OK, so here are my feet while I was waiting in the examining room at the doctor's office today.


You will probably be seeing a lot of my feet in the pictures I post. Why? Well, I don't really know, I just have cute feet, I guess. ; )

I was given a clean bill of health and told the thing on my shoulder was a Cherry Hemangioma and it's nothing to worry about. Christie was right! I also got a prescription for something to help me not want to eat, so hopefully that will help me too.

Steve calls me when I'm in the office and tells me he and Josh had been in a fender bender because some idiot in a dooley truck (which kept on driving) forced him out of his lane and into the path of another car. Both they and the car is fine, though, but the stupid Knoxville cop gave Steve and ticket for not yelding to traffic. Can you believe that? Even the lady who bumped them saw what the truck did! Steve said if he hadn't of moved out of the lane, four or five cars would have been in an accident, not just two AND the accident would have been worse. I can't believe he got a ticket! Stupid cop!!!

*Left my wallet in El Sagundo*

RAMBLINGS

Why is it called International House of Pancakes when CLEARLY, the architecture of the building is Norwegian?

Just sitting here at ye olde switchboard this morning until the operator comes back from her doctor appointment. So if anyone wants me to transfer them somewhere, give me a call at 837-3400. I'll be here until 9:00.

Speaking of doctor appointments, I have one today at 10:20. Mom finally wore me down enough to make an appointment to have the spot on my shoulder looked at, and I'm also going to talk to him about some kind of weight loss program. More than likely I'll sit in the waiting room for half an hour, wait in the actual exam room for another half an hour, talk to the doctor for about 15 minutes, and be on my way. I hate going to the doctor. Even if I go in for something simple, I'm scared they're going to give me a shot or poke me with something sharp. I have some kind of weird needle phobia. I thought I was over it, but last year when I went to get checked out for a sinus infection, they pulled out the needle and I broke into a sweat and started to panic. Yeah, fun stuff.

I was such an idiot. One of the girls I work with called up here and asked if I could work for her on saturday. "Sure, no problem" I said. After she hung up, I looked at the calender and realized that Saturday is New Years day. UGH. Oh well, I already said yes. What was I going to do?

The holiday season is almost over, so the only things I'll have to look forward to for a while is having dinner with a dear, but rather far away, friend of mine on the 4th and going to see the *trumpets please* Vincent Van Gogh exhibit in Atlanta on the 8th! Dinner was my idea (built, of course, on a long standing agreement that we will get together whenever we can). The exhibit was a Christmas gift from Josh. Woo-Hoo! Got to love a man who remembers that I basically go into a coma when I get near a Van Gogh.

That's all I can think of.

End. : )

I promise, as soon as the novelty wears off, I'll stop posting pictures. This is a picture of my priveate slice of Hell. Otherwise known as my cubical. Actually, it isn't exactly a cubical, it's more like a glorified study carrel.

So I got a new phone for Christmas and it has a camera in it! Woo-Hoo! Yeah, I know, practically every phone has one of these, but I don't care. I'm excited! Here is the picture I took on the way in to work this morning. Saturn5.bmp

That's the Saturn 5 rocket that ended up costing the SpRocket so much money. Enjoy!

test

Merry Christmas!

So here I am, sitting at my computer on the Christmas morning of my 26th year, thinking about all I have to do before we head out to see my parents and wishing there was still more time in the day. Today I'm feeling a little blue, but I'm not sure why. Don't worry, it isn't a deep blue, but just a delicate light blue.

I love Christmas, really I do. I love visiting my family, singing Christmas carols, eating way more than is decent, and giving presents. We had a great time at my Grandmother's and Steve's parent's house yesterday. I got to see all of my sweet little cousin babies and all my older sweet, but not so little, other cousins. I had my Grandmother's dressing, which is heaven on earth thankyouverymuch, and we opened our gifts at the Pratt's. We can never wait until Christmas day! It's strange when you get to be an adult and you realize that you don't anticipate Christmas like you used to. Even as a teenager I held my breath for Christmas. Now it's all about getting ready, going, making sure everything is done, and then going back to work when it's all over. I miss the Christmas afterglow, don't you? When you're a kid, you sit back, covered in whatever you got, watching TV or whatever, and Christmas seemed to last until whenever you had to go back to school. There is one thing I'm grateful for now that I'm an adult. Christmas has a whole new meaning for me. It isn't about getting gifts and Santa Claus, but I've finally realized that being with the people you love and having those around you be happy is one of the greatest things about this holiday. Of course, I don't get to be with all the people I hold dear, but I still hear from them and think of them and e-mail/talk on the phone with them, and that is great too. I just hope everyone out there has a great holiday and can remember at the end of the day that if you can reach out and touch someone that you love or who loves you, nothing else matters.

With love to my friends and family, Merry Christmas!

Guess who updated her web site? ME!!!!! Nothing fancy, of course, but at least I changed it a little.

Oh yeah, I will eventually be changing my website to a different address. I'll warn you though so you can change your bookmarks.

Holler!

French Spy Satellite Launched

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

WEEKEND UPDATE

Greetings and salutations, everyone!

Friday night was the SpRocket christmas party and we had a really great time. I ended up having to wear the same black dress that I wore to Steve's party, because the shoes I had to wear with my blue dress didn't fit, and I couldn't (with a sound mind) wear black shoes with a blue dress!! I actually bought tickets to the raffle this year and I brought home three prizes, a $20 gift certificate to Applebee's, and a $25 and $50 gift card to the mall! Woo-Hoo! You'll also be happy to know that I didn't hurt my back this time, even though I danced in the same shoes. It's amazing what a difference having sufficent seating for everyone can make on the well being of my feet.

Saturday morning I had to work (BOO HISS) but while I was at work, Steve and his dad installed my surprise christmas present from them. It was a great, new stove! It's one of those with the flat glass tops, and a much bigger oven. I baked a cake in it saturday evening, and I didn't catch even one thing on fire! YAY FOR ME!!!!! I named the new oven KITT because it's black and has this "nightlight" that goes all the way across the thingie with the knobs on it. Granted the light doesn't move back and forth and it's not red, and it is more like a Cylon, but I still named it KITT. I hated to get rid of Kenny the Second (the old, avacado green Kenmore stove) but we all knew that the day was coming. I mean, an appliance can only catch on fire so many times before you have to give it up. Saturday night we had our christmas dinner with Anthony, Josh, Shannon and Greg. James and Becky were supposed to be there, but their little boy was sick : (. We exchanged our gifts, which were awesome, and we ate Lasagna and chicken wings. We also had our yearly viewing of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. " 'Tis the season to me merry! Well, that's my name!" Heh. Good times, noodle salad.

Sunday the choir had it's Christmas cantata and Steve was one of the narrators. He did a wonderful job! I was so proud of him. He's usually so shy, but he was great! My friend Christy, who had the solo this year, also did a great job! We didn't have a very long afternoon, so we didn't go to my parent's house, because Steve had to be back at the church early to do the cantata over again for another congregation. I was going to go again, but we realized that a) we had no food and I needed to go to the grocery store before everything was gone and b) we needed clean clothes. So I stayed home and played the domestic goddess for the evening. Apparently some idiot weatherman said the magic word "Snow" and everyone in my neighborhood ran to the local Publix to buy them out of milk and bread. Can someone explain this to me? Why in the world do people buy milk and bread when they think it's going to snow? Those are the two things that go bad the most quickly, but when it snows, everyone thinks they need it. All I wanted was some bread, only for sandwiches - not survival, and the aisle was cleaned the freak out. It's also a good thing I didn't want milk! I would have had to wrestle an elderly lady down to the floor! I finally got done and got everything put away, and I spent the rest of the evening playing the Sims 2. Celeste had twins, by the way. Elija and Amanda is what we named them. She had to hire a nanny because she hadn't slept much the whole three days she was pregnant. : )

So that was it! A full and fabulous weekend. Now, onward to the holidays!

I Want an Otter!

That is all.

So, apparently I'm a huge dork. One of my dearest friends had a birthday on the 17th and I didn't say happy birthday on his birthday. See, for some reason, I always think his birthday is on December 11th...even though I have written his actual birthday down in many places to remind me. I was so proud of having it in BIG letters near my desk at work, but I kept thinking the 17th was today, saturday, which in fact is the 18th. So, dear friend, I didn't forget your birthday, I just didn't know what day it was. : ) HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANYWAYS!!!!!!!

Hey you. Yeah, you. The person who always types in "Kelly Pratt UAH" in the google search to find my page.

Bookmark me! : ) It's easier!

heeheehee

OH YEAH...

I never told you what happened with my Lit final. Let's just say, I love my teacher! I was completely freaking out while driving to school, but when I got there, I saw a girl from my class coming out of the door and I heard her complaining about the teacher. I thought "Certainly he can't have canceled class, it's the freakin' final!" So I went into the classroom and there he was. We talked for a second, because in a non teacher/student relationship parallel universe we would probably be really good friends, and he took up my extra credit assignment and said that was all. Apparently he just decided that he didn't want to give a final if he didn't have to. I must've looked alarmed because he told me I would do fine with my grades, so not to worry.

Whew! All that freaking out for nothing! : )

RANDOM THOUGHTS

I don't like bothering people. If you know me, you probably don't believe that, but it's true. I've called well over two hundred people, and I've bothered most of them. This makes me feel icky in a way I can't articulate.

I wish I could just drop off my work tonight and go home. However, I have to reclaim my screen before I can go. That sounds like I've got to go through some Indiana Jones-ish temple obstacle course to get it back, but it's just a fancy way of saying I have to clean it before I can leave. Otherwise, I'll get the dreaded INCOMPLETE.

Is there anything more personally embarrassing/disappointing than when you think someone likes you and you find out that you were wrong? Not only that, but that you were so convinced that they liked you that you got really comfortable with the idea, and you ended up making a fool of yourself. This happened to me years ago and something I heard just brought it back to the front of my mind. I'm still embarrassed about it. Do we ever get over humiliations or do we just forget about them? I vote on the latter.

I tried to do a french manicure on myself. Key word: tried. I now know why I didn't go to beauty school!

Here is my "Yes, Please" list. I stole this from a friend of mine who has good ideas. It's a list of things that, if offered to you, the reply would be "Yes, please". Clever name, no?

1. A long, quiet day reading a good book. In my pajamas, no less.
2. Waking up with a craving for cake, baking one then and there,
and eating it right out of the pan.
3. Walking on the beach looking for shells and interesting drftwood.
4. Going to an aquarium for the day...as long as it had otters.
5. Going to a bookstore and staying for hours.
6. Playing with a puppy.
7. Having your art praised by someone you respect.
8. Fuzzy slippers, hot chocolate covered in marshmallows, and
biscotti while watching Pirates of the Carribbean.
9. Walking aimlessly with a camera in a place full of pictures
begging to be made.
10. Looking at my hands after a day in the print studio, knowing
that the colors on my hands are as meaningful as a Jackson
Pollok painting, and tell a story of the things I've created.
11. A good, long hug.
12. Finding the perfect gift for someone, and KNOWING that they'll
love it.

I have lots more, but twelve is a nice round number. : )

Wow, I'm procrastinating!

I may have to go home and plug in the Kareoke machine. I feel a song trying to get out of me and it will only be satisfying if it is loud and has reverb. Gloria Gaynor, who?

Anyways....back to the manacles...uh, I mean telephones!

ARGH!!!!!

You think you're so smart, don't you! Finishing your paper and everything? Well....yeah, you are.

Four freaking hours on the laptop and nothing I did is going to be useful. Even with the extension, I'm running behind. With that and the fact I'm now working the second shift at work two nights before the final... Oh yeah, and I fell asleep while studying for this morning's final. If anyone holds telepathic powers and wants to give me insight on Wallace Stevens, Robert Frost, and Modernism in Literature, I'd appreciate it.

If you'll pardon me, I'm going to find a comfortable spot on a busy highway!

I'VE BECOME THAT WHICH I DESPISE

No, not a soccermom! We've been told by management that we have to start a call back program (A.K.A Telemarketing) to try and garner some reservations for Space Camp. I absolutely hate doing it because I know how it feels to get called out of the blue from one of these annoying creatures! I've been putting it off every day, but all I'm doing is making myself look bad by not being further along on my list. I don't like hawking anything to anyone. I got enough of selling when I worked at Pier 1 thankyouverymuch! I've finally found a groove to get into, though. If someone answers, I just tell them who I am, what I am calling for, and ask if they're interested. If they say no, I'm all "Well, thanks anyway."
Little known fact about me? I have an issue about phones. I don't like to talk on them. Sort of ironic since I work in a call center, huh? I literally start feeling all sweaty and weird when I think I may have to talk on the phone. It's not that I don't like people (well, most people). Answering isn't so bad, but calling someone is. So I'm sitting at my desk, feeling nauseated, and having to call people and beg for money. Ulcer much?

On a lighter note, I won a Customer service award today! I got a $25 gift card from Wal-Mart and balloons. I rule! : )

Speaking of Soccermoms, I now have proof that they are out to kill me. Yesterday, while I was driving to work, an honest to God soccer ball flew out of the window of a Mini-Van and came right at me. I had to swerve. It's like they're setting depth charges now!

I've got to go to the print studio tonight and work on my final project. Woo and/or Hoo. I wore the lab coat that I use as a smock into the grocery store this morning, and it has a huge, bloody looking handprint on it from were I had a messy accident with some maroon paint. There is nothing better than walking into a public place wearing a lab coat that looks covered in blood. Heeheehee. Totally worth the looks of alarm! : )

Ciao!

WE DROPPED IT LIKE IT WAS HOT

Yes, I'm talking about Steve's corporate Christmas party last night. We went to the Holiday Inn Research Park and I finally got to meet the people he's always talking about. Everyone told me how much they liked Steve, so of course I'm all proud of him and stuff. I knew he was awesome, I'm just glad someone else sees it too!

*Oh yeah, Kenny. Steve's boss admired my shoes. : )*

He works with a bunch of engineers and computer geeks, so the best way to explain my first impression is for you to imagine walking into a formal Star Trek convention! : ) Heeheehee. Actually, not everyone was like that. I got to meet the man who owns the company breifly. He looks a LOT like the guy who plays Niles Crane on "Fraiser" and I must say, a very snazzy dancer! Which brings me to another point; white people should not be allowed to dance to songs like "Wild Thang" by Tone Loc in public. Corporate executives, drunk, out on the floor gyrating is a phenomena that should be studied at MIT. Very Scary.

Steve and I didn't dance much, but what little we did caused me to hurt my back like you wouldn't believe. I could barely move when I woke up this morning. I think it was those tiny little medival torture devices, called high heels, that I was wearing. I felt bad, but I had to keep sitting down so that I wouldn't lose feeling in my toes. Steve looked very handsome, and he said I looked nice, but it wasn't without paying a price.

On the way to the party I realized that I was having bra issues. My dress had sort of a low neckline (don't get scared, I was decent) and I realized that unless I was completely still, my bra would show, so in a flash of understanding unusual for my husband, he asked if I wanted to go to Target and get another one that would work better. So I'm all dressed up, walking through the lingerie department of Target trying to find a bra that will work with this dress. It took me quite a while, but I finally found one. However, I realized that because my dress had no zipper or buttons, I was going to have to take off my dress to change the offending piece of underwear. Well, I knew I couldn't do that in the car, so while Steve went to the car I went into the restroom to change. I was hoping that there was some other alternative to stripping in a public restroom, but alas... So there I was, undressed except for my hose and shoes, trying to hurry and get redressed so that the lady in the next stall wouldn't know what I was doing. I still got weird looks when I walked out.

So, if any of you happen to go into the ladies room at the University Drive Target, could you see if you could find my dignity? I'd appreciate it.

IS IT JUST ME...

Or does anyone else get a secret loathing feeling when listening to John Mayer's song "Your Body Is a Wonderland"? I don't know why, but it makes my skin crawl. In fact, I don't really enjoy any of his music. It makes me think of being in high school and having a creepy guy write you poetry. Yuck.

Even Butler says "PAH" to John Mayer.

I'M THE WORST MOM EVER!

I completely forgot Butler's birthday until I came home from work! There were no treats or hotdogs at all!! Not only that, but I got caught up in a project I was doing and forgot to let him in the house before it was almost 10 o'clock!

Luckily, Steve is a better person than I am. On his way home from church, Steve stopped by Krystals and got 2 boxes of fries, one for each of the boys. Of all the things I've ever eaten, Krystals fries have been the thing Butler has begged for*. Too Funny. He's too much like me! : )

*Just in case you stumbled onto my blog by complete chance, and you don't know me, Butler is my 2 year old Yellow Lab. Please don't call DHR.

YEAH, I KNOW WHAT THIS WILL MAKE ME SOUND LIKE.

Have you ever overheard a conversation between two people who you didn't really know, and totally want to punch one of them in the neck? Normally I would never really be tempted to actually get turn around and say something to the people who were talking (I'd come home and rant to someone else, of course) but I actually wanted to pimp slap this girl.

Apparently she was telling her life story, because I heard all about how she is dating this guy who told her he doesn't want a comittment, but she wants to get married...to him because she KNOWS he's the one whether he knows it or not, so she's basically been manipulating him to change his mind. It's insane. She also got upset because someone in his family was in some kind of accident or sick or something, and she was whining because he was upset and wanted some time alone, so that meant she had to sleep at her own apartment instead of going to his house. Wow, hope you weren't inconvenienced or anything, lady. She was also talking about how he's still friends with his ex-girlfriend, and she can't stand it. She was just being so mean and catty about everything, like she was convinced she deserved all of these things to go her way instead of being happy with what she has already. As for the jealous girlfriend thing, I've been there, but I don't know if I was at the level she was at. Sheesh, I want to warn the ex that she needs to run in the opposite direction as fast as possible or (if I'm being Evil Kelly) convince the ex to try and get the boy back...and succeed.

You know, I know this shouldn't bother me because I honestly don't know these people. It's none of my buisness, and you'll be glad to know that I didn't turn around and tell her that I wished I knew her boyfriend's name so I could call and warn him about what a psycho-hose-beast he's dating. I just bit my tounge and got away. Just barely.

I know, I know, I shouldn't have been listening, but it was like a car accident that everyone slows down to look at.

Why DOES it bother me, then? I have no idea. maybe I seriously need some St. John's Wart or something! : )

You know, I just wrote a post almost as long as Gone With the Wind about our Thanksgiving, but the stupid computer freaked out and now it's gone.

If you'll excuse me, I'm going to throw the pc out of the window now.

HEY!

Greetings, everyone! Here I am, a day or two back after Thanksgiving and FINALLY updating my blog. I was going to update while I was in Georgia, but I didn't get around to it! So, I'm sure you're just dying to know about our trip (meaning those of you who weren't actually there, of course), aren't you?

Wednesday I was able to leave work at 4:00 because apparently no one knew we were open. We were SO slow that day. Steve and I got our last little bits of things together and got on our way. We had to make a couple of stops before we really got going, but finally we were able to get out on the road and start booking it towards Waleska. We got to listen to the new Rick and Bubba CD, and I swear, I laughed until I thought I was going to be sick. It was great. By the time we made it to Aunt Brenda and Uncle Garry's, it was about 9:00 est and we sat and talked to them until Amy, Jon and her two kids got there. I have no idea how long we sat up and talked, but it was fun.
Thursday morning I got up and started helping Aunt Brenda with the big lunch. Well, actually I didn't know it was going to be lunch, so I didn't bother to take a shower or change my clothes while I was working because I thought I would have plenty of time to do all of that later. Not so much. : ) Everyone got there and they all looked so nice, and there I was in my PJs with hair like Don King, covered in mayonaise after an unfortunate squeeze bottle incident. So I had to run to the back and get "purty". Lunch was fabulous, of course, and afterwards we had our early Christmas with that part of the family. I got some really great stuff, and I had fun watching everyone else open their gifts as well. We had gotten Greg a gag gift, a VHS of a Menudo concert or something, and we made Greg believe that was his gift. I wish I could have seen him open it, but Steve said his expression was priceless. : ) HOLA, MENUDO!!!!! I honestly don't remember what happened after that because I kept dozing off. I felt like one of those old people who sit around watching Matlock. I did that alot while I was there. My allergies were kicking my tail, and any time I'd get still, I'd go to sleep. I bet everyone thought I was being rude! Sorry, guys.
Friday, I don't remember at all. I think we mostly watched TV and I know Kristin and Amy came over at some point, but details are spotty. I don't really remember Steve being there, but that doesn't make sense at all. I promise I wasn't on crack or anything!
Saturday, after I had breakfast with Steve's paren't and Aunt B and Uncle G, I sequestered myself in the back bedroom and did some long overdue homework. I had no idea that I had been in there as long as I actually was. In fact, it didn't dawn on me that I had been in there for more than a couple of hours until I went to the kitchen to get lunch and realized it had been about 8 hours. Amy and her kids had gone home and it was just me and Brenda and Garry (they really need a single word that can describe both an Aunt and Uncle so that you don't have to keep typing that out, don't they?) I decided that I would just bring my laptop in there and put some finishing touches on my work and eat and after that we just sat about and watched TV. Steve and I were supposed to have plans, I think (I never knew for sure what, when or where), but he and Greg had gone to the Georgia/Georgia Tech (Go Dawgs, Woof) and were so tired by the time they got back that Steve went straight to bed and we didn't do anything else. I hung out with Brenda afer Garry went to bed, and we watched Haunted History (God bless the History Channel) and for some reason after Brenda went to bed, I was still awake. I couldn't sleep at all. Steve woke up about 3:00am and we stayed up and talked until about 4:30 before I just literally fell out asleep.
Sunday we left there and stopped by Greg and Kristin's for a few minutes to drop off some stuff Greg left in the Durango and then we headed back to Alabama. We got the dogs and went home. I was tired, but we stayed up and watched the DVDs of Smallville that Steve got as a gift. I love Tom Welling, by the way. : )

Now I'm back at work and still falling asleep everytime I get still enough. I was a complete Pez Head yesterday at work, and I've got to go to school tonight. I'm so glad that this semester is almost over. I won't get much of a vacation for the holidays, but it will be a welcome change not to have to go to school for a couple of weeks anyways.

Is it REALLY considered stalking?

Do you ever get bored and go to those web sites where you can find people, like WhitePages.com or USSearch.com? I do sometimes, if we're slow at work. I usually look up people I went to school with or people I've known that I haven't seen in years. Anyways, the other day I happened to type in a name of a guy I dated when I was fairly young, and definately haven't talked to in years, and I found him. I mean, it gave me his address, his phone number, directions to his house....everything. I only know it's him because he apparently never moved out of the house he lived in with his mom. So here I am with all this info, and I suddenly feel like a complete stalker. Of course, I could just forget I ever saw it, but it wouldn't make me feel any different. I'd love to call him and catch up, but A) that would be weird B) he probably wouldn't remember me C) he would ask me how I knew he still lived at that house D) what in the world would we talk about and E) I wouldn't want him to think I was being anything but friendly, and let's face it, when an old girlfriend calls you out of nowhere, you're probably going to question her motives.

Anyway...now I feel all creepy. : ( Icky, thy name is curiosity.

Oh, and by the way, I am not scared of all thumbs (see yesterday's entry) I was just scared of my own thumb for a splot second. Steve, quit giving me thumbs up! : )

I'M SO LAME

This morning after class, I was driving to Hobby Lobby to pick up some presentation board when I realized that my rearview mirror was crooked. As I was trying to adjust it, I saw something weird in the reflection that scared me and I screamed. As soon as the scream was out of my mouth, I realized that it was just my thumb being reflected from where I was adjusting my mirror. I felt like such an idiot! I started laughing, but then realize that I must look crazy driving and laughing like a loon. SIGH, I think I need medication...

I had a lovely weekend for the most part. Friday night Josh came over to help me cook for the Thanksgiving dinner we made for some of our friends. He had a whole menu worked out, so we were chopping and mixing all evening long. It was fun, but I was kind of scared at how some of the food was going to taste. Luckily for us it all turned out great. For all of you keeping score, there was only a few sparks and the fire alarms only went off a couple of times due to overflowing pecan pie filling. No actual fires this time! SCORE!

Saturday, Steve and I cleaned and I went shopping for a tablecloth and some flowers for a centerpiece. Since it was Iron Bowl Saturday (and I'm more apt to cheer for Auburn rather than Alabama, much to Steve's chagrin) I decided to instill my subtle rebellion into my decorating scheme. We have a red and white kitchen, but I bought a blue tablecloth and orange flowers *evil grin*. I'll post a picture as soon as I can. Anyway, Josh came over and we started on the turkey and all of the other stuff. I swear, we were busy from about 1:30 till we ate at 7:00. We had a great time, but everyone was stuffed from the appetizers we'd had before, so we had TONS of leftovers. We also watched Elf, which was funny, and Shrek 2.

Sunday I woke up feeling ill (and NO, it wasn't a hangover...thankyouverymuch). Apparently I have allergies or severe sinus problems that make me feel horribly dizzy, and my throat felt like it was closing up on me. I didn't make it to church because of it, so I laid about reading and watching Lifetime "Weekend of Deceit" movies or something along those lines. It was the staple, woman-loses-everything-but-prevails-in-the-end type movie. Once Steve got home, we got thre puppies ready and took them to my parent's house. I felt bad leaving them because I miss them when they aren't at home. : ( We had dinner with my parents and then came home.

All in all, it was a nice weekend! : ) What did you do?

YUCK!!!!

*shudder*

I went to the switchboard to answer a call while the operator was away, and the call was from a lady I knew so I sat chatting with her for a few minutes. Well, you know how you just fiddle with stuff around you while you are talking on the phone? I saw what I thought was a piece of gold lace or something and without thinking I reached for it and had it in my hand before I realized it was her RETAINER!!! UGH, and it was WET! AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGH!

I kind of threw it down in disgust. I hope I didn't break it! YUCK!!!!!

Contrary to popular belief, I have not been abducted by aliens! No, I've just been a complete slacker this past week. We had a long, wonderful, productive weekend (marred only by an onset of violent sinus headaches and such sunday night) and this week has been used to recover from that. Steve and his dad finally installed the new sink. It looks amazing, as do the counter-tops. I've been working to get the tiles grouted, but it's a long and winding road to get that done. I've almost gotten the big parts finished, but I've still got to go and fill in some holes. I'll post some pictures as soon as I can. I'll try and make them smaller than the one I posted last time! : )

I found a new coffee house that I adore. It's called Aromas and they have the best coffee. I finally found a place where you don't have to put sugar in the mocha latte! Woo-Hoo! Also, they have awesome croissants and other yummy things. I think I'll become a regular.

Steve and I are now in the process of getting ready to go to GA for Thanksgiving. I have to clean out Rudolph so we will have room for the bags and stuff. I should probably start that today. It's amazing how much more stuff that the Durango will hold than the Neon did. Well, it's not so much that it holds more, but that it holds bigger stuff! heeheehee. We're also going to put both dogs in it for the first time so that we can get them to mom and dad's house before we leave. That should be fun!

Oooh, I bought a roaster. It was on sale at Target and I was thinking how handy that would be if I was to ever roast a turkey, it would be a no brainer to use that and leave the oven open for other stuff. Yay! I'm also going to use it to make roast beef from now on so that I don't end up with a crock pot full of onion soup mix that I don't have anywere to discard.

Speaking of shopping, I got my dresses for the various Christmas parties this year. One was VERY on sale at Marshalls (from $134.00 down to $20) and it is so pretty. It's a simple black dress with short, sheer sleeves, and the top of it crosses across the chest. It's classy and I'll be able to wear it to a lot of different things. I'll wear this one to Steve's party because the lady who wrote him and told him what kind of stuff to wear made me nervous. I may have to get a tiara, though. She kept joking about me wearing one, so I'm tempted. : ) The other dress is my favorite one and I'll wear it to the SpRocket christmas party. It's a navy blue "flapper" style dress with no sleeves, a draped neckline, and a hankercheif hemmed skirt. It's really cute. I don't like that it doesn't have sleeves, though. I hate my arms. OK, enough girly stuff.

I actually had a longer entry planned, but I keep fazing in and out of paying attention. I'll try and think of something more interesting to talk about later.

A SAMPLE

I decided that since I talk about my printing class so much, I would post a sample of what I have been doing. This is by far my favorite print, even though it's the most simple one I've done so far. It was created using the posterization technique and a photo emulsion stencil. The image was made from a picture Kenny took of me a while back. I titled this: "Why So Negative", which is only clever when you see the reversed image print I did of this, but didn't have time to scan. : ) Enjoy.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, BABY, I GOT YOU ON MY MI---IND!

Steve said I was late on my weekend update! I actually forgot to do it! Can you believe that? The sad thing is, I don't remember much of what I did over the weekend, but I'll do my best. : )

Friday night Steve, Josh, and I went to Surin of Thailand and ate dinner. I loooooove that resturaunt! I usually only eat one of two things, but it doesn't make a difference. After that we went to Books-A-Million and sat around talking about politics, and the dehumanization and destruction of world wide culture based on the spread of technology. I'm not kidding.

Saturday I had to work, but only from 9-1. Steve was busy working on our counter tops (which look awesome, by the way), and so I went to Sam's (which I love. Where else can you get 36 packages of Top Ramen for under 6 dollars?!) and got a few things before going home. I want to say that I took a nap or read a book or something that afternoon, but I don't remember. I do remember, however, that we went out with our friends to see "The Incredibles", which was indeed a great movie. I give it two enthusiastic thumbs up. A fine family film.

Sunday was church, of course, and I actually made it to Sunday School! After church we went to my parents house, and then we went back to church. I sang in the evening service and we had an awesome guest minister from Africa.

So far this week I finished yet another of my assigned prints, which puts me WAY ahead of schedule, and I've worked on my graphic project. I got the teacher to sit down and tell me EXACTLY what he would change about it before I would continue working on it. I figure that I can stand being a sell out to get good grades. I'm not proud. If I do this exactly as he tells me and I still get a C, I'm going to hunt him down, tie him to a tree, and tickle him until he pees on himself.

Last night Steve and I went to get the rest of the wood that he needs to finish the cabinets, and got a hamburger from Hardee's. I threw a shameful tantrum when I got home because they screwed up my order. That is one of my biggest pet peeves right there. I mean, it's not rocket science, it's getting the right hamburger and the right fries in a bag. I would have even understood if they had been busy, but we were the ONLY PEOPLE THERE. I did feel bad after having a rant, because for all I know, it's really hard to work at Hardee's or maybe the hamburger lady was having a bad day or something. So Hamburger Lady from the Hardee's on Drake Avenue, I'm sorry for getting mad.

Tomorrow is November 11th! Guess what day that is?!! It's Veteran's Day! Woo-Hoo! Oh, yeah, and it's mine and Steve's wedding anniversary. : )

I got my christmas present last night! Steve couldn't wait to give it to me (because he's cool like that). I was so surprised! He got me a violin! I've always wanted one of those!!! He found one on e-bay for a really low price, and it was shipped yesterday. Do I play the violin, you may ask? No. It doesn't matter though, I'd really like to learn. Thanks to the internet I already know how to rosin the bow and fix the strings. Now I just have to learn to make more than screeky, angry cat noises on it. It's so awesome! I've named it Lenny. : ) So, Steve, I take back all the nasty things I've said about you this week...heeheehee. ; )

I'm at work this morning answering the bellows of soccermoms and not doing my homework. I've been such a slug this week. Hopefully the funk I've been under will be completely gone by next week and I can get back to normal. Whatever my kind of normal is, anyway. : )

Steve is replacing the counter tops this morning. Yeah, I know we just did that last year, but because the counters weren't a normal size, the tiles wouldn't fit and we were having to cut them. A lot of them were broken and chipped and frankly looked horrible, so we're starting all over with a clean, and standard sized, slate. We may even finish them this time! He's going to also replace the sink, and I'm going to paint a design on the cabinet doors. Maybe one day we'll finish redoecorating that house. I mean, we've been married and living in that house together for almost 4 years (November 11th is our anniversary), so you'd think we'd be close to done by now.

SOMETHING YOU DON'T SEE EVERYDAY

I went to Wal-mart after my class this morning to get something to drink, and while I was walking through the produce area, I saw a man vacuuming the onions. I swear.

I also saw a sign that said "Take the 5 a day Challange", which is telling you to eat 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables a day, and you'll lose weight and look better. It was hanging over a whole stack of caramel apples! : )

CRIPPLING MOMENT OF SELF DOUBT?

Yes, please. Hey, just for funzies, how about two?

SIGH, I've had the worst mental week ever. It started on Sunday with a minor irritation, and has swiftly rolled downhill from there. Of course, I'm wondering how I can go from worrying about gaining a little weight to the ever popular "I'll-never-amount-to-anything-and-I'll-die-alone-and-no-one-will-care-until-they-notice-the-smell" kind of thoughts.
Hmmmm, let's consult the timeline:

Sunday: Realized I gained five -FIVE- pounds in a weeks time. Lovely.

Monday: Web registration wouldn't work. We waited up until after midnight to get the classes we needed, but no matter what we did, it wouldn't let us in. So there was stress about that. Steve's truck quit, so I had to pick him up, making me late for a mid-term (which I freaked out about) that didn't even take me 20 minutes to complete, therefore I freaked out about nothing. --we did eventually get registered, so no worries there.

Tuesday: My graphics teacher all but said that I was untalented and didn't know what I was doing. So I just get up and leave. I'm sitting out back, elbow deep in a bag of chex mix (because if this was turning out to be a comfort food week, I was jumping all over that) wondering if I was doing the right thing by majoring in Graphic Design, wondering if I was going to be able to find a job even if I DID ever manage to graduate, wondering what was going to happen if I am as bad as my teacher is implying, and just plain wondering what was going to happen to me. We didn't have much to do in the print studio that night, so I went home early, once again ate more than my fair share of comfort food and then couldn't sleep. So I watched the election coverage, and for a while there, I thought Kerry was going to win. That right there would have pushed me over the edge.

Wednesday: Nothing specific happened, but I suppose all of the negativity starting off the week had taken it's toll on me. I just got this horrible feeling that my life is not going to turn out anything like I want it to. I'm afraid that by the time I'm able to graduate, my bachelors isn't going to be worth the paper it's printed on. I'm going to be working in a job I hate, if I can get hired anywhere to begin with, watching people not even half as talented as I am getting promoted over my head by bosses like my teacher. I'm going to end up fat and unhealthy (because, let's face it, I can't keep eating everything around me whenever I have a bad day!) and no matter what I do, I'm always going to be awkward and socially weird. I'm going to end up getting pregnant (my worst nightmare. Oh, and thanks to everyone who keeps freaking asking when we're going to have kids. I JUST LOVE HAVING THAT CONVERSATION BY THE WAY! PLEASE, ASK ME AGAIN! I LOVE TO SEE THAT LOOK ON YOUR FACES WHEN I TELL YOU THAT KIDS ARE THE LAST THING I WANT RIGHT NOW! NO, REALLY, IT'S NOT AWKWARD AT ALL!!!) and having to put everything I've ever wanted to do on hold while I watch myself get so wrapped up in PTA and soccer practice that I forget who I was in the first place. Steve's going to die and leave me alone and I'll just have cats and dogs with me until the day I fall over dead and the abandoned animals have to eat me to survive. Yeah, Wednesday was fun.

Thursday: Today hasn't been as bad as yesterday, but as you can see, I'm actually venting today. I am, however, the only person who showed up for work today. The only bright spot in that, is that I have an excuse to miss my graphics class. SIGH.

I wish I'd taken the blue pill and stayed in the Matrix.

Am I the only one who didn't know there was such a thing as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force? Now I've got this most unholy mental image of a bunch of women with mullets holding bats and drag queens wearing WWII era USO uniforms. Eeek.
CNN.com - Same-sex marriage bans�winning on state ballots - Nov 3, 2004

I wanted to go ahead and give out my second "Bless Your Heart" award today. The truly deserving recipent is none other than Ralph Nader. It's not even necessary to explain this one.

Don't you just want to give him a hug? Maybe a cookie?

All together now: BLESS HIS HEART!!!

Go here: Monterey Bay Aquarium: Sea Otter Exhibit - Otter Cam

It's so cute! I feel kinda like a weird Animal voyeur, though. : )

EEEEK!

I just got a great picture of my friend Sara. She's the one on the far right dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein! I was just surprised that she didn't do anything special to her hair ; ) *evil grin*

She looks so great!






In other news, I voted this morning. It took us an hour to get through the line. Steve said that he'd never seen so many people at the polls that early. I can say now that I voted for George W. Bush. Yeah, yeah, make all the jokes you want, but I honestly believe that he would make the best president between him and John Kerry. I know a lot of people are angry that he's sent troops overseas, and the media makes him look like an idiot by their biased reporting and half-truths, but I can say with no qualms at all that I believe that he is doing what he feels is best for our country. It's not my place to say whether or not he's right about the things he's done, because I'm not in Washington dealing with all of these problems and policies, but all we can really ask is that the president do what he thinks is right. No matter who he is.

So any of you who think I'm an idiot for voting for Bush, you can...well, you can do lots of things (some of them illegal in this state and others) to yourself, but I hope you will just respect my decision and leave me alone about it and I'll do the same for you. I prayed that the right man be elected, be it my choice or not, and I have faith that it will happen.

ALL HALLOWS EVE...eve

Well, we went to our costume party last night, and it was fun! It started out a little slow, but that was fine. Steve and I didn't really know many people there, other than the host and a couple of others, so we had that wallflower thing going on. : ) It was fun though. We don't ever talk that much on a regular basis! He looked great in his Ghostbuster costume, as you can see:




That's Steve with his rugged terrain face. : )

Me, well, my costume didn't work out as well. No one had a clue who I was. Dallas was the only person who came close and she asked me if I was Sabrina. Well, at least she got the Audrey Hepburn reference. Some little kid thought I was someone called "Miss PattyCake". Apparently, she wears hats and stuff and sings christian songs to little kinds. That is cool too...I could be Miss Pattycake! Anyways, I would post a picture, but I didn't get any good ones. I looked a little less "Holly Golightly" and a little more "Holly Gochubby" ; ).

We ate and talked and when Joe and Amy Davis came in, we finally knew them well enough to talk to them. My feet hurt SO BAD by the time we left. I was walking like those little girls who are wearing heels for the first time. Anywho, Steve and I left about 9:45 or so and we had to go get some groceries. All in all, it was a good night. We only had about 6 Trick or Treaters while we were home, so we've got about 8 pounds of chocolate still by the door. If you come over, please have some. It's not safe for chocolate to be sitting around me like that.

It's almost the weekend! Woo-Hoo! I was going to go to the studio, but yet again, I've changed my mind. I don't know why I haven't been going - other than sheer laziness- because I enjoy printing, but I'm just...not...wanting...to...go. So I won't. So there.

My teacher did indeed crucified my pamphlet during critique. I got a 76, but only after he gave is 5 points due to him giving the projects back late. The weird thing is, I used HIS brochure as a template! I didn't copy it under any circumstances, but I did use it as a guide and he still didn't like it. Grrrr. I know I could just run to him with every project and have him help me, but I don't want the work to be HIS, I want it to be MINE. Well, my one consolation is that I'm going to strive to be his boss, and I'm going to point at all of his work and laugh. Actually, he's really talented. SIGH. However, I will not let him deter me from doing what I want. He can't be the messiah of graphic design bosses. : P

I've got to go home and finish my costume. I've got to figure out how to sew a row of tassles onto a dress without doing anything bad to it. It's actually one of my summer dresses, and I wear it to church sometimes, so I don't want to mess it up. I'm sure I can figure something out.

Anyways, I've got things to do.

Holler! ; )

War Eagle, by the way.

I woke up this morning at about 2:30 AM and couldn't go back to sleep. I can't figure out why, but I stayed awake until 5:00 playing The Sims 2 (where I killed yet another person inadvertantly), then I fell asleep in the recliner for another hour and a half before the alarm clock went off. Can't someone figure out a way to stop time so we can sleep longer? Ugh.

Tomorrow is our office Halloween Snack Day! I'm going to make scones. I don't really like bringing stuff to these little get togethers because if you bring something even the least bit unusual, no one eats it and then they make fun of you for making something strange. I'm not going to let that stop me, though. Chocolate Chip Scones it will be!!!!

There really isn't much of a point to this entry except for I'm trying to keep awake by being occupied. I'm surprised I haven't dozed off already, but they send you home for sleeping on the job. Go figure ; ).

Steve and I went to lunch together today. We went to Sonic. I have never eaten anything other than onion rings there before, and it was pretty good! Going to have to go back sometime when we have time to get ice cream.

I was going to the studio tonight, but I think I've changed my mind. I'm too tired to do much good, and since this is an extra print that I won't be turning in, I don't need to take up a table someone else could be using. If nothing happens, I'll just go on Friday. It's not too complicated, so it shouldn't take me long to do it.

I have recently got three of the coolest books. One is a cookbook from Williams Sanoma (which, as you know, I collect) and it's about the food from Paris. I haven't actually gotten to the recipes yet, but they go step by step through the kinds of things you would find in Paris, and it's really interesting. Oh, shut up, cheese is interesting! Maybe that's weird, I don't know. I'm thinking about going back tonight and getting one of the others in the series. They have San Francisco, a Spanish one and an Italian one. I don't know which one I'll get though. I also got another food history/cookbook called Culinaria of America, which breaks down the country into regions and explores the different kinds of food that is indigenous to each area, plus it's history and evolution. It's HUGE, I guess it's supposed to be a coffee table book, but I don't know why you'd have a book like that on your coffee table. Anywho... the third, and by far my favorite, is a book called simply "Ghosts". I found it kind of hanging out in the front of a Waldenbooks with some other "scary" books for Halloween. It's a black leather bound book with gold tooling and the single word "GHOSTS" on the front and on the spine. I figured it would be a good Halloween decoration if nothing else, but it's really got some great ghost stories in it. It's an anthology of stuff from a spectrum of authors from Bram Stoker to Arthur C. Clark. The guy who put together the book wrote a pretty funny forward warning you not to read the whole thing at once. Not because the stories are that scary, but "because like peanut butter fudge, too much at a time can make you lose your taste for it."

Well, it's almost time to go, so I figure I can stay awake for another 15 minutes. Cross your fingers for me!

bicycle marshmallow John Kerry George Bush watermelon shoes belly buttons Elmo.

No, I'm not crazy. I just got an Extreme Tracker ---> look to the right please ---> and I'm putting crazy stuff in my blog so people pull me up when they do searches. Yeah, it's sad. : (

Do you know something that makes me kinda sad? Those people who have schedules for their lives. You know them, they are the "I'll-be-married-by-23-have-babies-by-26-join-PTA-by-30" people. I don't know why they make me sad, but they do. I think maybe it's because more often than not, these people who try so hard to fit into their schedules, are very rarely happy. They will convince themselves that they love someone/convince that someone to marry them just so that they will be married, have babies before they're ready, want everything to be just so, all because they have a plan that can not be deviated from. I don't know, I see it all the time. The soccer mom, more often than not, is usually this person. Now, I'm not saying it never works...don't get me wrong. I'm sure there are plenty of people who do this who are happy as larks and such, but to me it's sad. More people should be like that penguin from "Fight Club" and just let it all "Slide". SIGH. Anyways...

Last night I finally got the last pieces of my costume ready for this weekend. I thought I was going to get through this Halloween without dressing up, but we got invited to a birthday/costume party where it was requested that you dress up like a movie character. I had no idea what I was going to do. I've been too busy to think of anything, and I have employed many others to help me think of something, all to no avail. Steve mentioned the "Stay Puft Marshmallow man" and was promptly riddled with visual bullets. I mean, please don't ever put me into a white puffy suit and sailor hat. I already resemble a giant, puffy, pale creature....I'm trying hard not to look like that on a regular basis!!! : ) So I finally decided on being Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffanys. I mean, I don't look anything like Audrey Hepburn, but I already had the dress and shoes. All I had to do was get a hat and gloves (which I did) and make the jewelry (which I will) and I'll be done. A sort of zaftig Audrey Hepburn, if you will. Eh, who cares. At least I don't have to think about it much anymore.

How sad is it that I couldn't think of anything to dress up like? I could dress up in a different costume every day without blinking, and then someone asks me to, and I blank.

Josh just called me a while ago and had me do my Latina accent over the phone to his class. Who knows why, either. They all probably think I'm on crack. Glad it made them laugh, though. : )

UPDATE!

Hello, folks! As you may have noticed, this is more than just a weekend update. Why? Well, I've been lax in my blogging duties as of late. I mean, it's not like I post important stuff or anything, but hey, someone out there may care! : )

I forgot to tell you last week, but October 16th was my Blog's birthday. Well, at least the birthday of when I could actually make it work. Yay! Happy birthday Bloggie!

This week has been such a pain, but for different reasons than normal. Monday I went to the printing studio and almost completely finished my newest project. I had planned it out on my computer before actually going in to complete it, so it was easier than normal. Well, that, and I had a seperate stencil for each layer rather than having to manipulate the same one for each print. By Tuesday I had to redo a couple of layers because of a color problem, but I finally finished it. It wasn't due till November 11th, so now I have a little time to play around with a print I just want to do. Hopefully I'll get it completed and it will look like I think it will. Screen printing is by far my favorite of all of the classes I'm taking now. Speaking of all of the classes I'm taking now, none of my teachers turned in Mid Term grades. None of them! I have no idea where I stand in at leat two of them, and I'm scared to know what my GPA is. It seems like we haven't taken enough grades this semester to really make a difference. I'm especially scared of my Graphics course because I know I've made at least one C, and he hated my last project too. SIGH. I'm gonna be a call center agent forever!
Oh, and another thing. Guess who didn't show up for class again today? Tom McDougal! I mean, this is the fourth time he's just not shown up. I used to not care, but being reminded that I did pay for this class, I'm starting to get a little peeved. If I didn't like the teacher so much I'd say something to the dean. We've had 3 grades taken in this class so far, and none of them were anything more than quizes. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm glad this is better than a teacher who is so strict and straight laced that we are constantly doing something for the class, but I really like Mr. McDougal and his way of teaching. I hate that HE is the one teacher always missing class!

This weekend wasn't as productive as it should have been. Steve was gone to visit the family in GA and I was left to my own devices. I had all of this stuff planned to do (cleaning mostly, but I need to wrap christmas gifts and stuff) and I got jack done. I was completely narcoleptic. I'd sit down to read and doze off. The most productive thing I did on saturday was play The Sims 2 and get one of my characters a job. Sunday was a little better. I did laundry, took a nap, visited my parents, took a nap, and made dinner for myself. I thought Steve would be in a lot earlier than he was, but he was helping Greg do some kind of computer thing, so I didn't see him before I went to bed. Apparently I didn't see him, but I still talked to him. He said I was mean...heh heh heh. I told him that "if he woke up wearing pajamas, it wasn't my fault!" I guess I was dreaming about The Sims.

Speaking of The Sims, I'm an unfit mother. : ( I had a family with a son who was in elementary school, and I forgot to send him to school one day. I didn't mean to, I just didn't hear the bus pull up in front of the house. By the time I did notice it, it pulled away from the house. I got a little dialog box that said "Pheonix missing school causes him to lose a grade point. Another miss will cause a visit from a social worker." So from then on, I tried hard to keep that kid in school. He was doing pretty well until there was a fire in the kitchen one morning before he was about to leave. When there is a fire, the cleanliness level of these characters drops a HUGE amount, but since he didn't have any other problems than being dirty, I sent him to school anyways. I saw the kid get on the bus, so I didn't think anything of it. When I went back to the parents, they were on the couch kissing like teenagers (yes, that can happen). All of a sudden, I see the little boy go into the bathroom and jump into the shower. The parents hadn't noticed him come in, them being otherwise occupied, but apparently he took it upon himself to skip school to take a bath. So while he's in the shower, this lady walks into the house and over to the parents (who are still kissing, by the way) and just stares at them. The little kid gets out of the shower, changes clothes, and gets into the social workers van outside. I'm doing everything I can to keep the kid in the house, but it didn't work. I have some kind of bug in my game that sometimes keeps me from controling the characters, so I couldn't get the parents to quit kissing. Then the lady takes off with the kid, and now the parents walk around occasionally bursting into tears because they miss their son. I can't believe I got the kid reposessed by the social worker! Ugh.

You know what? I almost forgot my weekend update! NO!!!!!!!!

Friday was a long sleepy day. I actually, for no apparent reason, woke up at 3:30AM and couldn't go back to sleep. I was going to just lie there, but I got restless and went ahead and got up. The dogs were confused when I let them out, but I knew they'd have a fit if I was up and not letting them out of their kennels. So with that taken care of, I played Sims 2 until it was time to get ready for school. I noticed while I was sitting there that I was so sore all over, and I started to get worried that I was getting the flu (no shot for me)! However, I realized that it wasn't because I was sick, but because I had been so tense while working on that stupid screenprint that I strained my muscles. How stupid is that? I strained my muscles while basically using a stencil. I reeeeeeeeeeally need to get to the gym more often! By the end of the day, I was a wreck. I was so tired, but I had stuff I had to do. Honestly, I don't even remember what I did the rest of the day on Friday, I just remember being glad to go to sleep.

Saturday was a blissful didn't-have-to-work-day. I slept late and kept waking up and thinking "wow, I need to let the dog out" but dozing off again without doing it. Bless Steve, he had done it for me, so when I heard them barking, I knew I could keep sleeping. Of course, by then I was awake, so I got up, cleaned the kitchen and dining room, had breakfast, and sat down to watch TV for a while. It was weird not having to go anywhere, but I liked it!! I ended up getting a bad headache around 2:00 or so and went to lie down for a while. I fell asleep again, and when I woke up and looked at the clock, it said 2:45. I panicked! I apparently blocked out the whole morning because I thought I had been asleep the whole time! I thought "THE DOGS!! I haven't let the dogs out!" So I jumped up and ran to the bedroom door before I realized...Um, Self, you're an idiot. : ) I think I may have watched more TV, but I'm not sure. Steve got home and we rented some movies and got Wendy's for dinner. It was a really nice day!

Sunday morning was busy. I was supposed to sing in morning services and we were having our fall picnic that afternoon, so I spent the beginning of the morning cooking, ran upstairs to sing (which everyone said I did well - I don't know if I agree) and then ran back downstairs to cook some more and then we went to the picnic. It was lots of fun, but we didn't stay long. It was freaking COLD! Steve and I came home and took a nap, and then we watched a movie and just hung out after that. All in all, it was a nice weekend. I'm glad I didn't have to work! Yay!

Oh! I have a job for you guys. I'm trying to think of a hard question to give Nelson, the Super Engineer to see if I can stump him. He's the one who answers all the questions on the "Why" section of my webpage. I'm determined, but I need help! If you can think of one, send it to me! : )

GOOD DAYS/BAD DAYS

Sigh.

First off, I want to say I'm blessed beyond my wildest dreams and I know intellectually, physically, and rationally that I shouldn't feel discouraged about anything. However my emotional side (which I have to admit talks louder than all those other guys most days) is demanding I get frustrated about some stuff, so I'm going to vent.

Actually, there isn't THAT much to vent about. I think it's just the fact that some really irritating stuff happened all in a row and the cumulative effect is worse than the actual stuff! : ) Fear not, though! I am going to find solutions to these problems so that they don't build up on me.

Of course, my last entry talked all about the tragic screen printing incident last night. You guys, I'm just sick over it! It would be one thing if I could just go back in and do it all over in an hour or so, but it's way more complicated than that. You've heard the term "breaking the mold"? Well, technically, this is what you're doing with a screen print. You're slowly and methodically destroying your stencil as you keep printing. By the time I was done last night, I didn't have a stencil left. So I can't start over and have the same picture I want to do. On my way in, though, I thought of something I could do to make it look better. I mean, it can't be fixed, but it might hide the worst of my problem. I'm going to talk to my teacher about it tonight to see what he thinks. I may have used too much ink on it already, though, and it might make the problem worse.

Thing two was that when I got home last night I still had to finish my graphics project and I was up until 1:30 this morning trying to get it to print. Not only would it not print right, but when I could get it to print at all, it was so dark you couldn't see any detail. My teacher is going to crucify me in critique today. I DID save it as a PDF, so I'm going to ask if I can also turn it in electronically too so he can see what its supposed to look like.

Number three is that I ordered a beautiful pair of boots and I've been excited about getting them. I got them in yesterday and wouldn't you know it? The stupid things have zippers on them instead of being the kind you just pull on. I can't get them past my calves. Apparently, I don't have calves, I have full grown cows. I can't find a pair of those boots that I can zip all the way up! So if anyone knows where I can get a pair of those knee high boots that will fit people with big calves, let me know!! It's no problem to return them, but the fact is I have to return them. : ( They're so pretty!!!!!!!!

Anyways, in the grand scheme of things, these problems aren't that bad. I know this. I just wish they wouldn't have happened in a span of six hours. On a lighter note, I did get to watch some of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Indiana Jones can always make me feel better! ; )

How do you spell frustrated? Me? I spell it HOURS AND FREAKING HOURS OF WORK ON THAT STUPID PROJECT AND IT'S RUINED!!!!!!!!!!

If I didn't have that little shred of self control, I would have jumped off of the Art Building. I have been working so hard on this screen printing project. I even started it over once because I wasn't satisfied with the earlier results. In all, I worked on it about 17 hours. Well, tonight while I was working on it, some adhesive from one of my stensils stuck my paper to the stupid screen, making the ink smear all over the picture. So I tried another one, and the same thing happened to a lesser degree. On the other 9 prints, that same stupid section either smeared or got lines in it. I ended up having to throw two of the prints away, and my very pretty print is now a piece of garbage that I have to turn in for a grade. I don't think any of the curse words I know can express my irritation and frustration at this moment. I mean, it's RUINED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I almost cried. In school.

Grrrr.

And I'm still not done with that graphics project that's due tomorrow.

Double Grrrr.

TIME TO LET GO

Don't you just love the feeling you get when you decide you have to make a change in your life, and you become determined to do it? I do. Over the course of this weekend I took a deep look at some things in my life, and I've become determined to - clean out my inner closet - so to speak. It's was kind of a scary thought at first, but the more I've thought about it and prayed about it, it has sort of become a relief as well.

I used to pride myself on never staying mad at anyone for a long time. In fact, I had a few people tell me that it was hard to stay mad at me because I could come in the next day and act as if nothing had happened at all. Of course, they thought that was weird, but to me, nothing had ever been bad enough to harbor inside. Of course, while not keeping bad feelings inside, I would keep hurt inside. I'd hold on to that with both hands like a Little Debbie cake at a Lane Bryant fashion show. I suppose it all came down to not wanting anyone to see that part of me, because people came to me to feel better, and I didn't want them to think I was weak. So since I was about 14 years old, I've held all kinds of personal hurt inside. After letting that get to me for a while, I started holding other things inside. Every time someone hurt me, it was like I wrote it down and read it every day. Basically, I was being very pathetically self indulgent. At any rate, I never really thought about it much. It was a part of my life, and a part I let fester a little more every day. Whenever I thought about any of it, I just got a little more hurt or mad instead of letting it fade. I didn't let time heal any of those wounds.

Well, this past week, it hit me how dumb I have been. I've let people I haven't seen in years, who haven't done things to me in years, eat away at me a little at a time. It all began when I found out a girl whom I'd been best friends with from Jr. high to high school, although we hadn't been close for the past couple of years, got married and I wasn't invited. In fact, when I had seen her a couple of months ago and she told me she was engaged, she acted like she really didn't want to give me any details about her wedding at all. I don't know why I let that bother me, since like I said, we haven't been close lately, but I did. It took a conversation with a very smart person to get me to see it all in the right perspective, and realize that people move on. It was then that I realized that I wasn't moving on at all. In fact, it seemed like I was dwelling more on the past these days than thinking about the present. How embarrassing! When this realization sunk in I just stopped everything and prayed that I would be able to just let go. I want to let go of all the hurt and bad feelings that I've been holding on to all of this time and I don't ever want to see it again. I want to be able to forgive all of the people who have hurt me or made me angry. I also realized that I needed to do what God told us to do and pray for those who hurt you or despitefully use you. It's hard to feel animosity towards someone you're praying for, I've come to realize. So far, so good, although it's only been a few days, but I'm hoping that eventually I can hear these names or see these people and not think bad thoughts.

I didn't tell you this to get a pat on the back or to make you think I'm such a GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD person, 'cause quite frankly that's not true. What I want from you is for you to pray for me so that I don't fall back into that rediculous way of thinking and living. I really don't want to be that way again, and I can't do it on my own.

I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but I bought this after seeing it on an infomertial a couple of months ago. I don't normally buy stuff that I see on TV unless it's something I can get at Target or Wal-Mart, but something about that chubby woman hawking this thing made me want it so bad. Luckily I had some student loan money left, and after thinking about it for a month or so, I finally ordered it. I have to say that it is a really great little appliance! If you don't have a whole lot of room or a whole lot of time for cooking, it's worth it. The only thing that bothers me is that everything comes out in a semi-circular shape. I know that's just asthetic and it doesn't make the food taste any different, but shaped food bothers me. It's like making everything you eat in a muffin tin. Anyways, I got it and it's great. I can make little semi circular cakes in 7 minutes, semi-circular pizzas, semi-circular hamburger pies (see the back of a bisquick box), and all kinds of other stuff. Just thought I'd mention it.

I still can't believe I bought something from an infomertial.

So, Martha Stewart went to jail this morning. According to this Article, Martha Stewart reports to West Virginia prison - Oct. 8, 2004, she is in a place referred to as "Camp Cupcake".

FREE MARTHA!!!!!!!!!!!!


A moment of silence, please.

Sign I've worked in the call center too long:

I dialed 9 on the microwave before I entered my time.

Thank goodness I realized this before I turned it on!

So tired. Want to sleep, but don't have time.

Updated my website. Not a major change, but added a few things.

Sleep? Please? Bueller? Anyone?

Bought boots today and almost paid off credit card.

No more student loan for me.

Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep......

Some of this was written last friday...I just didn't get a chance to finish it.

FRIDAY:
Anyone want to read the absolute best reporting on the presidential debate last night? Go here: al.com: Weblogs. It was live blogging by your favorite Kenny and mine, who in my opinion, is the only person who makes politics interesting. Take that, Dan Rather!!!

I'm sitting here at work trying to install Adobe Creative Suite on my laptop in between calls. I realized in class yesterday that I probably won't get many chances to be in the computer lab, so I broke down and used part of the last dregs of my student loan to buy it. All I have to say, is that we better not get word that the Graphics Department is moving to PC. I'll kill someone with my bare hands!

MONDAY:
Weekend Update!

Friday morning, I couldn't get myself started. I was really late for class. I felt bad because by the time I got there, Tom had already started his lecture. I went to him after class and apologized, and it turns out he didn't even realize I had been late. Then I felt kind of dumb for thinking he'd care if I was late or not. Oh well, I felt bad, so I apologized. So, there. Friday night was kind of a bust for everyone, I found out. I was going to the print lab to wash out my new screen (which I think I screwed up, by the way) and I ended up staying a few extra minutes to test out my new stencil. I was supposed to meet Steve and everyone at McAllister's and I ended up being the first one there. Everyone else was going to the Cornfield Maze, and I was going home to work on a project someone asked me to do. See, I hate going into cornfield mazes because I can't find my way out. When I can't find my way out, I start to get claustrophobic and then I start to panic. I know people think I have major issues because there are so many things I can't do because I get claustrophobic, but if they had that problem like I do, there would be a lot of things they couldn't do too! Anyways, it ended up that no one went because the rest of the crew couldn't get their plans straight. SIGH.

Saturday I ended up sleeping really late and waking up to play my Sims 2 game, which I'm completely addicted to. When Steve got up, we went to Lowes to get some stuff to landscape with, and we worked in the yard for a while. Steve wasn't feeling well, so he wasn't able to do much. I only got one corner of our flower bed done, but at least that part is done. I'm hoping we can get all of the other stuff done before it gets cold. Otherwise we are going to have a lot of dead bushes on our hands. Steve got to feeling better later and watched some football game with some buddies, while I stayed home and worked on my art project and played Sims 2 some more.

Sunday was lazy. Church in the morning, got groceries in the afternoon, slept until early evening, woke up feeling sick, watched TV until we went to bed. Kind of nice after the hectic week, but I don't feel like I acomplished very much.

Today got off to a pretty good start. Our teacher wasn't able to have class today (and I didn't find this out until I got to school) so I went to Target and bought a few things. I got kind of annoyed while looking for a bra. Now, if you get embarrassed by reading about women's underwear...stop right here.

When I was wearing a bigger size, I could never find a bra in my size that didn't look like some kind of lacy harness. I mean seriously, just because you are a big girl, doesn't mean you want to wear reinforced steel halter tops, you know what I'm saying? Well, now that I've gone down a little (just barely), I can't even find my size most of the time, but I keep running across all of the really pretty bras in the size I USED to be. SIGH. It isn't fair!!!!

Anyways, so I'm off to do some work and then go to the print lab. JOY!

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

I've got the perfect example of why you should take artists seriously:

Adolph Hitler.

See, he was an artist who couldn't sell his work. No one took him seriously as an artist. Look what happened. Of course, it probably helped that he was possessed by the demons of hell, too.

So the next time you start to make a "do you want fries with that" joke or pass by a street vending artist, remember...you say the wrong thing and BAM!!!! We have a new furher on our hands.

Weekend Update!

Well, the weekend is over and I survived another one. I had planned on it being a lazy weekend, but I was wrong!

Friday after work I went to Home Depot to get some landscaping supplies. Steve and I want to try and make out yard look nicer due to the sheer bleakness of our yard when compared to everyone else on our street. I was able to get those edging stones (42 feet worth) and a Garden Hound, which is a priceless, manual, tilling thingie. I can't really explain it better than that. Anyways, mom had called and invited me to come stay with them friday since Steve was in GA, but I had to go home and take care of the puppies. I had dinner and started doing laundry, which if you read my entry from Friday then you'd know what an adventure that was, and I ended up staying up until about 1:00 AM. I'm too old to stay up that late!!!!

Saturday I woke up early and started working on the landscaping. I've never set up edgers before, but I don't think I did too bad of a job. I totally had a groove going until I hit a pocket of spiders and was forced to quit due to getting the complete heebs. I couldn't decide whether or not they were grass spiders or brown recluse spiders, and I didn't want to take the chance of getting bitten and ending up with volcanic leasions on my immediate personage. I put everything away and got on Google, to find out what kind they were. Unless I am mistaken, I found a nest of wolf spiders. One the size of a quarter. *SHUDDER* I would have had to stop anyway because I was going to have lunch with my mom, dad and brother at their house, and then I was going on to Lee and Rhonda's to mow the lawn. So I did that, and it was after dark before I got home. I ended up renting Mean Girls, which was hilarious, and doing more laundry. Fun stuff.

Sunday I slept late and ended up missing class, but I did make it in time for the service. I went to my parents house again for lunch, and then I came back home to do dishes and more laundry. I didn't get even half of what I needed to do done, believe it or not. Steve came home later that evening, and I spent the rest of the time listening to his weekend stories.

I think I'm going to have to impose a "Doing Stuff" hiatus on myself until this semester is over. This means no trips away from Huntsville (unless I see that I have a break in school/housework), no going out unless I have everything done that needs to be done, and weekends I'm not working will be delegated to working on the house and yard. SIGH!

SIGH

Knowing the truth isn't always as fun as the fantasy one tells themselves, is it?

@!%&@! truth...

THAT'S NOT A BLOG, IT'S A SPACE STATION...

OK, can you guess what I've been watching this week? Heeheehee

Steve FINALLY got his DVD versions of the original Star Wars trilogy and we've watched the heck out of the special features. I can't believe that I lasted as long as I did, but some of those things are really interesting. It's funny to find out about all the famous people who auditioned for the parts and to hear how the characters and sound effects were thought up. George Lucas is truly a very talented man. I just wish he'd leave well enough alone, though. The next thing you know, he'll have replaced everything with computer animation. SIGH.

Did I tell you that my Graphics II teacher is apparently a male version of Lois Lane? The other day I was standing in the hallway(with my glasses pushed up on my head) and he passed by. I smiled and said hello, but he kind of just looked at me and walked past without saying anything. When we got into class later on, I put my glasses back on and he looked at me and said "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be rude, but I didn't know who you were without your glasses." I was all....uh, okay. "You'll never guess my secret identity..." Now, I know I look goofy in my glasses, but I also know that they don't completely obliterate my face. I thought that was just funny!

Steve and I had our pictures made for the church directory last night. We got to see the digital proofs and amazingly enough, the pictures turned out great! We got a whole lot of the prints to spread around the family. Lucky them, huh? Hey, you don't know, you may be getting one in your christmas card!!!! ; )

I've been trying to gather all of the laundry since this is the first time since school started that I've had time to do that, and I have to ask this question. When cleaning your home, is it a bad sign when you have to treat it like an archeological dig? Seriously, I'm finding things in layers. For example "Oh, here is the shirt that I haven't seen since July..." Ugh, I've got my work cut out for me!!!

I finally went and got the edging stones so that we can begin working on our landscaping. Who knows if it will look good or not, but doggone it, I'm going to do it or die trying. To start off, I bought 42 feet worth of red, scalloped, edging bricks. I was hoping not to have to get anything scalloped, but I didn't have much of a choice. I wish I could get some stones for a retaining wall, but I couldn't afford it this time. Well, maybe I can do that later.

You know what? I want to start a society called PETC or Pet-C. That stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Celebrities. Seriously, I've just realized how low the media will go due to the latest Britney Spears marriage-or whatever. Now, I'm not a huge Britney fan, but I have begin to feel sorry for her simply because people will not leave her alone. It's bad enough when you can't even have your wedding because too many people are snapping pictures and hanging on to the fences surrounding the church or whatever, but when they all argue about whether or not they are legally married...jeez, it's too much. You know, if she wasn't famous, and her and her redneck fiance wanted to get married, they could have just had the ceremony in the backyard of her trailer. No one would have cared one iota. Well, except for maybe that guy she had been married to a few months earlier. He would have been outside her lot, sitting on the bed of his pickup, drunk, hollering "But Britney, I still loooooooooooove you...". It's always sad to me when people with white trash tendancies don't have the proper outlets, you know?

Anyways, back to the washing machine...

Betazed, anyone?

I have no idea if I spelled that right. Trekkies, forgive me.

For my birthday, Steve bought me a book called "The Secret Lives of Bees" which had a character in it who felt everyone's pain. Anytime she heard of anything that made anyone sad, she felt it as if it were her burden as well. It was so bad that she had to have her own version of a Wailing Wall, where she would go when she was sad. She wrote down what bothered her and stuck the paper between the stones, and that helped her get through it.

When I read that, with exception of the wall, I realized that I am that way and I hate it.

I know this will sound crazy to anyone who reads this (either of you), but when I hear of sad things - like the seige in the school in Russia, or about someone who is sick, or if someone loses a loved one - I hurt so bad and I find myself crying over people I don't even know. Today we watched a bit of a PBS special in class about slavery, and they showed a mother crying because her child had been sold. I almost burst into tears, but I don't know why. I know that stuff happened, but when I saw that little clip of film (yes, even realizing it wasn't real) it felt like a child of my own was being taken away. It's weird. Maybe it's some kind of harmonal imbalance, but jeez, I wish it would stop. Talk about being empathetic...more like just pathetic.

SIGH.

WEEKEND UPDATE!

Yes, it's that time again. Monday afternoon when I finally have time to tell you about my weekend. Aren't you excited?

Friday Steve and I went to dinner with his parents, to see them before they left on their trip. We had dinner and went back to their house to watch Pirates of the Caribbean. They also gave us the souviners that they picked up for us in Minnesota while they were there for a PSA convention. They are awesome people!

Saturday Steve and I had been invited to a wedding, so we went to the Chaple On the Mountain and saw Stephanie Avery (a girld Steve had worked with at Sci-Quest) and Lance Mclaughlin get married. It was a sweet wedding. It was held in a tiny chaple that might seat about 40 people (if that many) with big stained glassed windows. I kind of got the idea that something went wrong, though. When the bride came in, we stood- as one is supposed to do at that time- but the preacher never told us to sit. So here we are, all standing during the ceremony. I also noticed that the preacher never asked them to light their unity candle. The whole ceremony lasted 8 minutes. We went from there to the reception site, which was at the Botanical Gardens Pavillion, and it wasn't even set up when we got there. I felt so bad! I suppose they didn't realize that the wedding wouldn't last that long, so they were scrambling to get everything done. It ended up looking really nice, but the wind was blowing things around like crazy. We didn't get to stay for very long because a bee flew up Steve's pants and stung him twice on the leg!!! Can you believe it? I laughted my head off, but not because he got stung. Just the thought of the bee flying into his pants was enough to kill me. I have to give him credit, though, he didn't freak out. He calmly told me that he was going to the bathroom to check out the stings and he calmly walked out and said we needed to go. He's such a trooper! Later of that day we went on a picnic to Green Mountain Nature Trail and we also went shopping. I had bought the new Sims 2 game, and we had to replace the video card in my computer because it wouldn't support the graphics. That night we had dinner with the gang and then I came home while Steve went to a movie with Greg. It was a great day. Steve and I hardly get to spend any time with one another these days, so it was like going out on a date! ; )

Sunday was busy too. We had the Note Burning ceremony at church to celebrate paying off the mortgage, and we also had a meal that afternoon. Since I am part of the hostess committee, I was downstairs cooking and decorating like a fiend. We finally got everything put together and it turned out great. I also had to get the scrapbook and bring it home to put in my first entry! Yay!

Remember when weekends used to be restful? When do I get a weekend from my weekend?

You know, a teeny part of me was a little disappointed that Ivan the Terrible wasn't as terrible as we thought he was going to be. I was curious to see what a hurricane was like. The rest of me, though, is content with the outcome. : )

I'm sitting here at work not doing anything today. We are super slow right now because people don't want to make plans this far in advance, but hey, I'm not complaining.

Yesterday I had to stop by Wal-Mart to get some glue and in the ramble around the store, I happened to pass the bread aisle, and it was completely stripped bare! I couldn't believe it!!! Why do people run out and buy bread at the first sign of bad weather? If someone can tell me, I'd appreciate it. I used to work at a grocery store and let me tell you, you see a whole new side of humanity during these "weather-related grocery store raids." People will tear your face off for a jug of milk or a loaf of bread. I even got yelled at once because there was only skim milk left in the case. A part of me hopes that the mean ones get home with their milk, and they have no power. That'll teach them to act like that!!!

We are going to dinner with Steve's parents tonight. They just got back from Wisconsin and they are about to leave on another trip out west, so we want to see them before they leave. We also have to buy a wedding gift for a wedding that's we're going to tomorrow. I can't believe that I forgot to do that before now! The main problem is that I have no idea where they are registered, so I'm just going to have to pick something at random and hope that it doesn't clash with their other stuff. What exactly is the etiquette on that? Do you not get them something if you don't know where they registered or do you get something and hope they can use it? Ah, who knows. I'm getting them something, though.

Well, I'm off! Have a great weekend!

I'm so freakin' tired. Why, oh why, isn't my work or school closed due to the hurricaine? Everything else is closed - other schools, businesses, even the Governor's office, but the Space and Rocket Center and UAH are still open. Darn them, darn them all to heck.

The reason for my tiredness? I got so busy last night that I forgot to set up my Mac workstation with printer and etc, so Steve and I get up at about midnight to do this. I needed to print some stuff from class, but while in the process of doing this I realized that the slightly different versions of my programs wreaked havoc with my design. I sat up until 2:00 this morning trying to fix these designs so that I could turn in the draft today. I am too old to stay up late!!!

Be proud of me, though! I went to the printing studio to work on my first project last night, and I got quite a bit of headway. 3 colors down, and about 3 to go. It took me four hours to do that much, so I'll be back in the studio on Friday night to see if I can finish it! Yay! I had never done a screenprint without the teacher there, but it went fairly smoothly. I didn't realize that it takes about 45 minutes to prepare to print, and about 5 minutes to actually do the printing. It was fun though.

I also had to get a tire fixed this morning because there were two nails stuck in it! I'm glad that it got fixed, because it drives a WHOLE lot better! : )

SIGH

The crossing guards hate me. For those of you that don't know, I live between an elementary school and a K-12 private school. When I get to the end of my street to turn on to the busier road, there is a crossing guard stationed to my right (in front of the elementary school) and to my left (at the intersection). I think they must have walkie talkies or something, because unless I leave at an ungodly hour of the morning to get to work, they block me in! It's insane. I'll look to my left and see a line of Hummers and BMWs, and what not, coming my way, while to my right everything is clear. When that line to my left finally clears, another line starts in from the right. Not only that, but each car is the exact distance apart to keep me from being able to squeeze in between lines! I can just hear those smug crossing guards talking into their Walkie-Talkies *static* "Red 5, this is Rebel Base. Rudolph the red nosed SUV is out. GO! GO! GO!".

Last night, my best laid plans were almost null. I went to school to prepare my screen for printing this week, and had Mr. Crouse not been there, I'd still be in that studio this morning. Here is how it works. You have to take your screen and coat it with photographic emulsion, which is the consistency of elmers glue. You take a long metal trough and fill it with this gluey stuff. Then you press it up against the screen and slide it up the screen, and according to the teacher this is supposed to leave an even, thin film behind. Well, I held the tough backwards and I got that emulsion everywhere. Not only that, but when I finally got the thing coated, and the teacher went in there with me to check on it, the excess stuff had oozed down the frame and pooled at the bottom, and when he picked it up, it got all over him. THEN you have to let it dry. THEN you take a piece of paper that is ultra-violet proof and slide it under the dry screen and put it all on this glass table and expose it to the UV light. THEN you take the screen, and where the paper was, you now have a soft spot that you have to hose clean. So you grab a garden hose with a sprayer attachment and hose that sucker down until the soft spot has been cleaned off. THEN you have to wait for the screen to dry again. THEN you draw a picture on your screen and once that is the way you like it, you can start printing. Apparently, I'm retarded when it comes to screen printing. I was only going to stay there an hour so I could swing by Target before going home and making dinner, but it took me two hours. I still went by Target to get some stuff, and then I went home. Steve had made dinner (awwwwwww.....) and after I ate, I was going to clean. That didn't happen either. I'm about to the point where I think the only way I'll get my house clean is to burn it down and build another one. Too bad I don't have the courage to be an arsonist!

Tonight I have class again (Graphics and Screenprinting) and I'm going to make myself clean the kitchen when I get home. Want to take bets on whether it will happen? ; )

WEEKEND UPDATE

This weekend was more full than it had a right to be. Friday I had school and work, of course, and after work I went to Rhonda and Lee's house to mow the lawn. I don't know what Mr. Lee put of the grass, but it's beautiful! I don't usually call grass beautiful because I believe it's just glorified weeds, but their grass is dark green, thick, and soft! I hated to cut it or even walk on it! : )

Saturday I had to work, of course, and then I went to the gym. I don't know if it's just me, or what, but I almost died on the Stair Master! Actually, it's my fault for not knowing what is considered a "level". I was punching in my weight (yikes) and it asked me what level I wanted to start at. I just randomly punched in a 6, because that sounded like a good middle number. Apparently I was at an advanced level that only people who are in reasonably good shape can get through without dying. I actually had to stop and hang on to the sides of the machine until I wasn't seeing spots. Then I turned the level down to 1 and was able to finish my time. I'm such a wimp. Also, just a word to those who don't know, walking down stairs after you've just put yourself through unusual amounts of physical activity, is hard. I almost fell down the stairs due to jelly-legs. How embarrassing would that be?! When I got back down to the locker room, I opened the door and lo and behold, there was a lady with her breast out feeding her baby sitting right there in the doorway. Now, don't get me wrong, breastfeeding your kids is fine, I just don't want to see it. I mean, come on, there is plenty of locker room available for you to do that in, must you sit in the doorway and do it? Jeez... I didn't know what to do! I just sort of ran past her. I wish I hadn't seen that. After I got home and ready again, we went to see Bill Engvall, the "Here's Your Sign" comedian. He was hilarious!!!!! I'd never seen a comedian in person before, and I really enjoyed it!

Sunday was just a weird day. I felt funny when I got up and while we were at church all I could think about was that I wanted to go home. I don't know what was wrong with me. I was at the point that I was almost in tears because I wanted to leave, but I have no idea why. I was able to make it through the service, but I practically ran out of the church and got into the Durango. Steve wanted to go to an Eagles picnic, and I hated to tell him I didn't want to go, so we went and had lunch and did a little bit of christmas shopping and went home. I was so glad to be home, and I didn't leave again for the rest of the day except to drive with Steve to get dinner. It was freaky. I hope that doesn't happen again.