then enjoy my time off and stop stressing at home.  i have to (for some reason) remind myself that WORK is a natural part of life and stop wishing for an instant miracle to happen and be able to stay home and crochet for a living (cuz that isn't gonna happen).

baking days rock my socks

a day of baking with friends and then dinner with the fam.  it was so much fun!!  hyun, kait and i got together at hyun's house and baked some kick-ass cupcakes!  from scratch!!  and then we decorated the heck out of them and they came out pretty cute!  kait has one of those awesome kitchen aid mixers in pink and, i wanted one before ... but now ... i think it's now a NEED.  especially since they come in some pretty amazing colors. :o)  kait also had the pastry-icing-bag-and-tips set ... and now i MUST have one of those too and master it.  you can do so many cute things with them!!! :)  i feel a new obsession brewing ... ;o)  hyun also made some yummy looking sour cream custard fruit pies ... that were tragically almost totally lost.  she made three and set them in the dining area to cool and set.  ming (one of her two adorable min-pins) decided to dine on one ... and then when she was trying to save the other two dropped one on the kitchen floor.  i felt so bad for her!!!  but it is kind of a funny story to tell after the fact. ;)  but anyway, we had an awesome time ... and i think more baking days are in our future! :)  taleen and dee from MP also stopped by and it was GREAT seeing some old faces from my MP days.  i miss that crew so much ... they are good people.

so we baked and chatted and i even crocheted 2 arms for my latest ami project.  someday i will finish one and post a pic ... i just haven't mastered the art of a cute face yet.  it seems so easy ... yet it continues to elude me.  i will get it tho ... i just need to spend more time practicing.

afterwards, i picked up dave and we went to ron's for dinner with mom, dad, kyle, jen and stacie (altho she was at another table with friends and tried REALLY hard to pretend we weren't there).  we had a great time as only Bisignani's can ... laughing until we cried.  i just LOVE family dinners like that and wish we could do it more.  :)  we have such a great time! :)

and now i am home, on the couch, and will start sewing after this post.  dave is playing his new puzzle quest ds game ... and avalon quest awaits me in the bedroom.  seems like a pretty cool game ... i just need to get the controls and stuff down.  

tomorrow is the theater benefit, sunday is NOTHING and then monday it's back to the real world. :(  i hate to think about that ... :(  i've had such a great time being off and visiting friends and hanging out with dave.  the real world just messes all this up!!! XD

holy crap days off with Dave are fun! :)

today was just the best day!  dave couldn't take much time off this week, so we canceled our toronto trip idea and even scrapped the nyc and atlantic city plans.  i had to go to staten island this week for my "secret shopper" thingy so we decided to do that at least today.  since i am a dork, i actually enjoy going to other barnes and nobles to see how they are laid out and merchandised.  and since my store is small and without cafe or music, i also like getting a latte and wandering the aisles, shopping the gift department or listening to some cds.  and my beloved is a dork as well, so he was equally excited about spending time in a bookstore and our "secret mission".  he took to secret shopping like an actor to a stage.  he helped me out and reported back all the pertinent information like how clean the men's room was and who said what to whom in the music department.  he even offered to go in costume and wear a monocle.  this is why i love this boy! :)

so anyway, we went to staten island.  since we didn't go away, we spent the money we would have on a room on coffee, music and books instead (you would SWEAR we hadn't been in a bookstore in months! ;).  afterward, we stopped at carrabba's for a yummy appetizer, drinks and quite an involved conversation on work, titles and pay rates.  we came home to shakeys to just shoot for an hour ... but then dave messed with my grip and it was all over.  first i wanted to shoot so i could master the better grip ... then i started to get the hang of things and i couldn't stop.  i WANTED to beat him!!!  lol.  i didn't beat him but i did shoot pretty well.  let's hope this continues into tomorrow.

we FINALLY left shakeys (sans car again!) and came home to my mittens kitty, american idol, and ate our take-out lamb stew and corned beef on the couch. :)  now dave is reading his new Zombie Comics book, the life aquatic is on tv, and, once i am done with typing this i am going to do a little crocheting. :)  yay to days off and time spent with dave!!! :)

wonderful weekend!

hello hello. :)  we had such great weekend!  saturday stacie and i went to Gap and shopped till we dropped.  her discount is AWESOME!  i got a pair of great jeans, some t-shirts and a few cardigans.  then i splurged at Coach and got a cute black wristlet.  it was so much fun!!!  saturday night we went to dave's aunt and uncle's home for the annual Spellman St. Patrick's Day Party.  it was a blast and the corned beef and cabbage was amazing!!!  :)  we spent the night at dave's parent's house and then today jimmy, alissa and baby anthony picked us up and we went to garden to watch the Rangers beat the Flyers!!!  ican't believe a nearly 7 month old baby sat thru an entire hockey game content!  he was so good and so cute all decked out in his hockey gear just watching everything going on. :)  then we came back and had a wonderful dinner with dave's mom.  what a great couple of days. :o)

now i am sitting on the couch watching will ferrell in his george bush show (cue dave's hysterical giggle here! LOL.) and working on some new amigurumi patterns that i purchased off of etsy! :)  and guess what?  i am off ALL WEEK!!!  YAY!!! vacations are rocking my socks right OFF! :)

another day, another sinus headache.  i am feeling a little better now but it's been a yucky couple of days.  but ... as of 6pm friday i am on vacation!!  and i can't wait to sleep late, crochet, read ... and sleep more! :)  i also have a nice little city trip planned with dave mid-week and a cupcake date with hyun and kaitlyn on friday.  a st. patrick's day party this saturday and the theater benefit next saturday.  a perfect blend of gatherings and relaxation time! :)  so happy!  now if i can just get rid of these stinkin' headaches ... i'd be perfect! :o)

arg.

this is what my sinuses are doing to my face at the moment.  i found this image and thought it was hilarious.  

tired.  counting down the MINUTES to vacation.  trying oh so very hard to not eat the boxes of girl scout cookies on my desk at work.  can't wait to party saturday night with dave and his family and then go see the rangers on sunday in the city!  just about finished with my amigurumi kitty ... just have to make the ears, a tail and then the sash for the dress.  i think she will be cute ... but this was SO labor intensive.  :\

watching american idol with da-veed and then heading to bed.  ooooh i think the sinus medicine is kicking in.  huzzah.

oh what a night ...

work was good and productive.  i freaked out a bit when i realized my reviews are due on monday ... i lost yesterday to snow and friday and saturday to being sick ... so i am a little behind.  but ... i am not TOTALLY freaking out ... yet.  LOL.  yeah, this is the new calm, cool and collected jessica! ;o) and this will last just about until sunday night when the real freak out occurs. ;)

dave made a pot roast tonight that was just amazing.  i am SO full.  even mittens enjoyed a little taste! :)  we watched american idol ... and i crocheted some more.  i got the skirt finished on my break today at work and then it took me all night to make one little arm!!!  i really struggled with the back post single crochet.  but now that i know the general idea of how to do it ... i hope the next arm won't take as long.  then comes the face.  i actually thought today of making her a little girl doll instead of an amigurumi animal ... or making a little bonnet for the head ... not sure what direction i am going to take it.  i don't have to decide just yet ... still have another ARM to finish!!!  arg!

off tomorrow ... coffee with mom planned ... laundry ... a little cleaning ... i should bake for maria's little party tomorrow but i am just not feeling cookies tho.  maybe cupcakes?  we will have to see!

alrighty i am gonna start the other arm before bed ... wish me luck!