When I Grow Up I Want To Be A....

Blog Writer...oh...wait...

2011-03-03T12:37:00.005-05:00

Hello, Blog...It's me...Lesley...Remember??

Something horrible happened this week. Something so bad that I was too upset to talk about it the day it happened. Our house is a really happy house. I think this is especially true now that we have our son. He's the happiest little guy there ever was. So on Wednesday morning when this tragic event occurred, I was abnormally upset and just not my happy self. Since this has happened, I am learning to live life according to the new change. It will be tough at first, but I'll get through it and eventually get along just fine. At approximately 7 o'clock Wednesday morning...our little pup, Dugan, ate my favorite pair of underwear.
I'll pause, while you gasp...
I know, I know...it's tragic. I just couldn't believe it myself! We sure had some happy times, favorite underpants and me. We had a little routine we did every time we spent time together. I'd put them on and say "doot do do doooo...It's Favorite Underwear Day!!". Then my hubbs would roll his eyes and shake his head and we'd all go on with our day.
I just hope someday I can find a pair with the same qualities of Favorite Underwear. I know I can never replace the friendship, but I'd love to match that comfort and style.
Go in peace, Favorite Underwear.
You'll be missed.

A Good Wife...

2009-08-05T10:53:00.005-04:00

"Meatloaf, smeatloaf, double-beatloaf. I hate meatloaf."

Good wives make meatloaf. My husband and I have been married for 1 year, 11 months, and 347 days...and I have yet to make a meatloaf. I never liked it growing up - no offense to my mother - I'm sure that block of meat that she presented us with on the dinner table several times a month was delicious -I was probably just being a picky kid. Maybe it's because its called meatloaf....a loaf...of meat. I am in NO way a vegetarian, but that just sounds weird. I'd like to think that the loaves I eat are of bread...not meat.

I never realized it back then, but meatloaf is just a GIANT hamburger. Did someone get lazy one day and not want to separate the meat, so they stuck it all in a BREAD pan and stuck it in the oven?

I'm not 100% sure why I recently started thinking about making meatloaf. But a few days ago I googled meatloaf recipes...HOLY MOLY! There's a gazillion of them. I looked at a few and found one that I guess sounded edible....until I saw the cook time. Those suckers sure spend a lot of time in the oven! Turns out I'm going to make my Mom's recipe. It, too, takes a long time to cook, but I guess you break even with the easy prep.

This week my meatloaf will make its debut.
This week I will become a good wife.

EZPass Owner...

2008-11-13T09:44:00.003-05:00

Sooooo my dad called me this morning...

He said there was a message on his answering machine at home from soandso Financial Company. Since my dad owns his own company, he assumed it was something for him. I say assumed because the message was cut off halfway through so he had no idea who it was for. He called the company and found out it was for me...I was getting a collection call! He tried to find out what it was about and they refused to give him any information.

So Dad calls me and tells me about it and I am immediately baffled. Now, I went through a crappy credit time...right around college...but I am in the free and clear...I owe nothing...my credit has been mended.

I call the credit company as soon as I hang up with my dad. After being sent to multiple people - none of them being able to find my account because I didn't have my reference number when I called - I get someone that knows whats going on. What is this for? I ask...knowing that I should have NOTHING in collections. The next thing she says makes me laugh at her-very loudly-through the phone..."You have a charge from EZPass from 2002 that we'd like you to pay, your total is $27.10" You think they're hurting for money, or what? 6 years...6 YEARS! This is ridiculous.

The sad thing is I remember perfectly why I got this fine. I was on my way to work in Niagara Falls and I had to go over the Grand Island bridge. I was behind a truck, so I didn't realize it was an EZPass lane. I actually remember that I had my window down and money in my hand ready to hand off....and no one was there, so I had to drive through without paying. They took a pic of my license plate and I got a ticket. When I got the ticket 6 YEARS ago, I called and tried to explain what happened, hoping they would drop the fine and take my apology as payment...no, not so much....so I didn't pay it because I thought it was stupid. I haven't heard a peep from them since...until now....6 years later. I'm thinking that...I still think it is stupid...and I still am not going to pay.

Jingle Writer...

2008-11-07T21:20:00.001-05:00

I am stuck on Band-Aid brand cuz Band-Aid stuck on me! Ever get that stuck in your head? It's in mine...I thought i'd share:)

Not As Stupid As Other People

2008-11-07T20:26:00.002-05:00

Short and sweet....
WHY do people keep getting scammed with fake checks and fake lotteries?!?!?! Why is it so hard to understand that it's not right to have to send a company thousands of dollars in order to get your "winnings"? Or if you get a check in the mail that you're not expecting, are you really THAT desperate that you just go running to the bank and don't stop to think...hmmm...I wonder why some random company is sending me all this money for absolutely nothing? And another one, why would your bank want you to verify your account by email? Geez you can't even deposit a check these days without 6 forms of ID. People, please stop being clueless. It's gotten to the point that if you do get your identity stolen by one of these scams, you deserve it. Having your wallet stolen is one thing, but giving Hvhyuwoi Awbrgureiu all your money because he sent you an email that you won a lottery in Africa is just stupid.
Ok, back to the Sabres game now...

Little Older Than I Am Right Now...

2008-08-13T14:44:00.004-04:00

I just have random thoughts...all the time...but a few I wanted to share...and no good title to explain them.
Have you ever had the hot sauce from Wendy's? It comes in little packets for their chili. It's absolutely delicious. I like spicy food...obviously....but not just hot - mouth is on fire - can't taste anything - hot, but hotness with flavor. Anyways, If I wasn't married already, i would marry Wendy's hot sauce....just sayin.
**Update: I'm not the only one...

**Update#2: Not even kidding you, this is on that same website..

ODE TO WENDY’S HOT CHILI SEASONING
Little gold packet

How I love you so
I tear you open oh so careful

As not to spill a drop
I put you in my soups

And even mac n cheese
But alas there is not much of you

Wendy’s will only give me 3
We need to start a petition

To get you bottled up
So people like me can have their fix

As much as I so please
I beg of you dear Wendy’s

Let me at the sauce!

Random thought #2..
I love the sound of cans opening. Beer cans, soda cans, pop cans...it sounds so refreshing. I don't drink soda...or pop in general...and I don't usually drink beer out of cans...but it makes it even better when you don't hear it all the time. No wonder they use that sound in the commercials...
Random thought #3...
It's almost our 1 year wedding anniversary...I don't what to get...I hate buying gifts cuz you're supposed to...I'm usually very creative...I'm not feelin it lately...the creativity...not the marriage...i'm feeling the marriage...not the creativity...got that?
Ok fast forward...i've just spent that last 25 minutes investigating ideas...my attention span is that of a 4 year old...so I didn't even finish my blog before I opened a new window to find ideas...I think i've got one...and I think it might be a good one...but I can't tell you what it is...because theres a chance that someday my husband will read my blog...and well that will ruin the surprise. One of the ideas...not one that I'm using...is to give your husband or wife coupons...personal coupons. Um...no...thats silly. Look honey, I'm half price today! Are there two for one coupons in that booklet? 10 cents off the melons?

Maine Resident...part duh

2008-08-05T10:02:00.007-04:00

Captain Procrastination...that's me. I've only been meaning to write about my Maine trip for weeks now. Seeing as its been so long since I've gotten back, I feel like I have less to write about...isnt that sad?

The picture to the left is one I took standing on our deck that was off the side of our cabin. We just had to walk down to the water and the dock. I took way too many pictures because I felt that even my pictures weren't doing this place justice. There's only a few places that I've experienced that I could sit and stare for hours. Our cruise around Mexico was the last place that I can think of....but Maine...was so much better. We stayed in an area that was more for "locals" than tourists, so there wasn't a lot of overpriced restaurants and tons of people...it was just right. To get to our cabin, you had to follow a windy path all around the lake, the homes were so nice and scenery was beautiful...and that was just driving in and out of town. The picture to the right was from that path. There was a huge cabin behind us that had this view 24 hours a day - can you imagine? Besides a random boat or jetski every so often, the lake was calm and quiet. It was perfect for kayaking - which I did one of the first days we were there....definitely should have done it more.

Now to the fun part...I made it my goal to eat lobster EVERYDAY we were in Maine. I succeeded. The day we got there we drove into Bangor and ate at the SeaDog Brewery (Im pretty sure thats what it was). We had some of their beer...of course...but it wasn't so good. I ordered a small lobster bisque...it said market price...it was $14.95!!!...just for a small bowl of soup...it wasn't that good either...bummer. The two best lobster days were when we went to The BBQ Pit and Lobster Pound. We were told going up there that the "shacks" on the side of the road are the best and cheapest places to get lobster in Maine...they were sooooo right. I think it was Tuesday that we had driven to Acadia National Park to go bike riding. We passed a bunch of these little shacks. They all had BBQ pits out front and they looked like a little scary. There was one that we passed that was packed full of people...so its gotta be good, right? Oh yeah. We stopped there on the way home from bike riding. FANTASTIC! I had a big ol lobster and some ribs...all for about $35. Weird combination, I know, but it was so freaking tasty that I decided to go back there for my birthday dinner later in the week. I would've gone back everyday if the rest of our crew would have let me!

On the last day we were there, we went to the Lumberjack Show. How exciting is that? Just like they show on ESPN. It was fun...except for the rain. But they did the log rolling and the tree climbing and the sawing and the ax throwing and all that fun stuff.

Did I mention we played golf...both the boring regular golf and the super fun miniature golf. I kicked my hubby's butt in mini golf...really bad...I just felt the need to document that in my blog so we don't forget for years to come. I'm going to give up now....when I think of more stuff about my trip, I'll let you know...I know you're just dying to read more.....

***UPDATE: I thought of something!!! We only paid $3.99 for gas...yeah...and we documented it...Do you think our kids will look at this picture someday and think that we're lucky because they'll be paying $12.99 for gas?

Maine Resident

2008-07-16T21:16:00.000-04:00

So I'm in Maine in the middle of nowhere and i'm not really sure that I want to leave. I found where I want to retire...or just by a vacation home when the station pays me enough to have 2 homes...hahaha...its actually not that bad to buy out here...u can get an cabin on the water for only 150 K...not too shabby.
Speaking of on the water, the views here are absolutely amazing and my words and pictures will not do it justice. I have officially become a scenery junkie. This is officially the most beautiful area I have ever experienced...oddly its what I always pictured alaska to look like.
I'll definitely have to blog my brains out when I get back...and post a lot of pictures.
Tomorrow were heading out to Bar Harbor...its my birthday so I'm calling the shots...were shopping, jetskiing, and touring the local brewery:) .....and if my husband picked up on my 8,000 clues (and begging) I'll be taking a bi-plane ride around Maine...I hope I hope I hope....

stay tuned...this girls got internet and she's not afraid to use it.

I DON'T Want To Be A Producer For Hell's Kitchen

2008-07-10T10:14:00.002-04:00

For those of you that watched Hell's Kitchen...this ones for you. If you don't watch Hell's Kitchen, you should...it's good stuff.
So I'm listening to the Edge last night on my way home and they're interviewing Bobby from Hell's Kitchen. Apparently when Petrozza and Christina went to open the doors from Chef Ramsey's office to see who the winner is, BOTH doors opened!! That's why Ramsey was hugging Petrozza so much in his office - remember they showed that and it looked a little awkward? He had to pull Petrozza back and tell him that he didn't win, that it was a mistake that his door opened. Isn't that crazy? I wish I would have DVR'd it so I could watch how that handled it again.
In case you were wondering, I was right on board with team Petrozza. In the second to last episode, I thought they were setting Christina up to win, but I kinda thought it was a tv trick...a little tv tom-foolery if you will. I really thought Petrozza was gonna be the one on top....apparently he did too when his door opened...oops. I wonder who was fired over that one? That's one person that wasn't enjoying the champagne celebration.

Speaking of champagne celebration....7 days til my birthday!! Yahoo!!

Book Reader

2008-07-09T21:10:00.003-04:00

I'm sharing with you my embarrassing trip to the bookstore.
I don't read a lot...books anyway. I read magazines - i subscribe to Newsweek, Self, and Bon Appetit magazines. I read the newspaper, I read lots online, blah blah blah. Basically, if I read books, they're usually ones I borrowed from someone. This is why my trip to the bookstore was embarrassing. I had no idea where to find my books....NO idea. Two books by Chuck Klosterman - pop culturish, non-fictionish, kinda biographical but not really. Sooooo, I checked Humor, Biographies and all kinds of other sections....then I broke down...I asked someone. Where were my pop culturish books? TRUE CRIME!! What?!?! How does that make sense? I think they did that to make me look stupid.
Thats all.
I'm tired...
Stay Tuned.

Restaurant Critic

2008-07-07T20:18:00.003-04:00

I like to eat...thats no secret. Something you might not know is that I LOVE sushi! The hubbs and I ventured out to somewhere new today...Kyoto Japanese Restaurant on Maple Road in Amherst - where Bennigans used to be. I think from now on for future restaurant reviews I'll have 3 categories...
Tasty
Not Tasty
Just ok
...and maybe an occasional Absolutely not, don't even think about eating there.
Kyoto gets a Tasty. They worked wonders on the inside of this place - it actually looks like a japanese restaurant unlike some of the other sushi places in the area. Not only is it a Sushi restaurant, but they have the hibachi grills as well....kinda like Shogun on Transit if you've ever been there. We chose to sit at a booth and do the sushi thing. The booths by the way are the high kind so you can't see who's sitting around you which is nice because you don't have to worry about your neighbor turning around and asking you to pass the soy sauce. Speaking of soy sauce, they offer both regular and low sodium...for those of you watching what you put in the choppers.
The service was very quick and friendly and the presentation was great. I had 3 rolls and a piece of sushi and the hubbs had a salad and 3 rolls and we also shared a roll for an appetizer. The best out of all our rolls was a shrimp tempura roll with spicy sauce added on top. It tasted like the super cruch roll at Sakura...(used to be our favorite place to eat but then new owners came in and it sucked...but thats a whole other story) I recommend asking for extra spicy sauce - this girl likes it hot:)
So I can't say I have even one complaint...except that I tried octopus sushi...and I wasn't the biggest fan. A friend of mine said she's going to try something new everytime she goes for sushi...so i'm copying her...new sushi #1...octopus...not really my thing.

Stay tuned...

Adult...

2008-07-06T13:42:00.003-04:00

Maybe a more appropriate title would be The Life and Times of a Banker's Wife. Bankers party like rockstars....minus the drugs and hookers and things....other than those, these people don't mess around.
Back the tape up about 6 days....
The husband says...everyone is coming over Saturday night for a cookout....half of me says YAHOO!! and half of me says please, shoot me. As the days progressed, I was going to have a party that i didn't even want to go to.
Fast forward to yesterday...
Lotsa food (that I didn't have to make - freakin fabulous), kegorator a flowing, sunshine and happy times...the brady bunch didn't even have parties this fun.
Ever play Civil War? Its like beer pong...but freakin insane...balls flying everywhere...watch out people, this girl won the game for her team...yeah thats right, drinking game queen. Anyways, after about a dozen games of pong and war, I went down to pour me a tasty frosty beer....and the keg was empty....THE KEG WAS EMPTY!!! You can't have a party with an empty keg!!!! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!! So I felt like a doctor that had to tell a family some bad news...really really bad news...what were the bankers going to do? were they going to hurt me because I'm the one that has to give the bad news? maybe I should call them from inside the house and let them know....hmmmm. So I told them... and unfortunately we get our kegs from Niagara Falls, sooooo, we had to go with cans from Consumers. Who better to go shop for lots of beer? MEEEEEE!!
Ok, blah blah blah...i'll spare you the details of this crazy party...but I'll fill you in on how life is going today.
After going to bed around 2, we woke up to the hubby's alarm so he could go to work around 9. He's cranky...he's at work...he's hungover...lifes a bitch, mr. banker.
My dog....11 month old Layla, the cutest golden retriever ever....is a mess this morning...hello doggie hangover...welcome to our home. She smells like beer, she's got marshmallow in her hair that I've been trying to pick out all morning, and she's been laying around all day...she hasn't moved other than to find a new spot on the floor to pass out on.
Besides writing this blog...what am I doing? I've been doing dishes upon dishes...ever try to clean skinny mojito glasses by hand? yikes! I've had to scrape wax off of my glass top patio table that was left from whomever tipped over the candles, I've had to spray down the beer pong/civil war/ flip cup table, I've had to pick up all the cups, cans and bottles around the yard, I've filled 2 garbage bags of trash, and I still haven't washed my dog. Supposed to go to the Bisons game tonight....will this girl survive? Hubby went to work...this girl is left to clean...I don't know which is worse.

Happy America Weekend everyone!!!

P.S. - 11 days til my birthday...don't forget!!

A Ghost Hunter...

2008-07-02T12:12:00.003-04:00

Ok, not really because I'm afraid of the dark....but I want to know what ghosts are doing.
There's a ghost here at 2900 Genesee. Not in the whole building...just in the womens bathroom. Perv. Last week when I went in, I noticed a crack in the toilet seat. Being a woman and having to sit down to potty, I always inspect the seat to make sure i'm not sitting in anything gross. I thought maybe there was a hair or something on the seat so I tried to wipe it off...with toilet paper of course...but the sucker wasn't moving...thats when I realized it was a crack. It's towards the front of the toilet..it just doesn't make sense...there's no way someone could have cracked it in that spot just by sitting on it. So my solution was that maybe our engineer/maintenance guy stood on the toilet to fix the fan. That's fine, i'm fine with that answer, I'll live with it.....until today.
So today I go into the potty room and I hear something hit the floor....it's a piece of the toilet...a chunk of toilet has fallen off where the toilet is screwed into the wall. I'm not even sitting on the toilet....this is crazy....HELLO MR. GHOST!!! Why are you bothering me?....
What will happen next?
Did something happen to a woman in this bathroom before she died? Or is it a man that is just a perv?
Or is this building just old and weird things like this will happen....Nah...
Stay Tuned...

***UPDATE: Our engineer did NOT stand on the toilet....I'm officially under attack...

Retired traveler....

2008-07-01T09:55:00.005-04:00

11 Days...
11 Days til we leave for Maine. Got a cabin in the middle of nowhere on a lake...hows that for the scene of your next horror flick? There'll be hiking, and biking, and fishing, and swimming...oh my!
Are there bears in Maine? Did you hear about that chick that got mauled by the bear? Betcha that hurt....think that will happen to me? I hope not, cuz that would soooo ruin the nice vacation. I hope I get bitten by a lobster though...so then I have a nice excuse to eat it. Not that I need an excuse, because I could certainly be a champion lobster eater like no other. I'm not gonna lie, thats one of the main reasons I'm excited to go...LOBSTER! Yahoo!
Do you know what happens in 15 days? Besides me eating lobster? Its my birthday!! I think birthdays are great, and I hope birthdays are great in Maine, cuz if not, then I'll be very disappointed.
I bought new shoes last night. You're probably thinking, oh great I'm reading this chicks blog and she's talking about shoes....what a girly girl....well HOLD THE PHONE there buddy, cuz this girl got cool shoes. Check em out... I can bike and walk and fish and do all kinds of fun stuff in my new shoes....they're quite possibly the most comfortable shoes EVER. Be jealous, be afraid, this girl's feet are ready to go!
I'm buying a fishing pole this week...here fishy fishy fishy....I haven't fished since I was younger...I hope I can brag about all the fish I catch...if not, i'll lie...and you'll just never know. But don't worry, I plan on documenting my whole trip...pictures galore!...maybe even a blog...we'll see.
Besides all this fun, Im determined to relax...at least a lil bit. I'm going to buy some books. Ever heard of Chuck Klosterman? If not, look him up. I borrowed "Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs" from a friend a couple years ago and the man became my hero. So I'm going to buy "Chuck Klosterman IV: a Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas" and "Killing Yourself to Live: 85% of a True Story" I'll let you know how they are...considering I have about a 12 hour drive there and back, I'm sure I'll have time to read a crap load of books/magazines/newspapers/candy bar wrappers....
Ok, people....still got work to do here...not on vacation yet....stay tuned...

Belt Maker...

2008-06-30T10:36:00.002-04:00

So my hero, Frank Miller, started a blog...and this inspired me to start mine up again.
The only problem was...I forgot where my blog was and what it was called...BUT the good thing is, I found it and here I am. Wasn't that a good story? I was so excited to read posts that I had written...but it turns out I didn't write a damn word, all I did was come up with a title and an empty page...which I guess is better than nothing.
The reason I want to be a belt maker? I got stuck in my pants on friday. You know when you have to go potty...and the closer you get to the bathroom, the more it wants to come out? Well, I was in and ready to go...but I got stuck in my pants. I bought a new pair of shorts and with this pair of shorts came a belt. Not a normal buckle belt, but one of those cloth ones where you have to weave the end of the belt in and out of metals hoops to get it to stay. Apparently i missed that class in home-ec on belts...cuz i got that damn thing stuck and i had pee. I finally realized that I could get the shorts down without having to undo the belt all the way...this was a great thing. I think the moral of this story is...practice people, practice.