Aimee loves surprise...

...days off, they're a splendid thing and since TS Ernesto gave us one, we took complete advantage of it.

^^ My mom, Cameron, Sarah (my niece) and Christie (my sister).

^^ Deerfield Beach, isn't it pretty?

^^ My mom, Cameron, Sarah and myself.

^^ Cameron.

^^ My mom and Cameron.

^^ Sarah.

We didn't intend to actually go in, hence the reason none of us (aside from Cameron) are wearing bathing suits, but it just sort of happened that we all ended up in the water.

Aside from the beach, my mom and I took a nice long walk because we couldn't do our normal workout and then her and I headed off to Barnes and Noble to browse for a bit. I bought Nora Roberts new book "Morrigan's Cross" and "The Black Dahlia" by James Ellroy with one of my birthday gift cards, so I must get busy reading!

Oh, and I had a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino from Starbucks and it was quite tasty! I don't particulary care for Starbucks, well, they have yummy lattes and mochas, but their coffee is just nasty, but this Frappuccino thing was delicious! You should try one.

All bark, no bite...

That's what Tropical Storm Ernesto is and I, personally, think that's a splendid thing. As Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel said, "With all the storms we've had the last couple years, it's really nice to have a dud." Amen.

Anyhow, here's some pictures I took somewhere around 6 o'clock this evening, the skies were pitch black and it was raining some, but it wasn't all that bad. We're still under a Tropical Storm Warning, a Flood Warning and a Tornado Watch, but aside from some mild wind and lots of rain, Ernesto is just that, a dud. Yay.

-*-Aimee-*-

I do believe that the National Hurricane Center doesn't have a bloody clue where Ernesto (contrary bastard) is actually heading at this point, but they seem to all agree that the chances of it regaining Hurricane strength are slim to none and it'll remain a Tropical Storm, which, mind you, is a lovely thing indeed.

And I have a monster headache. Ouch. I'm seriously contemplating bed at the moment and hopefully when I awake Ernesto will have died a slow and painful death somewhere over Cuba. Sounds just peachy to me.

F.Y.I it is extremely difficult to type when you're half blind and aided by nothing but a bit of candle light, I don't particulatly recommend it.

See what happens when you go to sleep 'round here?

You wake up and the damn forecast track has made some loopey changes and not in your favor. That blows. Anyhow, wish us luck!

Dade, Broward And Keys Now Under Hurricane Watch (In case anyone is wondering, I'm in Broward)
Parts Of The Bahamas Placed On Alert
Drop To Tropical Storm Strength Expected To be Temporary

(CBS4 News) MIAMI Ernesto lost steam and was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm Sunday, but forecasters at the National Hurricane Center still issued a hurricane watch for the entire Florida Keys and as of Monday morning, Miami and Broward Counties as well.

During their 8 a.m. advisory, the National Hurricane Center still reported that Ernesto was a tropical storm, though a hurricane watch has been issued for the Southern peninsula of Florida from Deerfield Beach South to Key West in the east coast. Along the west Coast, the hurricane watch was in effect from the City of Chokoloskee to the southernmost point along the west. All of the Florida Keys are under Hurricane watch.

"I don't want anyone to overly focus on the downgrading. It has a good chance to regain hurricane status," said Max Mayfield, director of the National Hurricane Center.

Visitors were ordered to leave the Keys and Gov. Jeb Bush issued a state of emergency because of the possibility that Ernesto could threaten much of the state.

The National Hurricane Center's Sr. Hurricane Specialist Dr. Richard Knabb, spoke to CBS4's Craig Setzer and confirmed that the storm's future track may cause substantial issues for South Florida.

"It certainly looks like it's going to impact a significant portion of Florida before it's all over," said Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center.

Ernesto was 1 mph above the threshhold to be a hurricane Sunday, but weakened as it plodded toward Cuba's southeastern corner. Still, the hurricane center cautioned that Ernesto may strengthen significantly as it moves toward Florida. Monday, according to the Miami-based hurricane center. Forecasters there cautioned, though, that the storm could regain hurricane strength before its anticipated arrival Monday on Cuba's southeastern coast.

Many Keys residents took notice, stocking up on supplies and shuttering their homes.

"Thank God I started today," said David Kidwell of Stock Island, who spent Sunday buying plywood and screws to secure his windows. "Tomorrow will be chaos."

The hurricane watch, meaning hurricane conditions are possible within 36 hours, was posted for the entire Keys and came a few hours after the Monroe County Emergency Management office told tourists to postpone any immediate plans to travel to the island chain and ordered those already there to leave.

At Key West Airport, tourists were lined up for a flight out, after being told they had to leave the island chain. Famous Duval street was still busy Sunday night, even though many tourists were told they had to leave their hotels.

Tolls were lifted on Card Sound Road, and the 18-mile-stretch between Key Largo and Florida City was ordered closed overnight due to construction but has since reopened. The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department says traffic northbound was not especially heavy, despite the evacuation order.

Shelters are opening at 4 locations Monday morning, and schools were ordered closed in Monroe.

All travel trailers and recreational vehicles were ordered off the islands immediately. Mobile home residents were also urged to evacuate.

"Key Westerners are used to this kind of stuff," said Jim Bernard, an assistant manager at a Home Depot in Key West.

His store was bustling Sunday, as customers bought generators and other storm-preparation equipment, just in case. Forecasters said the Keys could begin feeling Ernesto's effects by early Tuesday.

"We put up the storm shutters today and we're hitting the grocery store tomorrow," said Keys resident Ben Cassis, who, along with his father-in-law Ken Michaud, spent nearly $2,500 on a generator.

The state of emergency directs counties to activate their emergency management offices and activates the National Guard, among other things. Bush also canceled his scheduled trip to New York for several meetings Monday, choosing instead to stay in Tallahassee and monitor storm developments.

"It's on a track toward the Florida peninsula early this week and all of Florida is in the area that's being threatened, from the Keys all the way up to the Panhandle," said Michael Brennan, a meteorologist at the hurricane center.

Ernesto, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, lashed Haiti and the Dominican Republic Sunday with heavy rain, prompting fears of mudslides and flooding. The storm was expected to move over Cuba, then bring rain and wind to southern Florida, the National Hurricane Center said.

Ernesto could take aim at South Florida if it turns north quickly, Mayfield said, or potentially head toward the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico -- and possibly making landfall anywhere on the western side of the peninsula or perhaps the Panhandle.

"You don't know where to go. You don't know where it's going to blow," said tourist Jim Rogers of Lodi, N.J., who spent Sunday preparing to leave the Keys. "You don't want to be in Key West."

The island chain is connected by just one highway, U.S. 1. Traffic was steady, but moved smoothly, Sunday along that road. Key West International Airport was expected to remain open until at least Monday night.

Elsewhere in South Florida, emergency management officials in Miami-Dade and Broward County are taking a watch and wait attitude. Broward county plans to place it’s emergency operations center on the lowest alert level Monday morning. Miami-Dade officials are monitoring the progress of the storm.

Florida Power and Light has begin the process of getting repair crews ready should the storm hit, and South Florida water managers are checking canal levels and water supplies in preparation for a possible arrival by Ernesto.

Florida's emergency management center in Tallahassee was partially activated Sunday, and several counties around the state were expected to follow suit Monday. Emergency officials encouraged people across the state to monitor the storm, check emergency supplies and disaster plans -- a familiar theme, considering that Florida has been hit by eight hurricanes in the past two years.

"The message to Floridians is that Ernesto bears watching," said Mike Stone, spokesman for the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Everyone, say hello to...

...former Hurricane, currently Tropical Storm and forecast to eventually again be, Hurricane Ernesto (you follow that one?)...


This one's a bit iffy, who knows where that bad boy's gonna make landfall? Not I, my friends, but from what they're saying, no matter where it makes landfall, it's gonna fuck up our weather and sadly, Drew's birthday in the process. Blah.

My Cameron's Haircut...

Ain't he adorible?

Paradise, my ass.

Hurricane Season:

We're about to enter the peak of the hurricane season. Any day now, you're going to turn on the TV and see a weather person pointing to some radar blob out in the Atlantic Ocean and making two basic meteorological points:

(1) There is no need to panic.
(2) We could all be killed.

Yes, hurricane season is an exciting time to be in Florida. If you're new to the area, you're probably wondering what you need to do to prepare for the possibility that we'll get hit by "the big one."

Based on our experiences, we recommend that you follow this simple three-step hurricane preparedness plan:

STEP 1: Buy enough food and bottled water to last your family for at least three days.

STEP 2: Put these supplies into your car.

STEP 3: Drive to Nebraska and remain there until Halloween.

Unfortunately, statistics show that most people will not follow this sensible plan. Most people will foolishly stay here in Florida. We'll start with one of the most important hurricane preparedness items:

HOMEOWNERS' INSURANCE:

If you own a home, you must have hurricane insurance. Fortunately, this insurance is cheap and easy to get, as long as your home meets two basic requirements:(1) It is reasonably well-built, and (2) It is located in Nebraska.

Unfortunately, if your home is located in Florida, or any other area that might actually be hit by a hurricane, most insurance companies would prefer not to sell you hurricane insurance, because then they might be required to pay YOU money, and that is certainly not why they got into the insurance business in the first place So you'll have to scrounge around for an insurance company, which will charge you an annual premium roughly equal to the replacement value of your house. At any moment, this company can drop you like used dental floss. Since Hurricane George, I have had an estimated 27 different home-insurance companies. This week, I'm covered by the Bob and Big Stan Insurance Company, under a policy which states that, in addition to my premium, Bob and Big Stan are entitled, on demand, to my kidneys.

SHUTTERS:

Your house should have hurricane shutters on all the windows, all the doors, and -- if it's a major hurricane -- all the toilets. There are several types of shutters, with advantages and disadvantages:

Plywood shutters: The advantage is that, because you make them yourself, they're cheap. The disadvantage is that, because you make them yourself, they will fall off.

Sheet-metal shutters: The advantage is that these work well, once you get them all up. The disadvantage is that once you get them all up, your hands will be useless bleeding stumps, and it will be December.

Roll-down shutters: The advantages are that they're very easy to use, and will definitely protect your house. The disadvantage is that you will have to sell your house to pay for them.

Hurricane-proof windows: These are the newest wrinkle in hurricane protection: They look like ordinary windows, but they can withstand hurricane winds! You can be sure of this, because the salesman says so. He lives in Nebraska.

HURRICANE PROOFING YOUR PROPERTY:

As the hurricane approaches, check your yard for movable objects like barbecue grills, planters, patio furniture, visiting relatives, etc. You should, as a precaution, throw these items into your swimming pool (if you don't have a swimming pool,you should have one built immediately). Otherwise, the hurricane winds will turn these objects into deadly missiles.

EVACUATION ROUTE:

If you live in a low-lying area, you should have an evacuation route planned out (to determine whether you live in a low-lying area, look at your driver's license; if it says "Florida," you live in a low-lying area). The purpose of having an evacuation route is to avoid being trapped in yourhome when a major storm hits. Instead, you will be trapped in a gigantic traffic jam several miles from your home, along with two hundred thousand other evacuees. So, as a bonus, you will not be lonely.

HURRICANE SUPPLIES:

If you don't evacuate, you will need a mess of supplies. Do not buy them now! Florida tradition requires that you wait until the last possible minute, then go to the supermarket and get into vicious fights with strangers over who gets the last can of SPAM. In addition to food and water, you will need the following supplies:

1. 23 flashlights. At least $167 worth of batteries that turn out, when the power goes off, to be the wrong size for the flashlights.

2. Bleach. (No, I don't know what the bleach is for. NOBODY knows what the bleach is for, but it's traditional, so get some!)

3. 55 gallon drum of underarm deodorant.

4. A big knife that you can strap to your leg. (This will be useless in a hurricane, but it looks cool.)

5. A large quantity of raw chicken, to placate the alligators. (Ask anybody who went through Andrew; after the hurricane, there WILL be irate alligators.)

6. $35,000 in cash or diamonds so that, after the hurricane passes, you can buy a generator from a man with no discernible teeth.

Of course these are just basic precautions. As the hurricane draws near, it is vitally important that you keep abreast of the situation by turning on your television and watching TV reporters in rain slickers stand right next to the ocean and tell you over and over how vitally important it is for everybody to stay away from the ocean.

Good luck, and remember: It's great living in Paradise!!

Aimee--T-G-I-F

Well, my Cameron says "curly" is the way to go, most definitely, so curly it is. And honestly, I wouldn't ever do more than hot-iron my hair because I happen to know that it won't hold a chemical straightening, I had test strips done a bit over a year ago and they didn't even make it a whole day.

Speaking of hair, I finally took Cameron in for a haircut last weekend, so he no longer has that whole shaggy thing going on. I keep meaning to take some pictures, but I always seem to get sidetracked, perhaps I'll harass him with the camera a bit this weekend.

Anyhow, as I suspected, Christie ended up spending the night last night and since she was in the throes of one of her migraines, the drama was more than a bit high. I understand how migraines can be, I've had too many to count and I realize that Christie's are more severe than any I've ever had, but she was a mite over the top with it. And according to my mom, Christie headed for the ER sometime in the wee hours of the morning (and how I did not know that, being that Christie was sleeping with me, absolutely baffles me). This trip to the ER has my mom pissed and honestly, I don't blame her, I'd be pissed too. You see, after months and months of not working, Christie finally got tired of hearing my mom bitch at her and went out and got herself a job at Chili's, yesterday was her first day and seeing as she's supposed to clock-in at 9:00 AM this morning and she's been at the ER where they'll more than likely load her with pain meds, I'm seriously doubting she'll make it for her second day. I figure she'll end up getting fired which, and I know this will sound mean, is probably what she wants. Personally, I just don't think she WANTS to work and as long as she thinks she doesn't HAVE to, she won't.

And that's all really, I'm happy it's Friday and seeing as last weekend I had to spend $100 on a new battery because my car just up and quit on me and my next door neighbor, one of the only people in my complex that I consider a friend, passed away, I'm hoping like hell this weekend is entirely anticlimactic, I could use a happy weekend, I really could.

Aimee--Curly or Straight?

As much as I hate it, right now, I'm definitely gonna have to go with curly. But, my mom forgot the straightening serum that helps reduce the extremely annoying frizz my hair is so fond of, she's going to bring it with her next week and she wants to try again, so we'll see because I might actually like it if it wasn't so obnoxiously big.

^^ Curly?

^^ Or Straight?

Aimee--You know how...

...sometimes the harder you try to hold something together the more it seems to fall apart? Well, that's how I feel about a good 99% of the things in my life at the moment. I'd throw myself a raucous pity party, but I'm feeling too lazy to bother.

Anyhow, my mom is hot-ironing my hair tonight and that should be fun. I'd post a picture of what it looks like after it's done, but I'm feeling rather unattractive this week so I'm doubting I will.

Oh well, perhaps tomorrow I'll feel sunnier.

Aimee's no good, very bad day.

You know, I discovered tonight that there is nothing in this world that could ever prepare you for the gut wrenching terror that overtakes you when your child is hurt. Nothing. Ever.

And I think it's going to be a good long while before I'm able to get past the images of my Cameron's sweet face covered in blood or seeing it pour down his chin and his neck and soak into his favorite skateboarding t-shirt or having to watch powerless while clots of blood poured from my baby's nose as he violently vomitted in the parking lot because he was choking on his own blood.

The paramedics were great, they didn't chastise me for panicking and they were wonderful with Cameron, they assured me he'd be fine, the vomitting was only because he was upset and choking on his own blood, not a concussion, they explanied that when a blood vessel in the nose is broken, there's a lot of blood and it looks pretty scary, but it's rarely as bad as it looks, they offered a million times to transport him to the hospital if I was uneasy, but in their opinion, as long as we kept a close eye on him, he'd be fine and after I chose not to have them transport him, they assured me that they were only a phone call away if I began to feel uneasy after they left.

The police, on the other hand, weren't nearly as soothing. They told me, "You're going to have to get used to this kind of thing if you want to continue living here, you've just got to chalk it up to the neighborhood." What kind of bullshit answer is that? At least they went across the street and talked to the woman whose son punched my kid in the face and warned her that since her kid doesn't live here he needed to stay off the property because if I had to go back over there and talk to the bitch again, the paramedics would've been transporting someone to the hospital after all.

I went from bone chilling terror to violently pissed and after I got past my mad (as my mom puts it) I spent the rest of the evening trying not to be sick.

It was a fucking nasty bitch of a night and still, after all is said and done, I couldn't honestly tell you why that fucking kid punched Cameron in the face, his momma, who was across the street and inside the fucking house so she couldn't possibly know, told the cops that Cameron hit her kid first (of course), but the kid that lives next door to me who was playing with Cameron when it happened said that Cameron didn't touch the kid. And what's saddest to me is, this didn't happen down the street or at the other end of the complex, no, this happened on the sidewalk right in front of my fucking townhouse. It's such bullshit.

Anyhow, Cameron is alright, a little traumatized, but he bounced back pretty quick. Me, not so much.

~ Aimee ~

I had a wicked bad, very stressful and rather sad weekend. One I'd like to completely wipe from my memory, but I don't suppose that's an option. Sigh. Anyhow, seeing as nothing I have to talk about at the moment is remotely cheery, I stole this question thingy from Drew instead. And I realize that I just did one of these thingamajigs last week, but it's all good, I like them.

1. FIRST NAME? Aimee.

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Nah.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? About an hour ago. Life is a bitch.

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not particularly, I think it's a bit on the messy side and hard to read.

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Boars Head Turkey Pastrami.

6. KIDS? Love 'em, but I only have my Cameron and really, he's all I need--I'll just smother everyone elses kids with any excess love.

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Ah, I'm an alright person I suppose, so sure, why not.

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Just this one, I did tell someone that I was going to try my hand at the whole handwritten thing, but I've yet to actually do so.

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Only every other sentence.

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Nope.

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Absolutely.

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Lucky Charms, but sadly, they're not exactly on my diet.

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Pretty much never.

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Meh, sort of.

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOR? Mint Chocolate Chip which is closely rivaled by Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

16. SHOE SIZE? 7.

17. RED OR PINK? Red.

18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Gods, just one? I suppose it'd be a tie between cellulite and stretch marks--both very unattractive things.

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Someone...

20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? I stole this from Drew cause I'm slick like that, but as far as answering it goes, if you feel so inclined, have at it.

21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Ah, none, but amazingly, I am wearing a nightgown this night and it's mint green (LOL).

22. LAST THING YOU ATE? Peas.

23. What ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The annoying hum of my hard drive.

24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Forest Green.

25. FAVORITE SMELL? Shea butter, for reasons that elude me, I love that smell.

26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Mi madre.

27. FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Their eyes.

28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Of course, Drew's a cool guy, trust me, he is.

29. FAVORITE DRINK? Midori Sour.

30. FAVORITE SPORT? Detest them all.

31. EYE COLOR? Hazel.

32. HAT SIZE? Have no clue, don't wear 'em.

33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope.

34. FAVORITE FOOD? I honestly do not know? I've recently developed a strange affection for blueberries.

35. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Happy Ending. For sure.

36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIES? Pirates of the Caribbean 2.

37. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? As stated earlier, my nightgown is mint green.

38. HUGS OR KISSES? Kisses. Mmm. I love kisses.

39. FAVORITE DESSERT? Carrot cake.

40. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Eh, who knows?

41. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? ^^ Ditto.

42. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Chill Factor by Sandra Brown.

43. What DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? Nothing, but I watched The Ring 2 and a whole mess of Law & Order: SVU's on Saturday.

44. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Thunderstorms and just rain in general really.

45. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES? Rolling Stones.

46. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? As of now, South Carolina, but that'll change shortly.

47. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? Writing.

48. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? August 4, 1975 at Kings Daughters Hospital in Ashland, Kentucky.

Angie's post - I know, I know

So since Aimee stole this from Jason (every time you answer these things I find more things that you and I have in common. Scary huh? LOL) I'm going to steal it from both of them. Hopefully they won't mind.

How tall are you barefoot? Well since I seemto be shrinking by the day right now I'm probably 5'9"

Have you ever been cheated on? Only every guy that I ever had an interest in. Do you think it's me?

Do you own a gun? No but I've thought about it. Single woman living alone and all.

If you had a mental disorder, what would it be? Clinical Depression

How many letters are in your crushes name? His full first name (8) or his nickname (3)? Or my nickname for him (6)?

What do you think of hot dogs? On occasion, with chili and cheese

What’s your favorite Christmas song? The Halleujah Chorus or Hark hear the bells!

What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Water

Do you do push-ups? Not on a regular basis

Have you ever done ecstasy? No but I've been extended the offer

Do you have a boyfriend? I wish - or rather more acturately, when hell freeezes over which is not the way I want it

Do you like the rain? Love it. Having sex while it's raining is even better, whether inside or outside!

Do you own a knife? A few

What do you smell like? Pear Blossom from Bath & Body Works

Do you have A.D.D.? No. Wait, maybe. I don't know. Yes, definately. Just kidding, no.

Full initials? AEJH (don't ask)

3 thoughts at this exact moment:
1.) Is it time to go to Cold Stone for ice cream yet?
2.) I can't wait to have dinner with Brother tonight at the good Thai place and Italian dinner tomorrow with pregnant chica
3.) I need to see my hottie this weekend

Name the last 3 things you have bought today.
1.) Eggs and Bacon for breakfast
2.) Diet Pepsi Black Cherry/French Vanilla Jazz, everyone seems to love it, so I'll give it a try
3.)

Name five drinks you regularly drink.
1.) Water
2.) White Tea - either Lipton Tangerine or Snapple Raspberry
3.) Water
4.) Water
5.) Diet Coke - like one a week

What time did you wake up today? Which time? You mean when I actually got out of bed? 5:05 am

Can you spell? Not all the time, but I give it hell when I can

Current worry? I don't know

Current hate? To hate something you have to love it equally - but I have a laundry list of dislikes

Favorite place to be? So far? Hawaii

Least favorite place to be? Work

Where would you want to go? Vegas in the Spring with a great bunch of peeps and back to Hawaii someday

Do you own slippers? 1 pair

Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years? Same crappy place I am now? How's that for Optimism?

Do you burn or tan? Tan - I'm half mexican baby!

Yellow or Blue? Blue

Would you give up your current life to be a pirate? No, I prefer to shower once a day

Last time your cell rang? A few hours ago - which reminds me

What songs do you sing in the shower? I don't sing in the shower, only in my car

What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? Anything scary

What do you have in your pocket right now? Nothing, I hate carrying things in my pockets

Last thing that made you laugh? My boss and his crazy way of making me laugh

Favorite bed sheets as a child? Anything flannel, I love the softness of flannel

What the worst injury you’ve ever had? Cut my knee open on a broken beer bottle in the winter, the most painful part was the nurse that was cleaning it and I swear she had her whole freakin arm in my damn leg.

What is your GPA? It sucked if I remember correctly. How I got into college will forever remain a mystery, especially the one I went to.

How many TVs do you have in your house? Two, but only one that I watch

Who is your loudest friend? I don't really have loud friends, we can get pretty loud together when we want to

Who is your most silent friend? Only those that I'm not in touch with

Does someone have a crush on you? I hope he does, but that could be wishful thinking on my part

Do you wish on stars? Sometimes

Do you believe in magic? Depends

What song represents how you feel at the moment? Anything by Breaking Benjamin

What song did you last hear? I'm listening to the radio right now and it's currently playing "The Pot" by Tool (which I realized that I'm a much bigger fan than I thought I was)

What song do you want played at your funeral? Do we really need to go there?

What were you doing 12AM last night? Looking at the clock to see what time it was

What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? It's dark, I'm comfortable, the dog wants me to sleep, do I really need to get up? Shit.

Sorry I'm silent Aim, but you know I'm always listening!!

Have a good weekend everyone!!

Aimee's bored...

So she (me--heh) stole this meme from Jason (btw, very cool answers, Jason)...

How tall are you barefoot? 5’1”

Have you ever been cheated on? Mmm Hmm.

Do you own a gun? Nope and I don't believe I ever will.

If you had a mental disorder, what would it be? I have absolutely no clue.

How many letters are in your crushes name? Four.

What do you think of hot dogs? Eh, I'd rather leave 'em.

What’s your favorite Christmas song? White Christmas (or some such name like that).

What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee--can't live without my coffee.

Do you do push-ups? Nope, never could.

Have you ever done ecstasy? Nah, not my thing.

Do you have a boyfriend? Maybe.

Do you like the rain? I love rain, it's the best damn sleep aid coming or going. Trust me, it is.

Do you own a knife? I have lots of them in the kitchen.

What do you smell like? Huh? Odd question this, but let's see, at present I smell like Bath and Body Works Winter Candy Apple. Yummy.

Do you have A.D.D.? No.

Full initials? A.D.W.

3 thoughts at this exact moment:
1.) I shouldn't be drinking this coffee cause it'll no doubt have me up a million times tonight.
2.) It's hotter than the depths of hell in this room, what the fucks up with that?
3.) Hmm, I haven't masturbated in over a week...

Name the last 3 things you have bought today. Coffee, cigarettes, water.

Name five drinks you regularly drink. Coffee, water, Diet Pepsi, water and more water.

What time did you wake up today? 6:35 am.

Can you spell? Of course I can.

Current worry? At this exact moment, not a thing.

Current hate? I don't really hate anything, but I dislike a whole mess of things.

Favorite place to be? In my bed snuggled up all warm and comfy under the covers.

Least favorite place to be? In my car, I detest driving. Blah.

Where would you want to go? I dunno? Wherever.

Do you own slippers? Heh. Yes, several pairs.

Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years? Have no bloody clue peeps.

Do you burn or tan? Burn baby burn.

Yellow or Blue? Blue.

Would you give up your current life to be a pirate? Ah, might be fun.

Last time your cell rang? About 3 hours ago.

What songs do you sing in the shower? Whatever pops in my head.

What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? Freddy Krueger, he haunted me for years. Ass.

What do you have in your pocket right now? Ah, I'm sans clothes at the moment (which I'm sure is too much info) so absolutely nothing.

Last thing that made you laugh? My mom bitching about this and that, I don't even remember what exactly, but it gave me the giggles.

Favorite bed sheets as a child? Hell, I don't remember.

Worst injury you’ve ever had? When I was but a wee little girl I put my knee through a fish aquarium and it made the most impressive hole, you could see straight down to the bone. Ick.

What is your GPA? I honestly do not remember.

How many TVs do you have in your house? Four.

Who is your loudest friend? I don't really have any loud friends.

Who is your most silent friend? Angie.

Does someone have a crush on you? Well, you'd have to ask him, but I'm thinking yes.

Do you wish on stars? Yep, all the time.

Do you believe in magic? Maybe just a little.

What song represents how you feel at the moment? Crazy by Gnarls Barkley.

What song did you last hear? I Write Sins Not Tragedies - Panic! At The Disco

What song do you want played at your funeral? Ugh, how morbid. Eh, whatever.

What were you doing 12AM last night? Sleeping (which is what I should be doing now).

What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? That I wished like hell it was Saturday.

Cameron's First Day...

...In the First Grade.

Ain't he cute?

~*A-i-m-e-e*~

I've really taken a liking to this new Jazz Diet Pepsi, but I've decided no matter how much I like the yummy stuff, I absolutely have to stay away from it because it's seriously messing with my water intake. Anyhow, my too much diet soda and not enough water dilemma aside, I had a pretty fantastic day!

My cold is still annoyingly present, but it's so (SO) much better! I can actually taste and smell again--good stuff! And my ears haven't bothered me a bit all day--YAY! The cough is a bit of a bummer, but not enough of one to ruin my day.

After I stopped being lazy and motivated my lazy ass to get moving, I rounded up Cameron and my dad and we set off for Target to finish getting Cameron's school supplies. That was crazy stuff, I do believe every parent in Coral Springs was packed into those 4 tiny aisles, but it's alright, I only had to get a few things (colored pencils, a spiral notebook and a hardbound composition book) because we'd already gathered the rest of his supplies earlier in the week, so I flitted in and out of those aisles in no time. And then because it was my birthday gift certificate I was using to acquire these items, I wandered over to the lingerie section and bought myself a bra, it's pretty and pink and since I've lost a bit of weight and my breasts have decided to finally pick a cup size (for now), picking it out didn't hurt a bit.

And then it was off to Walmart (which is, I suspect, my dads favorite store--the why of that is beyond me, really it is because that store give me a bloody headache, but he spends a crazy amount of time there) and since it was a Walmart Gift Card he gave me for my birthday, I figured I'd keep my eyes open in case something caught my attention and lo and behold, I fell shamelessly in love with this super-cute denim skirt (and I don't even like skirts) and I absolutely had to have it! So I bought it!



^^ I, of course, am not that thin (by any means) and you know what, Drew informed me that my new love is "just so 80's". LOL.

But the best part was when I grabbed the size I thought was the one for me, dragged my ass into the fitting room to try it on (I hate trying stuff on, I really do, but alas, it must be done) and discovered it was too big so I had to go down a size. How cool is that? Very. Trust me, it is.

I'll be the first one to admit that sans clothing, I am not very pretty to look at, but the fact that just three and a half months ago I was wearing a Size 18 very comfortably and a Size 16 Wide somewhat comfortably and today I had to buy a Regular Woman's Size 14 (and it wasn't tight nor snug in the waist--I had room to spare for goodness sake) because the Regular Woman's Size 16 was too big absolutely amazes me, really it does. When I finally make it into a Size 12, I'll probably be paralyzed by shock and I don't believe I'll care. LOL.

Anyhow, I found another skirt that made my heart flutter (it's more my style, long and flirty), but for some reason, I didn't get it tonight, I do believe I'll go back and get it tomorrow though.



^^ It looks like this only it's longer and not white (blah), it's a beige that fades into brown. Very cool looking, me likes it.

But that's it, no more clothes shopping for a while because I want to shed a bit more weight and inches first. I'm thinking I'll finish off my birthday gift money somewhere towards the end of September before I go on vacation and then for Christmas, I'll just ask for more clothes. Sounds like a splendid plan to me.

That was pretty much it for today.

Tomorrow is "Drop-in Sunday" at Cameron's school and I'm wanting to take him so he's familiar with where his classroom is on Monday morning, plus I'd like him to meet his teacher before the first day of school too. Drew is wanting to take me to the Vision Center before we go to the school so he can find out how much it's going to cost to get me a new pair of glasses. New glasses are my birthday gift from him and I think that's super-fantastic because I really, really need some. After we hit the Vision Center, Cameron's school and get Cameron a haircut, Drew is going to take Cameron over to the skate park for a bit, but he has to be home early because he has to be in bed at a decent hour so he's not a crab-ass on the first day of school. My Cameron is NOT a morning person, but he comes by it naturally--I detest mornings!

And that's really all I've got going on. I hope you're all having a peachy weekend thus far.

Aimee has a boo boo...

And it hurts me. It's starting to turn all sorts of icky colors. Ouch.


But aside from my ouchie, I feel much much better today, human even. YAY.

...A I M E E...

I can not clearly tell you how absolutely miserable I am right now. Can't, can't, can't. But I will tell you that at present, I can not breathe, my left ear is killing me (seriously), there is so much pressure in my sinuses I think my head is in danger of exploding, my eyes burn something awful, my chest hurts and I have the most hideous cramps.

And those cramps I speak of started somewhere around 3 o'clock this morning, you know, when I was already waging a war to try and get some sleep despite this pissy cold that's over taken me. I had to drag my ass out of bed and hunt down my heating pad, which was hiding entirely too good for my liking (dammit). Once I found the damn thing, I spent the next 2 hours curled up in the fetal position wishing someone would just go ahead and put me out of my misery (and as shameful as it is, I'll admit, I was crying like an overgrown toddler on top of it). My alarm clock went off at precisely 6 o'clock this morning, just about an hour after the heating pad finally lulled me back to sleep. And once up, I discovered that I'd managed to burn my belly with the heating pad, but you know what, I don't bloody care, if I feel even half as bad tonight as I did in the wee hours of the morning, I'll risk my skin again just to make the torturous things go away and leave me alone. I'm serious.

Oh well, it's back to staring aimlessly into space for me.

Aimee--5 Things.

5 Things always in my purse:

1. My keys w/my numerous Cameron picture keychains
2. Cell phone
3. Lip gloss
4. Ibuprofen
5. Listerine Pocket Pak

5 Things always in my wallet:

1. Driver's license
2. Health insurance card
3. Check card
4. Random gift cards
5. Reciepts

5 Things always in my refrigerator:

1. Water
2. Bluberries
3. Capri Sun
4. String cheese
5. Eggs

5 Things always in my closet:

1. A bunch of old clothes I never wear
2. My Christmas decorations
3. My memory chest
4. My photo box
5. A bunch of shoes I rarely wear

5 Things always in my car:

1. CD player with converter (I don't have a "real" CD player in my car)
2. My CD case
3. My angel pin from Angie pinned to my sun visor
4. A small box of toys for Cameron
5. Pennies, pennies and more pennies

5 (or more) Things always on my desk:

1. Post-its
2. Coffee cup full of pens, pencils, markers, etc.
3. Framed photo of Cameron
4. Whatever book I'm reading or attempting to read
5. A scented candle (right now it's Yankee Candle's Clean Cotton)

a i m e e

I'm tired and I really really want to take a nap, I don't feel well and I wish someone would get me some DayQuil and another box of tissues because these ones I have on my desk suck and I do believe I've decided that I dislike people today, not all people of course, but a good amount of them.

That's all really and even though I'm not liking people at the moment, I do hope you're all having a much nicer day than I.

~*Aimee*~

I do believe I have an ear infection and I don't just believe it is painful, I damn well know it is. Ouch. And I'm not very happy about it. At. All.

Anyhow, moving on...

I had what would amount to a rather pleasant weekend. Friday was, as mentioned earlier, extremely wonderful.

Saturday was pretty good too, I took Cameron to the book store and spent entirely too much money on a book he wanted, but seeing as this cool telescope thing came with it, I decided it was worth the $25 it cost me (which is more than my 2 books together, I might add) and after dinner, he and I scurried off to the movies to see "Pirates of the Caribbean 2", it was good, I rather enjoyed it, however, it was a bit too long to hold Cameron's full attention so there were some dicey moments in which I silently contemplated tieing him to the chair and slapping some tape over his cute little mouth (I wouldn't actually do that, of course, but entertaining the idea allowed me to keep my sanity every time he got a case of the wiggles or decided it'd be a good idea to try and conversate). It was coming up on 10 o'clock when we made it back to the car so we headed home and Cameron watched a spot of TV before falling off into dream land, with me not far behind him.

Sunday was alright, I suppose, I really didn't do much of anything actually. Drew picked up Cameron around 2 o'clock and took him to the skate park for what was supposed to be 3 or 4 hours, but wires obviously got crossed somewhere in there and the going out and doing something to celebrate my birthday we were supposed to do last night didn't actually happen as Drew didn't get back from the skate park with Cameron until just shy of 2 AM. So all we ended up doing was going to sleep, I was actually already asleep so I just went back to sleep after tucking Cameron in and making sure Drew had a pillow and a blanket (I'm not very good with blanket sharing, you know).

And today, it's back to work for me. Yay. Fun.

Aimee--Thank You!

I'd been in an odd little mood all week so I wasn't really looking all that forward to my birthday (I mean, who really wants to get older, right), but alas, it came despite my not wanting it to and it ended up being an extremely wonderful day.

Cathy and Clyde and Bill decorated my office and when I got there they sang me the "Happy Birthday" song, it was somewhat off tune, but absolutely lovely, and gave me a card from everyone, it was awesome and I had a great time giggling over all the messages inside (Bob, one of the shop guys, wrote, "When you get a little older, I will take you out to Outbacks for dinner, then we'll have a wild time." And I'll have you know, Bob, being in his late 60's is still extremely young and spry at heart. LOL. He's fantastic and one of my absolute favorite people). Kim came in a bit later and brought me a beautiful bouquet of red and yellow roses. Just before lunch, they gave me my gifts--(4)-$25 Gift Cards to Barnes and Noble from Cathy and Clyde, a $25 Gift Card to Borders and a $25 Gift Card to Target from Kim, Dean and Nick and $31 dollars in cash (a dollar for every year of my life) from Terry. After gifts, they (Kim and Cathy) took me to lunch at "La Bamba's", I had Ropa Vieja and it was delicious--it was so much fun! Later that afternoon we had cake (Cathy made it) and that was wonderfully delicious too! Yum.

My dad dropped Cameron off at my work and my mom swung by to pick us up just after 5:00 and we headed to "Little Havana" for my birthday dinner! It was a lovely dinner, the food was fantastic and it was so nice sharing a relaxing meal with just my mom and my Cameron! Before we left, she gave me a card that made me all misty because it was so incredibly beautiful and a $100 Visa Gift Card so I can buy myself some new clothes. When I got home, my dad and papaw gave me another beautiful card that made me equally as misty and a $100 Gift Card to Walmart for more clothes.

Like I said, an extremely wonderful day.

And thanks to everyone else (Evan, Angie, Jeff, Nina) who's love made the day extra special. I think you're all splendid.

My roses from Kim

My gifts

Cameron

Cameron and my Mommy

My Mommy

My Mommy and me

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AIMEE!!

Have a great one hun!

XO XO XO XO XO XO XO




I'll get your present in the mail this weekend!!

First time Aimee's had...

...her pale ass in a pool in over a year. The pictures of me are conveniently blurred and I swear, even though I complained about shoving my somewhat large ass into a bathing suit earlier, I did not do it on purpose, it was just the whole too much movement thing. My mom was having a fine time teasing me about being so pale I'm practically see through. LOL. Anyhow, we all had a blast, I suppose we'll have to do it again sometime.

Aimee's Entry...

My Cameron, the one I love so incredibly, has guilted me and my mom into taking him swimming tonight after we get back from Curves. Little monster. Now, I have absolutely nothing against swimming, mind you, but I detest public pools (like the one at my townhouse complex) because well, you just don't know how clean it is, you know? And I further detest shoving my somewhat large (yet slowly shrinking) ass into a bathing suit--I really, really do. I haven't worn one in a good long while and I'm honestly not looking forward to donning one again. But, miracle of miracles, I do actually have one, I was sure I didn't, but while organizing my closet this weekend, I happened across one so I really have no excuse not to take my sweet angel (*snort*) to the pool. My mom says it'll be fun--the lot she knows. LOL.

My mom was asking me about my diet Monday night--what I can/can't eat, how my daily menu looks, etc--and it's funny because when I started my diet in early part of May, it was the "South Beach" diet that I was strictly following, but over time I've kind of worked myself into more of a "Weight Watchers" type diet. I still don't mess with the carbs and I only eat wheat everything (bread, pasta, tortilla's), but I'm a lot more flexible with food now than I was in the beginning. And hey, I'm still losing weight, albeit a bit more slowly, but from what I'm told, that's the best way to do it. Anyhow, since she asked, I decided to write down everything I ate yesterday because I, myself, don't really think about it all that often...

Breakfast: Special K Blueberry cereal bar and an extra large coffee (24 oz.) w/ 3 Splenda's and Extra Cream from Dunkin Donuts (bad, I know, but I could not survive without my big ass coffee in the morning).

Midmorning Snack: 1 Cup of strawberries & blueberries mixed together and a water.

Lunch: 2 Slices of ham and 2 slices of colby jack cheese and a Jazz Black Cherry French Vanilla Diet Pepsi.

Afternoon Snack: 20 Peanuts, a peach and a water.

Dinner: A small salad w/light ranch, 1 Chicken breast marinated in italian dressing (that's what my dad likes to marinate stuff with), a cup of broccoli and a water.

Desert: 1 Cup of Edy's Sugar Free Sweetened with Splenda Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream (<<that stuff is so incredibly yummy).

And looking at that, I realize how radically I've changed my eating habits over the last few months. I used to skip breakfast completely, except for two extra large coffees, I'd have no snacks at all, I'd more than likely order out somewhere for lunch if I bothered to eat it at all and dinner was anybody's guess, but it wasn't near as healthy as it is now. LOL. I'm actually proud of myself for sticking with it to the point that I've gotten used to it. Go me.

Anyway, I think my mom is looking to start making changes in her eating habits too because she's been unhappy with herself lately. I think it's cool because we can help support each other along the way.

Oh, I got paid yesterday so I went and got my haircut after work. My mom said it looks great, but I don't think it looks all that different other than it's a bit shorter and you can once again tell that my hair is layered. I still have a problem with frizz, but with the humidity around here, I'm thinking I always will.
-
And for the first time this season, us Floridians are watching the Tropics. Tropical Storm Chris (predicted to be Hurricane Chris before tomorrow) is swirling around out there about 120 miles east-northeast of St. Thomas and he appears to be heading in our general direction--YAY, FUN--, but (and this would be a good thing) he may very well take a jog to the south and that'd be just peachy me thinks. So, let's hope, eh.

That's it, I'm done. I hope you're all having a super-fantastic week thus far.