The best toys aren't toys at all...

A list of some of Bailey's "toys"

The blind string.
Because when she pulls on it and lets it go, the blinds hit the window sill and makes this crashing sound that's so entertaining to an 11 month old.

Mommy's shoes.
Because she leaves them laying by the front door and if she puts them on, it means she's leaving. So I will take them and hide them in random places around the house.

The cooking utincils.
When you bang them against anything, they make NOISE!

Mommy's wallet.
There's treasures and things I'm not supposed to play with in there.

Doors.
Open, close, open, close, open, close... what could be more fun!

Plastic bags from anywhere.
I take them away... that's what motivates her to get them back.

Straws.
At the risk of poking the roof of my mouth, I still like to run around with it.

My boxes of craft tools.
Because mommy keep saying no and they look like so much fun!

She also bangs on our computer keyboards, tv screen, and remote controls are apparently her new bestfriends.

This is the girl . . .

This is the girl who learned how to throw a tantrum one week ago.

This is the girl who tricked her brother into looking the other way while she snags his school snack right out of his backpack.

This is the girl who learned how to walk at 10 months old.

This is the girl who stays up til all hours of the night because she doesn't want to miss anything.

This is the girl who captured her parents' hearts from day 1 . . .

Change is good

The other day I was in Starbucks and I saw the cashier changes her hair style about once a week. If you have the patience and the means to do that... more power to you. I thought to myself... maybe it's time for me for a hairstyle change for me too.

So I asked Chris if he'd mind me changing my look a little. Add some hair to my forehead region. I want bangs again. The girl looked good and she has the same face shape as I do. I had bangs most of my life until a couple of years ago.

Ok 5 years ago.

So I looked up some cute styles.

Printed out some pictures.

Walked into SuperCuts and got me a cute set of bangs.

Here's to change!

American Idol

Now that it's over... I can freely write about it. Not that I couldn't before, just didn't want to write prematurely.

So last night Jordin won. I think America picked the right Idol. As they always do, in my opinion. However, this year I predicted the wrong winner. I had an inkling that Melinda would win. I had a theory, you see. There are two criterias all of the past American Idol winners had in common. All of them are from the south and all of them have never been on the bottom two.

Kelly - Texas

Ruben - Alabama

Fantasia - North Carolina

Carrie - Oklahoma

Taylor - Alabama

Jordin - Arizona.... ??

Melinda hails from Nashville. In my book she was already a default winner. When she came out last night with the Winans. My first thought was that's where she belonged.

Oh well.

I do have to say that Jordin has an amazing voice and she will be successful regardless. Blake will have a career also, just in a different genre. Just like Taylor and Katharine McPhee. Love her music, but Taylor was a shoe-in.

Last night I did miss almost the first hour of the program because I thought it came on at 9pm like it usually does. Oops. We turned it on right where Blake was beatboxing with Doug-e-fresh. That's pretty cool. The African Children's choir made me cry. I don't know why. They were adorable! Sanjaya had to sing... again. I muted the tv.

Ryan Seacrest annoys the crap out of me.

Kelly Clarkson IS American Idol.

Gladys Knight made my night with the girls singing Midnight Train to Georgia. If I remember correctly, LaKeisha sang it in the beginning of the season back when top 12 were still around.

Love my girl Gina Glockson. She will also be fine. Reminds me a lot of Amy Lee... infact, she sang Call me when you're sober in the beginning and nailed it. Love that song.

Carrie Underwood - this girl is in a class of her own. What an amazing voice and performer. Humble as can be. Too bad she's country. I can handle about 2 seconds of country music and then I'd have to strangle someone.

I'm sure I'm not the only one thinking to myself while watching Bette Midler perform Wings Beneath My Wings - She's horrible! What a mess that was. Did she think it was a joke? I guess you have to see it to know what I'm referring to. I know very little about music and I knew she was out of tune. Cracking everywhere. It was actually painful to watch.

Ok ... I have to get to work. Much to do and not enough time.

Tonight So You Think You Can Dance STARTS!!

Why...

Why do I have to beg for help? I'm talking about the daily grind. Help at home is not an issue.

There is available and capable hands... yet I get nothing. I was told once before that they refuse new information for one. Not only that, but the help doesn't seem to like being there in the first place. There have been times when my knowledge of previous duties were needed eventhough I was sick as a dog and really could use a day off to rest. But no... I can't ... we're short-handed. Isn't that a bitch?

There are so many things I want to say... and I already have to the powers-that-be... yet more chances are given. For some reason, I thought we're into doing serious business. I guess I'm a fool for assuming things should be done properly.

I am going to sound like a real bitch for complaining but here goes...

I seriously thought about taking breaks to compare how much I don't get done (not to mention covering for whomever) 10-15 minute breaks 5-6 times a day. PLUS the one hour lunch outside of the office I already get. Obviously, there is too much to do in one day for me to be able to pull something like that. The man in the corner office would raise an eyebrow and question my commitments. True, I would never jeopardize my 7 years of tenure. On the other hand, this exact schedule goes on every day.

Dressing appropriately. Come on. Like I said on the above paragraph. Could have swarn we're in business to be professional and present ourselves as such. Flip-flops, camisole tank tops, and denim cropped pants every single day is sloppy. It's really too bad we don't have a written in stone dress code.

Speaking of things written in stone. 7 years ago I was told from day one that I needed to be there during the hours of 8am to 5pm Monday thru Friday, no more, no less. And there's no leaving on days we're bidding for projects. It's stressful on the estimators as it is without having to answer the phones, fetching their own faxes, and simultaneously working on other projects and troubleshooting field issues. Now that I'm in the shoes of an estimator, I understand how important my role used to be. The role was handed to someone who could careless.

The attitude. The moodiness. The self-inflicted injuries. The less than professional way of handling multiple tasks.

It was inevitable that I'd end up pouring it all in here. I am pissed off and I can't handle it anymore.