Many people I know have already experienced deaths of family members (including pets) or extreme hardship in 2005, and it’s only the last day of January! On Sunday, my alma mater experienced a freak tragedy in which several students were injured or killed. I’m at a loss for processing all of this sadness. Here’s to hoping the next 11 months go much better…

One person who beat 2005 on the nose is Richard Kral. I always thought beer was a miracle beverage. Knowing that it fights cancer *and* avalanches proves it for me.

Despite the fact that I am in my 30s, my father and stepmother gave me Winnie-the-Pooh pajamas for Christmas. Well, guess what — I’m wearing them. I am sick as a dog when a dog is sick, and these jammies are comfy to my broken body. (My head is no longer clear, it’s very cloudy.)

I’m going back to sleep now… *mumble*

No one I know has the cold I have, so obviously I touched a dirty doorknob then sucked on my fingers, or some such garbage. My brain feels great, my mood is *happy*, but if I try to swallow it burns like acid and my nose is snotty.

…and to the next tangent: I really dislike being reminded about certain ex-boyfriends. One in particular was reminded to me last week Wednesday (someone sounding like him), yesterday (someone looking and sounding like him), and this morning (someone sounding like him). I wish I could do an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and get that little mommy rubber out of my head. I don’t want to be reminded of my time with him. PURGE. PURGE. > /dev/null!!!! Cripes, I’m such a geek.

Funny, I feel great today! But, formulaicly-speaking, today is the most depressing day of 2005. I think *my* most depressing day is yet to come once my braces are on and I can’t do anything but suck through a straw. Blender dindin, here I come!

This afternoon my husband surprised me on the way to the grocery store by taking a turn in the complete opposite direction from the store. He told me he was kidnapping me, and wouldn’t tell me details. When we arrived at our destination, we were at our favorite Starbucks 30 minutes away. Earlier this weekend I had read a blog of someone drooling over the new Chantico drink, so that’s what I ordered and I was not disappointed. This beverage is truly decadent. It’s only 6 ounces, but it’s pure chocolate so has tons of calories, fat, and carbs. YUMMA. Nothing like downing a cup of liquid chocolate — like fondue in a cup. SO GOOD. It definitely made grocery shopping afterwards much less of a stressful event.

Despite what others think, I *love* the Next Blog button! How else can I waste hours of my life reading other people’s ramblings? The most commonly linked-to blog: Ash Tree! Congratulations, Henry — you’re the winner of the crown and mace at the biggest school dance of the universe. I would have to agree that Henry’s site is one of the best, in particular because of his story about a dog named Sew. Have a box of tissues nearby, Sew’s story will make you cry even if you’re a boy. I have been an animal lover since the womb, so an animal story with a bittersweet ending is the most effective at making me re-evaluate my life. Thanks, Henry… I shall permalink to you in honor of Sew.

Thanks, Waldknoblauch!

Is anyone else out there so addicted to the show HUFF that they can’t wait for their next weekly fix? I started watching this show because my DVR recorded it in place of my all time favorite show, Dead Like Me, when it ended for the season. (My kitty Georgia is named after the lead character of DLM.) HUFF is definitely a worthy substitution for DLM while a new season is filmed.

I am surprised that I am not seeing this show nominated for awards, but perhaps it is a cult phenomenon? Or, just a Stef phenomenon. I wouldn’t doubt that…

Today I received spacers in preparation for getting adult braces next Friday. For those not aware of what a spacer is, it’s a piece of rubber that forces a space between two teeth so that there is room for bands to encircle the teeth for braces. Exciting stuff. My right-side second top molar is too snug to my first molar so the technician had the hardest time in her history inserting that particular spacer. So, now my tongue keeps playing with just that one spacer because there’s extra material sitting in between the teeth and my tongue keeps touching it. Expletive, it hurts. Hay warned me that braces would hurt, and I agreed to be a trooper about them so that I wouldn’t whine at him the whole time. So, this is just practice for the next 18 months of my life where I put on a brave face and lie everytime someone asks me how I’m doing. Perhaps I should have more carefully considered having lasik surgery instead…

Tangent: Man, I wish I had a wallet that said “Bad Mother Fucker”. Then I could be cool like Jules.

Today while working from home I was flipping around the television stations and found Take This Job… on A&E. I was fascinated by the episode entitled The Big Sell where a car salesman named “The Chopper” and a Mary Kay saleswoman named Kimberly Walker-Roop were featured. I am not a religious or spiritual person in any traditional sense, but both of these salespeople had me believing that I should worship them. They mesmerized me. I feel silly after the fact, but while watching the program I wanted to buy a car from Chopper and sell cosmetics with Kimberly and her mom and sister. Some people have the gift to herd sheep. Some people have the gift to be herded. I am ashamed to say I’m better at being herded…

For some reason, I think expletives make your point stronger.

I showed this to my real love. His only response was, “is that real?” Oh well…