Okay Okay Okay....I know it has been too long since I posted, but I have an excuse...really! I went to Pennsylvania to visit my grandparents and to do some genealogy research.

The grandparents are good, but bitching about each other. Pap thinks Mim takes too long to make a decision. This is true. She took 4 years to choose new couches she liked, and then when they got there, she has done nothing but bitch about them. She misses her old couches, which were close to 40 years old. *sigh* Mim thinks Pap makes too many decisions without consulting her. ie, he thought they needed new windows, so he ordered them and she found out the day before they were installed. He did the same thing with a new deck. She drives him crazy, he drives her crazy. Together they work. Interesting relationship.

The genealogy research was fun. Though, I didn't find what I was hoping to find. Everything I found just pointed out that we need to do even more research. Collectively, my distant cousins and I have well over 60 years worth of research looking for this particular connection, and still have bupkis. (spelling?) Granted we have a good theory...but it is just that...a theory.

Anyway, I was gone for 4 days in PA. I missed my sweetie something awful, so I came home a day earlier than I initially thought I was going to.

Today is my first day back to work in over 10 days. Talk about mounds of paperwork! My god, my staff were going throught things in my absence, and it was still unbelievable! Oh well, another week, and it will be straightened out.

I went to Lowe's yesterday. They drew up plans for a new deck for me. They even printed out a list of materials. (Oh, yeah, getting a new deck. Or, I should say building one.) The current deck is falling apart, so we decided to build a new one. Materials are going to be about $1,200.00. Labor, thanks to Patrick, me, Matthew, Jack, and anyone else wishing to participate, will be free. We will be re-building the deck on the 3rd Saturday in May. (May 18th) Anyone who wants to try their hand at Deck Building, let me know.

So I have a headache, again. This one I can pinpoint the cause of though. It's due to W-O-R-K. I have spent the last 2 days performing "Variance Analysis", over the Current Funds for the past 5 years. Granted that probably means nothing to anyone reading this Blog, so allow me to translate. I did useless work because my boss', boss', boss asked for useless work. I reviewed data, which I determined was bad. I pointed out it was bad. I was agreed with, and then told to do it anyway. I reviewed it again, found more errors, and was told to proceed. I finished a bit ago....at least I think I finished. I need to give it to the "higher-ups" tomorrow and have them review to see if they agree with my analysis of crap. Basically, I proved that crap is C-R-A-P.

So, my sweetie just called me. *sigh* *happy smile* He just wanted to let me know he was gonna be late tonight. he's getting a haircut. I will make fabulous pasta and meat-sauce for his dinner tonight. Yum-yum.

So, I haven't really read any of my friend's Blogs yet. I have trouble just keeping up with Patrick's. I am too busy at work these days. I will catch up soon.

Okay, so I have a headache. I feel tempermental. Nothing new on either of those really. Anyone who knows me, knows I am always tempermental and dealing with a headache.

So anyway, my boss is going to the "Lark" tomorrow night. I am not sure if he didn't tell me just to let me know where he was dining. He really isn't the type to "brag", but thats what it felt like. Maybe I am just jealous. Not totally out of the picture.

Patrick and I met Kristen Gibbs for dinner tonight. Jack was at class. It was her birthday. We met her for dinner at the Real Seafood Co. in Ann Arbor. The food was good. I had lobster and filet. The lobster....Somehow, I expected that it would come opened. Afterall, thats the only way I have ever had it served before. Cracked, split, and ready to eat. So, I got a whole lobster. No cuts, splits, breaks, or anything else which would make it an easy dish to eat. Kristen and Patrick watched me mangle the thing until the waiter came by and gave me some advice....talk about humiliating. Though, he was nice about it, and the service was fantastic.... Ask for "Ed". Anyway, I made it halfway through before I declared it dead and covered it with my plastic bib. It had put up with enough by then, and I had CERTAINLY had enough of it by then.

Happy Birthday Kristen!