I have a quandry.
Steve and I looked in the backyard the other day and we noticed that there was a lot more stuff back there than normal. I say stuff, because we don't have a clue what it is. We took some time today to go out there and pick it up, and we noticed that it was all stuff from next door. This has been going on since the new neighbors moved in, and we know that this stuff belongs to them. The quandry part of it all is this: we don't know if the kids next door are throwing this stuff into our yard, or if our dogs are somehow getting it another way. We've found all kinds of things, but there is a small chance that Cleatus and Kay Bob could have dragged it too close to the fence and Butler and Bear somehow pulled it underthe rest of the way. This little chance is the one thing keeping us from asking them to keep their junk on that side of the fence! We don't want to come across as jerks to these people (who have a warped sense of who we are anyway), but I'm tired of their trash showing up over here. We are getting concerned that they are throwing things over here that are being eaten by the dogs. We find pieces of toy cars and tools with handles missing and the like. I just wish we could just once catch the kids doing it. If I ever do, I have a feeling I might run out there and throw the bucket of dog water on them! That would be rude, though. : P
In other news, I made a Gooey Butter Cake this morning! It is actually verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry good! The recipe is from the Lady and Sons cookbook, and I made it for Josh, who told us that they are really popular in St. Louis. Of course, I have a feeling that to Josh, it won't be made well enough or up to St. Louis standards...but he can bite me. I'm being nice, and I already know it tastes good! So there! heeheehee.
Tonight we plan on going to a party, thrown by the afore mentioned Josh, in his new casa. We are going to have a ton of food and everything else. It'll be fun. : ) One thing, though, is that he's invited a couple who are constantly fighting, but I hope they can put it all aside while we're there. There is nothing quite as uncomfortable as trying to look at everything else but two people who are really arguing. Bickering is one thing, unmitigated hatred and venom is another. I guess I could throw a bucket of water on them too, if I have to! ; )
To everyone who reads this, I hope you have a great and blessed new year!
Saturday, December 31, 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Ew.
This morning, I was driving to work when I decided to open the bottle of juice that I had in my lunch sack. Well, it's not so much juice as a smoothie with kind of the consistancy of thin baby food. Anyways, something told me not to do it, but I ignored that voice in my head and did it any way. At the 4 way stop near the house, the juice bottle suddenly wrenched its self out of my grasp. I say this because there was no other good reason why I should have dropped it. I wasn't moving, I wasn't car dancing, I was just sitting there. Well, I saw the bottle start to fall in slow motion, like in the movies. I tried to catch it, but I didn't, and it spilled all over my leg, the seat, and into the pocket on the door. I sat there making a helpless gutteral noise, hoping that I would be able to get to work without anyone noticing. Oh, and I was holding up traffic. So I came to the realization that a giant orange colored splotch on my pants would be noticed, and I had to turn around and go home. When I got there, I had to get out of Rudolph, which is pretty high off of the ground, so I couldn't just step out, I had to slide out, further mashing smoothie-juice-pulp into the butt of my pants. Let me tell you, walking outside with cold, wet pants isn't in any way fun. I finally got inside, threw my pants in the washing machine and found more pants. Then I had to go out and clean the interior of my car, which I'm pretty sure is still going to smell like orange-mango smoothie no matter how carfully I looked for the stuff. To add insult to injury, I fired off an e-mail to one of the guys in my office to let them know I'd be late, dreading the jokes that would no doubt be made at my expense the whole way back to work. I just hoped that they would get most of it out of their system before I got there. When I did finally get to work, I was the first one here...so now I'm just cringing in my chair, waiting to see if anyone walks down to my office to make fun of me. Maybe not. Oy!
This morning, I was driving to work when I decided to open the bottle of juice that I had in my lunch sack. Well, it's not so much juice as a smoothie with kind of the consistancy of thin baby food. Anyways, something told me not to do it, but I ignored that voice in my head and did it any way. At the 4 way stop near the house, the juice bottle suddenly wrenched its self out of my grasp. I say this because there was no other good reason why I should have dropped it. I wasn't moving, I wasn't car dancing, I was just sitting there. Well, I saw the bottle start to fall in slow motion, like in the movies. I tried to catch it, but I didn't, and it spilled all over my leg, the seat, and into the pocket on the door. I sat there making a helpless gutteral noise, hoping that I would be able to get to work without anyone noticing. Oh, and I was holding up traffic. So I came to the realization that a giant orange colored splotch on my pants would be noticed, and I had to turn around and go home. When I got there, I had to get out of Rudolph, which is pretty high off of the ground, so I couldn't just step out, I had to slide out, further mashing smoothie-juice-pulp into the butt of my pants. Let me tell you, walking outside with cold, wet pants isn't in any way fun. I finally got inside, threw my pants in the washing machine and found more pants. Then I had to go out and clean the interior of my car, which I'm pretty sure is still going to smell like orange-mango smoothie no matter how carfully I looked for the stuff. To add insult to injury, I fired off an e-mail to one of the guys in my office to let them know I'd be late, dreading the jokes that would no doubt be made at my expense the whole way back to work. I just hoped that they would get most of it out of their system before I got there. When I did finally get to work, I was the first one here...so now I'm just cringing in my chair, waiting to see if anyone walks down to my office to make fun of me. Maybe not. Oy!
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
The Year of the Cookbook.
That was the theme of this Christmas for me. As of last night, I realized that I have received 12 of them this year! I'm excited about possibly making something out of them! As you know, I love the cookbooks that are either unusual, from specific places or have a specific theme. This year I got some of each! So if you come to dinner at some point this year, I will possibly be making something from Rome, London, New Orleans (that last one struck me as terribly sad...it was full of resturaunts and places that no longer exist), or Savannah. I might make a fancy Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner or maybe something just for two people. Maybe I'll just make soup, cause I now have a book specifically for that, or I'll be making something Greek, Thai, or Spanish. For dessert, I will make Wookie Cookies from my Star Wars Cookbook, if for no other reason than it is SO much fun to say. : ) Now, the next order of business is learning how to actually cook. The Adventure Begins!
I found a grey hair! It's so pretty! The woman in my family have absolutely beautiful white hair when they get older, so I hope that I follow suit. Of course, I say this now...
I know I haven't been in my job long enough when get excited when I see something I designed actually in print. Space Camp has a deal with Arby's, starting in February, where they will have space related stuff in the kids meals. There is this really awesome little cardboard punch-out lunar rover that you fold and put together. I had nothing to do with that, BUT I did make the tiny little diagrams on how to put them together! Simple cat, simple pleasures.
That was the theme of this Christmas for me. As of last night, I realized that I have received 12 of them this year! I'm excited about possibly making something out of them! As you know, I love the cookbooks that are either unusual, from specific places or have a specific theme. This year I got some of each! So if you come to dinner at some point this year, I will possibly be making something from Rome, London, New Orleans (that last one struck me as terribly sad...it was full of resturaunts and places that no longer exist), or Savannah. I might make a fancy Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner or maybe something just for two people. Maybe I'll just make soup, cause I now have a book specifically for that, or I'll be making something Greek, Thai, or Spanish. For dessert, I will make Wookie Cookies from my Star Wars Cookbook, if for no other reason than it is SO much fun to say. : ) Now, the next order of business is learning how to actually cook. The Adventure Begins!
I found a grey hair! It's so pretty! The woman in my family have absolutely beautiful white hair when they get older, so I hope that I follow suit. Of course, I say this now...
I know I haven't been in my job long enough when get excited when I see something I designed actually in print. Space Camp has a deal with Arby's, starting in February, where they will have space related stuff in the kids meals. There is this really awesome little cardboard punch-out lunar rover that you fold and put together. I had nothing to do with that, BUT I did make the tiny little diagrams on how to put them together! Simple cat, simple pleasures.
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Welcome to the Special Holiday Edition of my Weekend Update!
Hmmmm, feels as if I should have a musical number to kick this off. Nah, I'll save it for another time. : )
If I had never known how blessed I was before, I would certainly have found out this past week/weekend. It was a perfectly amazing parfait of everything lovely and fun. God has blessed me with so many wonderful things and people in my life, and I'm very sure I don't deserve any of them. Maybe that's why I'm so grateful for it all. : )
Thursday night was the time Steve and I had set aside to do our own little Christmas. He had already let it slip what he was getting me, the Williams-Sonoma cookbooks that I collect (not to mention he couldn't resist giving me three of them at varying intervals before Christmas too), but I was still excited. I had been finding him a few little things here and there, and so we exchanged our gifts and had fun looking them over. After all of that, he asked me to come sit next to him for a while. He gave me a hug and said "So, did you get everything you wanted?" (A line we are all familiar with due to the ubiquitous "A Christmas Story") so I took the que and said "Well, almost". He leaned forward and pointed and said "well, what is that in there?" Of course, I didn't know what he was talking about, so I just laughed. He said "No, really, I think I saw something in our room." So we walked back to the bedroom, and there was a HUGE box on the bed. Needless to say, I hadn't had any idea about another gift, so I was surprised. I was so taken aback, that I didn't open it right away. In fact, I was a little scared of it...pretty sure there was something alive in it (don't ask me why). So Steve finally told me to open it, and I did. He had gotten me an iMac G5, with all the bells and whistles! I was completely floored! Not only had he not let it slip that he had gotten this for me, he had managed not to give it to me before hand! It was awesome! So of course, we set it up right away. : ) Now I can make all of my movies and DVDs at home, I can video conference (someone out there, PLEASE get a camera so I can do this), and everything else that iMacs do! It was totally unexpected! Of course, one of the first things I did was cause it to crash - and now it's at the Mac Resourse place getting fixed (doh!) but still, what an amazingly thoughtful gift! Thank you Steve! : )
Friday was set to be a kind of Blah day, but it turned into anything but. In fact, it was Anti-Blah, if there is such a thing! There was really nothing for me to do at work so I had brought a few things to keep me busy, and my-very-favorite-Kenny was meeting me at the SpRocket for lunch. I puttered around the office until he got there, and we had such a good time! Since I don't get to see him that often, I always forget how much fun it is to spend the day with him. When we were younger, and I lived in Athens, he would come to visit his grandparents for Christmas and we would always pick a day, or a couple of hours at least, to go out and act silly. I'm glad to know things haven't changed that much. : ) Everyone should have a day of acting silly, in my opinion. We exchanged gifts, both of us had gotten each other books. He got me three very awesome cookbooks (I think I'm going to have to learn to cook!), one from a place in Savannah called "Lady & Sons" resturaunt. I think I gained six pounds just reading the recipes! I don't think I have ever seen the call for more butter in my life! He also, wonderful man that he is, remembered my weakness and gave me a little box of Godiva.
*moment of silence*
Okay, whew! After that we just sat and talked for hours about everything, and to end the day, of course I had to show him the sunset view from the roof. I mean, how often do you get to see the sun set behind the only standing model of the Saturn V? I also had to reach back into the dusty cobwebs of my memory to try and tell him what all of the other things in the park were, but to be fair, it's been about 8 years since I gave THAT tour. : )
Saturday was Christmas Eve, and we always spend that at my Grandmother's house for Lunch. We ate, and ate...and ate, and sat around talking for a while. It's like a mini class reunion for me whenever this part of my family gets together. My cousin Scott and I were in the same class at school, and he and my other cousin Michael both married girls from our class as well. Together with my sister's kids, I think there were about 7 kids in all with us that day, but I can't be sure because it seemed like a lot more before we left! The adults played "Dirty Santa", but there was very little stealing this year. I ended up with a candle with the scent "Bird of Paradise". It smells good, but I'm not sure that's what a bird of paradise smells like. The smaller kids didn't understand the game, and when my dad got a gift card from my Aunt Delilah, her grandkids ganged up on him and took it back. It was like a tiny little battle of Gettysburg! When we explained that it was okay to do take the things from others in this game, he finally got it back. : ) After Grandmother's lunch, we went to Steve's parent's house to open gifts and have dinner. We had a great time there, too, but we were so tired that we didn't stay late. We went home and I think I made it to about 9:30 before I fell asleep.
Sunday was a wonderful Christmas day. We went to church for the worship service that morning, and then headed over to my parent's house to have snacks and open gifts. My youngest nephew, Seth, was foaming at the mouth to open gifts. I finally had to tell him that every time he told us to hurry up, we would wait another hour to open gifts. I know, I know...but it was the only way we got to talk or eat. My mom always makes this huge buffet of finger foods, so of course, we took full advantage. : ) We opened our gifts, and I showed everyone the birthday DVD that I had made for Steve, and afterwards my sister, me, Steve and Seth played a game of giant Jenga. The Jenga tower was about three feet tall, and it's HARD to play! It was a lot of fun, though. Steve was the one who knocked it over in the end. I think I like games that end with a loser rather than a winner! heeheehee. After that, we went back to Steve's mom and dad's house to open our stockings. Now, the Pratt tradition of opening stockings is different than anyone elses that I've ever heard of. Instead of actual stockings, we all have big gift bags and everything in them are wrapped. A stick of gum, wrapped. A fridge magnet, wrapped. I was in charge of stockings this year since Rhonda has been sick, and I think I went a little overboard. It took us the better part of two hours to open the stockings! It was a lot of fun, though. We also had dinner with them and Steve pulled out the two movies that they insist on watching every year. "Christmas Comes to Willow Creek" and "Babes in Toyland". For the past few years, I have refused to watch either of them, so I found a novel and read it while the movies were on. That might sound a bit rude, I guess, but you'd probably feel the same way if it were you. "Babes in Toyland" just scares me, I don't know why. It's really not any different from any other Disney film made back then, I guess, but it creeps me out. "Christmas Comes to Willow Creek" is the cenematic equivelent to jamming dull pencils into your eye sockets. I'm not kidding. It's schmaltzy, it's cheesy, and it's probably got more cliche moments per second than any other movie ever made. If a movie called, "The Movie of Christmas Cliches" was ever made, it STILL wouldn't be like this one. It stars Tom Wopat and John Schneider (post Dukes of Hazzard I think) as brothers who hated each other. Their ailling father asks them to drive a semi-truck full of gifts and supplies to a tiny failing Alaskian town, who wouldn't have Christmas without it. They would have to work together to get it to them on time, so not just one brother could do it. Of course, you can probably guess the rest. I saw this movie once, about 6 years ago, and I still twitch whenever I see the tape case come out of the closet. I avoid it as if it were an Ebola sandwhich.
All in all, bad movies or not, I had a truly blessed and wonderful Christmas. Now, I suppose, it's time to get back to the real world.
Hmmmm, feels as if I should have a musical number to kick this off. Nah, I'll save it for another time. : )
If I had never known how blessed I was before, I would certainly have found out this past week/weekend. It was a perfectly amazing parfait of everything lovely and fun. God has blessed me with so many wonderful things and people in my life, and I'm very sure I don't deserve any of them. Maybe that's why I'm so grateful for it all. : )
Thursday night was the time Steve and I had set aside to do our own little Christmas. He had already let it slip what he was getting me, the Williams-Sonoma cookbooks that I collect (not to mention he couldn't resist giving me three of them at varying intervals before Christmas too), but I was still excited. I had been finding him a few little things here and there, and so we exchanged our gifts and had fun looking them over. After all of that, he asked me to come sit next to him for a while. He gave me a hug and said "So, did you get everything you wanted?" (A line we are all familiar with due to the ubiquitous "A Christmas Story") so I took the que and said "Well, almost". He leaned forward and pointed and said "well, what is that in there?" Of course, I didn't know what he was talking about, so I just laughed. He said "No, really, I think I saw something in our room." So we walked back to the bedroom, and there was a HUGE box on the bed. Needless to say, I hadn't had any idea about another gift, so I was surprised. I was so taken aback, that I didn't open it right away. In fact, I was a little scared of it...pretty sure there was something alive in it (don't ask me why). So Steve finally told me to open it, and I did. He had gotten me an iMac G5, with all the bells and whistles! I was completely floored! Not only had he not let it slip that he had gotten this for me, he had managed not to give it to me before hand! It was awesome! So of course, we set it up right away. : ) Now I can make all of my movies and DVDs at home, I can video conference (someone out there, PLEASE get a camera so I can do this), and everything else that iMacs do! It was totally unexpected! Of course, one of the first things I did was cause it to crash - and now it's at the Mac Resourse place getting fixed (doh!) but still, what an amazingly thoughtful gift! Thank you Steve! : )
Friday was set to be a kind of Blah day, but it turned into anything but. In fact, it was Anti-Blah, if there is such a thing! There was really nothing for me to do at work so I had brought a few things to keep me busy, and my-very-favorite-Kenny was meeting me at the SpRocket for lunch. I puttered around the office until he got there, and we had such a good time! Since I don't get to see him that often, I always forget how much fun it is to spend the day with him. When we were younger, and I lived in Athens, he would come to visit his grandparents for Christmas and we would always pick a day, or a couple of hours at least, to go out and act silly. I'm glad to know things haven't changed that much. : ) Everyone should have a day of acting silly, in my opinion. We exchanged gifts, both of us had gotten each other books. He got me three very awesome cookbooks (I think I'm going to have to learn to cook!), one from a place in Savannah called "Lady & Sons" resturaunt. I think I gained six pounds just reading the recipes! I don't think I have ever seen the call for more butter in my life! He also, wonderful man that he is, remembered my weakness and gave me a little box of Godiva.
*moment of silence*
Okay, whew! After that we just sat and talked for hours about everything, and to end the day, of course I had to show him the sunset view from the roof. I mean, how often do you get to see the sun set behind the only standing model of the Saturn V? I also had to reach back into the dusty cobwebs of my memory to try and tell him what all of the other things in the park were, but to be fair, it's been about 8 years since I gave THAT tour. : )
Saturday was Christmas Eve, and we always spend that at my Grandmother's house for Lunch. We ate, and ate...and ate, and sat around talking for a while. It's like a mini class reunion for me whenever this part of my family gets together. My cousin Scott and I were in the same class at school, and he and my other cousin Michael both married girls from our class as well. Together with my sister's kids, I think there were about 7 kids in all with us that day, but I can't be sure because it seemed like a lot more before we left! The adults played "Dirty Santa", but there was very little stealing this year. I ended up with a candle with the scent "Bird of Paradise". It smells good, but I'm not sure that's what a bird of paradise smells like. The smaller kids didn't understand the game, and when my dad got a gift card from my Aunt Delilah, her grandkids ganged up on him and took it back. It was like a tiny little battle of Gettysburg! When we explained that it was okay to do take the things from others in this game, he finally got it back. : ) After Grandmother's lunch, we went to Steve's parent's house to open gifts and have dinner. We had a great time there, too, but we were so tired that we didn't stay late. We went home and I think I made it to about 9:30 before I fell asleep.
Sunday was a wonderful Christmas day. We went to church for the worship service that morning, and then headed over to my parent's house to have snacks and open gifts. My youngest nephew, Seth, was foaming at the mouth to open gifts. I finally had to tell him that every time he told us to hurry up, we would wait another hour to open gifts. I know, I know...but it was the only way we got to talk or eat. My mom always makes this huge buffet of finger foods, so of course, we took full advantage. : ) We opened our gifts, and I showed everyone the birthday DVD that I had made for Steve, and afterwards my sister, me, Steve and Seth played a game of giant Jenga. The Jenga tower was about three feet tall, and it's HARD to play! It was a lot of fun, though. Steve was the one who knocked it over in the end. I think I like games that end with a loser rather than a winner! heeheehee. After that, we went back to Steve's mom and dad's house to open our stockings. Now, the Pratt tradition of opening stockings is different than anyone elses that I've ever heard of. Instead of actual stockings, we all have big gift bags and everything in them are wrapped. A stick of gum, wrapped. A fridge magnet, wrapped. I was in charge of stockings this year since Rhonda has been sick, and I think I went a little overboard. It took us the better part of two hours to open the stockings! It was a lot of fun, though. We also had dinner with them and Steve pulled out the two movies that they insist on watching every year. "Christmas Comes to Willow Creek" and "Babes in Toyland". For the past few years, I have refused to watch either of them, so I found a novel and read it while the movies were on. That might sound a bit rude, I guess, but you'd probably feel the same way if it were you. "Babes in Toyland" just scares me, I don't know why. It's really not any different from any other Disney film made back then, I guess, but it creeps me out. "Christmas Comes to Willow Creek" is the cenematic equivelent to jamming dull pencils into your eye sockets. I'm not kidding. It's schmaltzy, it's cheesy, and it's probably got more cliche moments per second than any other movie ever made. If a movie called, "The Movie of Christmas Cliches" was ever made, it STILL wouldn't be like this one. It stars Tom Wopat and John Schneider (post Dukes of Hazzard I think) as brothers who hated each other. Their ailling father asks them to drive a semi-truck full of gifts and supplies to a tiny failing Alaskian town, who wouldn't have Christmas without it. They would have to work together to get it to them on time, so not just one brother could do it. Of course, you can probably guess the rest. I saw this movie once, about 6 years ago, and I still twitch whenever I see the tape case come out of the closet. I avoid it as if it were an Ebola sandwhich.
All in all, bad movies or not, I had a truly blessed and wonderful Christmas. Now, I suppose, it's time to get back to the real world.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Ooooooooh, Ijust realized that this is my 400th post! Woo-hoo!
However, what will really bake your noodle is whether or not I would have posted that if the dashboard hadn't told me what number I was on.
There is no spoon...
Anyway, I had forgotten to say anything in my last post about my grades. They were officially posted today. I made an A- in Medieval Art History, an A- in Lithography, and a C in Algebra. I NEVER HAVE TO TAKE A MATH CLASS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*flips on iTunes to K.C. and the Sunshine Band and does a celebratory happy dance*
*pauses to write a little more*
Next semester I will be taking my first 400 level Graphic Design course, Ancient Greek History, and a one night a week Yoga class. I'm excited about everything but the Greek History at this point, but I'll at least have a better idea how to handle the coursework since it's the same professor.
*resumes music and happy dance*
However, what will really bake your noodle is whether or not I would have posted that if the dashboard hadn't told me what number I was on.
There is no spoon...
Anyway, I had forgotten to say anything in my last post about my grades. They were officially posted today. I made an A- in Medieval Art History, an A- in Lithography, and a C in Algebra. I NEVER HAVE TO TAKE A MATH CLASS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*flips on iTunes to K.C. and the Sunshine Band and does a celebratory happy dance*
*pauses to write a little more*
Next semester I will be taking my first 400 level Graphic Design course, Ancient Greek History, and a one night a week Yoga class. I'm excited about everything but the Greek History at this point, but I'll at least have a better idea how to handle the coursework since it's the same professor.
*resumes music and happy dance*
Oy to the world...
Before I write, let me just say that I do indeed love my husband...no matter how it may appear sometimes.
Last night was kind of a mess. Remember when I said I was done shopping? I wasn't! I was wrapping gifts the other night and realized that two very important family members had inadvertently been left off of my list. Steve and I had planned on meeting at home after work and doing this last little bit of shopping together. He doesn't normally shop for gifts, that's my thing, but I asked if he would go with me so that I could be restrained when a holiday stressed soccermom shoved me out of the way for the last iDog...or whatever. Anyways, I get a call close to 5 that he (being the nice and helpful guy he is) had agreed to help Josh return the trailor that they had borrowed and go to dinner. I wish I could say I was gracious about this, but I wasn't. I had a lot to do without this distraction, so I emotionally beat him about the head and shoulders for a few minutes and then promptly forgave him. : ) Anyways, so we get the trailer and they decide that they want to eat...at the mall. The thinking was that Steve and I could eat and then finish our shopping. Fair enough, makes sense, convenient...good idea. But we end up going to one of the sit down resturaunts which takes a while. Then we finally leave to shop. I knew what I wanted to get for one person, the other was a mystery. Josh needed to get a gift for his new girlfriend's mom, and so we spent some time looking for something with a lighthouse on it. Score, we find something! Of course, it takes him a while to decide if that is indeed what he wanted to get. The store I needed was on the other end of the mall, so I figure we will make our way back there. However, Josh realized that he needed another gift, so we end up stopping at one of those overpriced chotchki places that are so stuffed with merchandise that if you happen to burp too loud, you shatter a shelf full of crystal animals and Gone With the Wind figurines. Anyways, so we look around there for a while...and I mean a WHILE. Anything I suggested, he shot down. He had asked me for help, and wouldn't take it, so I went outside of the store with Steve and we waited for him to come out. That didn't happen. I finally had to lean in and call for him to come on. We went into another shop, where Steve found the answer to out mystery gift problem and we went back upstairs towards the store I needed to go in. Right next to that store is a toy store. Steve stops and says..."Let's look at Star Wars stuff", and I told him he(and the horse he rode in on) could go in there while I looked for the other gift. I found what I was looking for and went back for Steve, but he wasn't in the toy store anymore. I thought, great...he's gone to look for me so that means I'll never find him. You know how that is. Why is it that you can buy harnesses for children, but not husbands? Just strap on the bracelet and you can drag him around without his getting away from you! Surprisingly enough, we found each other quickly and decided to wait until we could compare some prices before we bought the last gift. I also ended up helping Josh carry his purchases, which were considerable, while Steve went to get the truck. We didn't get home until late, so I couldn't do any of the other things that I had planned. In fact, I pretty much waited until the dogs were in bed and I went to bed too. It had been a super long day.
Before you just believe that I'm completely evil (I'm not...completely), I need to explain that I was tired from work and uncomfortably dressed. I was wearing my super villian spikey heeled boots, hose, and a skirt. These things are fine when you are at work sitting in front of a computer, but for what ended up being a 5 hour shopping trip, walking about and standing, they are BAD. Not to mention that every time I looked at the clock, I realized I would have less and less time to do anything once I got home. Granted, it's not a good reason for getting irritated at Steve and Josh, but it was my reason!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The Tea wisdom for today is:
"A secret is as near as your own silence"
I can't believe it! That actually makes sense!
Joyuex Noel!
Before I write, let me just say that I do indeed love my husband...no matter how it may appear sometimes.
Last night was kind of a mess. Remember when I said I was done shopping? I wasn't! I was wrapping gifts the other night and realized that two very important family members had inadvertently been left off of my list. Steve and I had planned on meeting at home after work and doing this last little bit of shopping together. He doesn't normally shop for gifts, that's my thing, but I asked if he would go with me so that I could be restrained when a holiday stressed soccermom shoved me out of the way for the last iDog...or whatever. Anyways, I get a call close to 5 that he (being the nice and helpful guy he is) had agreed to help Josh return the trailor that they had borrowed and go to dinner. I wish I could say I was gracious about this, but I wasn't. I had a lot to do without this distraction, so I emotionally beat him about the head and shoulders for a few minutes and then promptly forgave him. : ) Anyways, so we get the trailer and they decide that they want to eat...at the mall. The thinking was that Steve and I could eat and then finish our shopping. Fair enough, makes sense, convenient...good idea. But we end up going to one of the sit down resturaunts which takes a while. Then we finally leave to shop. I knew what I wanted to get for one person, the other was a mystery. Josh needed to get a gift for his new girlfriend's mom, and so we spent some time looking for something with a lighthouse on it. Score, we find something! Of course, it takes him a while to decide if that is indeed what he wanted to get. The store I needed was on the other end of the mall, so I figure we will make our way back there. However, Josh realized that he needed another gift, so we end up stopping at one of those overpriced chotchki places that are so stuffed with merchandise that if you happen to burp too loud, you shatter a shelf full of crystal animals and Gone With the Wind figurines. Anyways, so we look around there for a while...and I mean a WHILE. Anything I suggested, he shot down. He had asked me for help, and wouldn't take it, so I went outside of the store with Steve and we waited for him to come out. That didn't happen. I finally had to lean in and call for him to come on. We went into another shop, where Steve found the answer to out mystery gift problem and we went back upstairs towards the store I needed to go in. Right next to that store is a toy store. Steve stops and says..."Let's look at Star Wars stuff", and I told him he(and the horse he rode in on) could go in there while I looked for the other gift. I found what I was looking for and went back for Steve, but he wasn't in the toy store anymore. I thought, great...he's gone to look for me so that means I'll never find him. You know how that is. Why is it that you can buy harnesses for children, but not husbands? Just strap on the bracelet and you can drag him around without his getting away from you! Surprisingly enough, we found each other quickly and decided to wait until we could compare some prices before we bought the last gift. I also ended up helping Josh carry his purchases, which were considerable, while Steve went to get the truck. We didn't get home until late, so I couldn't do any of the other things that I had planned. In fact, I pretty much waited until the dogs were in bed and I went to bed too. It had been a super long day.
Before you just believe that I'm completely evil (I'm not...completely), I need to explain that I was tired from work and uncomfortably dressed. I was wearing my super villian spikey heeled boots, hose, and a skirt. These things are fine when you are at work sitting in front of a computer, but for what ended up being a 5 hour shopping trip, walking about and standing, they are BAD. Not to mention that every time I looked at the clock, I realized I would have less and less time to do anything once I got home. Granted, it's not a good reason for getting irritated at Steve and Josh, but it was my reason!
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. The Tea wisdom for today is:
"A secret is as near as your own silence"
I can't believe it! That actually makes sense!
Joyuex Noel!
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
"In each cup brew a thousand stories"
Well, I guess if a thousand monkeys brewed a thousand cups of tea for a thousand years...
Did I ever mention that I am the coolest wife ever? Heeheehee, well, maybe not, but I was able to pull of a birthday surprise for Steve that I'm awful proud of. Last week I had taken my camera to work to upload some pictures, and I got an idea for something I could do for Steve. The camera takes short clips of digital video, and I got the idea to have his friends here say happy birthday to him. I also have a couple of fairly awesome programs on my work computer that I want to learn how to use, iMovie and iDVD, so that I can do slideshows with music or learn editing to string together digital media if I'm ever required to do so for the SpRocket. Anyways, I got everyone I could think of that was here to say happy birthday, plus one of our friends from church, plus Josh and my family were all in on it. I wanted his parents to be on it too, but I never had enough time alone with them to get a clip of them. I used iMovie to create a title sequence that looked like a trailor for a disaster movie, and a sequence of calling him old interspace with pictures of old people and stuff. I was going to wait until his birthday, but I couldn't stand it, so I told him to come to the SpRocket because I had a birthday surprise for him. Our friend, Anthony, used the digital projector to show his birthday in IMAX! He loved it. In case you work with him and want to see it, he has a copy of it with him today. If not, hopefully one day I can figure out how to post a link to it on the web. : )
Well, I guess if a thousand monkeys brewed a thousand cups of tea for a thousand years...
Did I ever mention that I am the coolest wife ever? Heeheehee, well, maybe not, but I was able to pull of a birthday surprise for Steve that I'm awful proud of. Last week I had taken my camera to work to upload some pictures, and I got an idea for something I could do for Steve. The camera takes short clips of digital video, and I got the idea to have his friends here say happy birthday to him. I also have a couple of fairly awesome programs on my work computer that I want to learn how to use, iMovie and iDVD, so that I can do slideshows with music or learn editing to string together digital media if I'm ever required to do so for the SpRocket. Anyways, I got everyone I could think of that was here to say happy birthday, plus one of our friends from church, plus Josh and my family were all in on it. I wanted his parents to be on it too, but I never had enough time alone with them to get a clip of them. I used iMovie to create a title sequence that looked like a trailor for a disaster movie, and a sequence of calling him old interspace with pictures of old people and stuff. I was going to wait until his birthday, but I couldn't stand it, so I told him to come to the SpRocket because I had a birthday surprise for him. Our friend, Anthony, used the digital projector to show his birthday in IMAX! He loved it. In case you work with him and want to see it, he has a copy of it with him today. If not, hopefully one day I can figure out how to post a link to it on the web. : )
Monday, December 19, 2005
Weekend Update!
This weekend was very, very, busy, but I had a lot of fun in the process of being busy! It's been so long since I have had fun, I almost didn't know what to do with myself.
Friday after work, I was supposed to go to Josh's new house for a house warming party. Well, actually, I was supposed to go there to cook for a house warming party. This was the first time that I had ever known anyone to close, move in, and have a party all in one day. Steve had had the day off to help Josh move, so I had to leave work a little early to go home and take care of some stuff for him, and then I went to Target to get some food and supplies for the party. Have I mentioned how much I hate shopping at Christmas time? You know, I realize that people have to put things off until the last minute sometimes, but can you explain to me why they lose any shred of human decency in the process? I was almost run over, stomped on, and hit by cars. I was able to get in and out with what I needed in a very short amount of time, amazingly enough. At this point though, I was running late. I knew I was supposed to be at Josh's house before 6, but I knew that wasn't going to happen, so I just figured that they could deal with eating a little later. : ) So after searching a while, I finally found his subdivision, which turns out not to be that far away from where I grew up in good ol' Limestone County. He now lives in one of those labarynth type new subdivisions where all of the houses are about 3 feet apart on both sides, so finding his actual house was more difficult than anything. I finally arrived, gathered all of the groceries, and went to the door. No one was there. I knocked and rang the doorbell, just in case someone was in another room, but nothing. I stood there feeling slightly silly, holding about 8 plastic Target bags and peering into all of the windows I could reach. At first I thought maybe I had gone to the wrong house, but when I looked in the windows, I saw some of his unmistakeable furniture. Well, I thought, wherever they are they'll be back soon, so I dropped all of the bags and had a seat on the porch. They actually didn't come back as quickly as I had hoped, so I sat out there long enough to start to worry about dying of hypothermia. Also, this neighbor lady kept driving by in her car, slowing down to stare at me and make sure I wasn't doing anything weird. I wanted to stop her and say "Ma'am, I'm the new breed of theif. Instead of taking things and causing damage, I bring food and set up for parties. Like a renagade Martha Stewart." Granted, I know she was probably just concerned, but if I wasn't doing anything but sitting there for her first two drive bys, it's a safe guess that I will not be doing anything the next three times you drive by. Oh, and it's a cul de sac, so I am going to notice the same car driving by many times. Way to be stealthy there, Mrs. Smith. Anyways, they FINALLY got there, and we started unpacking and putting kitchen things away. I fired up the stove and started making the snacks. I burned the heck out of my finger by being stupid, dropping a pan full of frozen mozzarella sticks under the glowing red thingies in the bottom of the stove in the process. We finally got everything cooked, we sat back and watched "It's a Wonderful Life" and proceded to have a very nice evening. We didn't end up leaving until about 1:00 am, which is later than I usually stay up, but it was worth it! : )
Saturday was going to be a full day from the begining. I had so many things to do, as well as my company Christmas party that night. I can't believe it, but I actually gt organized by making a list, with sublists and bullets, just to make sure I didn't forget anything. First off, I had to finish off my Christmas cards...minus one since I forgot to bring the address home with me. I was going to print all of the envelopes since my handwriting is so messy, so it took a little longer than it should have. That done, I had to go out and finish my shopping. I have never shopped so efficently, or quickly, in my life. I made sure that all of my purchases could be made in the same strip mall, save one store, and I was in and out of all of them in record time. Once again, I did this to avoid the angry people who treat Christmas like a demolition derby! I got home and had lunch, and began working on making my jewelry for the party that night, and also on a totebag I was making for a lady at my church. I was having difficulty getting the iron on things to look right, so I wasn't paying attention to the time. I finally look at my watch and see that the Christmas party would be starting in about half an hour! So I had to wake up Steve, who had fallen asleep due to his cough medicine, and I started getting ready. I did decide to wear my vampire dress, at the request of my husband who apprently is disgusted by my lack of pigmentation and didn't want to have to look at too much of it. : ) Now, don't get me wrong, I love that dress. It's not really a creepy goth thing like I make it sound. It's actually more of a black and purple Medieval dress with big bell sleeves and laces up the front. The only thing I don't like about it is the neckline. Somehow, I can't feel safe with the front of my dress cut to mid-sternum. Well, we arrive at the Civic center, and there is no where to park. Well, we could have parked in a gravel lot about a block away from where we were going to be, but I was wearing heels and a black dress, so I would be darned if I'd risk breaking an ankle and getting dirty before I got to my the party. As we sat in the truck, were were surrounded by a river of folks who look like they were going to a rodeo. I haven't seen that many Wranglers, Ropers, and giant silver belt buckles since my high school graduation! We found out later that the mass of rednecks were headed to a Charlie Daniels, Gretchen Wilson, and someone else concert. Also, there were 7 parties going on there as well. Me thinks that the Civic Center overbooked a bit. At any rate, we finally found a parking place across the street and found the hall we were in. There were more people there than I expected, but we were so spread out that you couldn't tell who anyone was. Steve and I chose a table off in the corner, where we were accompanied by Anthony and Alan the computer guy and his wife. We had a ball. I don't know what made everything so funny, but we laughed and joked about the ladies who were misled in their wardrobe choices (and I know that sounds mean, but when you are clearly not a size 6, you shouldn't wear a size 6...you know?) and we sang along with the music...just had a good time. I'm afraid that I am going to have to start finding a new date for these events because Steve doesn't like to dance and will not dance unless it's a slow song. I can't dance either, but there comes a point where you just need to not worry about it and have fun. So me and Anthony danced out there for a while, I finally talked Steve into dancing to the "Play That Funky Music, White Boy" song, and I even did the electric slide. Why I did that, I will never understand. I suppose it's just a relief to know I'm doing some steps right, no matter how corny the dance. After that night, Steve and I have decided to take ballroom lessons. I was afraid that people were going to think I was drunk, because I went into "Having so much fun that I began to get silly" mode. However, I was not thankyouverymuch! We finally left after all of the door prizes were given out (which I didn't win one of) and we went home to let the dogs in and go to bed. It was a full, yet enjoyable, day.
Sunday was a lot more restful. Church and my parent's house for lunch, then stopping by Steve's parent's house to visit his mom (who is still really drained, so please keep her in your prayers) and after running a few errands, we got to go home. Steve still hasn't been feeling well, he found out a few days ago that he had bronchitus (?) so we stayed home while he rested and I wrapped gifts.
I like weekends...
This weekend was very, very, busy, but I had a lot of fun in the process of being busy! It's been so long since I have had fun, I almost didn't know what to do with myself.
Friday after work, I was supposed to go to Josh's new house for a house warming party. Well, actually, I was supposed to go there to cook for a house warming party. This was the first time that I had ever known anyone to close, move in, and have a party all in one day. Steve had had the day off to help Josh move, so I had to leave work a little early to go home and take care of some stuff for him, and then I went to Target to get some food and supplies for the party. Have I mentioned how much I hate shopping at Christmas time? You know, I realize that people have to put things off until the last minute sometimes, but can you explain to me why they lose any shred of human decency in the process? I was almost run over, stomped on, and hit by cars. I was able to get in and out with what I needed in a very short amount of time, amazingly enough. At this point though, I was running late. I knew I was supposed to be at Josh's house before 6, but I knew that wasn't going to happen, so I just figured that they could deal with eating a little later. : ) So after searching a while, I finally found his subdivision, which turns out not to be that far away from where I grew up in good ol' Limestone County. He now lives in one of those labarynth type new subdivisions where all of the houses are about 3 feet apart on both sides, so finding his actual house was more difficult than anything. I finally arrived, gathered all of the groceries, and went to the door. No one was there. I knocked and rang the doorbell, just in case someone was in another room, but nothing. I stood there feeling slightly silly, holding about 8 plastic Target bags and peering into all of the windows I could reach. At first I thought maybe I had gone to the wrong house, but when I looked in the windows, I saw some of his unmistakeable furniture. Well, I thought, wherever they are they'll be back soon, so I dropped all of the bags and had a seat on the porch. They actually didn't come back as quickly as I had hoped, so I sat out there long enough to start to worry about dying of hypothermia. Also, this neighbor lady kept driving by in her car, slowing down to stare at me and make sure I wasn't doing anything weird. I wanted to stop her and say "Ma'am, I'm the new breed of theif. Instead of taking things and causing damage, I bring food and set up for parties. Like a renagade Martha Stewart." Granted, I know she was probably just concerned, but if I wasn't doing anything but sitting there for her first two drive bys, it's a safe guess that I will not be doing anything the next three times you drive by. Oh, and it's a cul de sac, so I am going to notice the same car driving by many times. Way to be stealthy there, Mrs. Smith. Anyways, they FINALLY got there, and we started unpacking and putting kitchen things away. I fired up the stove and started making the snacks. I burned the heck out of my finger by being stupid, dropping a pan full of frozen mozzarella sticks under the glowing red thingies in the bottom of the stove in the process. We finally got everything cooked, we sat back and watched "It's a Wonderful Life" and proceded to have a very nice evening. We didn't end up leaving until about 1:00 am, which is later than I usually stay up, but it was worth it! : )
Saturday was going to be a full day from the begining. I had so many things to do, as well as my company Christmas party that night. I can't believe it, but I actually gt organized by making a list, with sublists and bullets, just to make sure I didn't forget anything. First off, I had to finish off my Christmas cards...minus one since I forgot to bring the address home with me. I was going to print all of the envelopes since my handwriting is so messy, so it took a little longer than it should have. That done, I had to go out and finish my shopping. I have never shopped so efficently, or quickly, in my life. I made sure that all of my purchases could be made in the same strip mall, save one store, and I was in and out of all of them in record time. Once again, I did this to avoid the angry people who treat Christmas like a demolition derby! I got home and had lunch, and began working on making my jewelry for the party that night, and also on a totebag I was making for a lady at my church. I was having difficulty getting the iron on things to look right, so I wasn't paying attention to the time. I finally look at my watch and see that the Christmas party would be starting in about half an hour! So I had to wake up Steve, who had fallen asleep due to his cough medicine, and I started getting ready. I did decide to wear my vampire dress, at the request of my husband who apprently is disgusted by my lack of pigmentation and didn't want to have to look at too much of it. : ) Now, don't get me wrong, I love that dress. It's not really a creepy goth thing like I make it sound. It's actually more of a black and purple Medieval dress with big bell sleeves and laces up the front. The only thing I don't like about it is the neckline. Somehow, I can't feel safe with the front of my dress cut to mid-sternum. Well, we arrive at the Civic center, and there is no where to park. Well, we could have parked in a gravel lot about a block away from where we were going to be, but I was wearing heels and a black dress, so I would be darned if I'd risk breaking an ankle and getting dirty before I got to my the party. As we sat in the truck, were were surrounded by a river of folks who look like they were going to a rodeo. I haven't seen that many Wranglers, Ropers, and giant silver belt buckles since my high school graduation! We found out later that the mass of rednecks were headed to a Charlie Daniels, Gretchen Wilson, and someone else concert. Also, there were 7 parties going on there as well. Me thinks that the Civic Center overbooked a bit. At any rate, we finally found a parking place across the street and found the hall we were in. There were more people there than I expected, but we were so spread out that you couldn't tell who anyone was. Steve and I chose a table off in the corner, where we were accompanied by Anthony and Alan the computer guy and his wife. We had a ball. I don't know what made everything so funny, but we laughed and joked about the ladies who were misled in their wardrobe choices (and I know that sounds mean, but when you are clearly not a size 6, you shouldn't wear a size 6...you know?) and we sang along with the music...just had a good time. I'm afraid that I am going to have to start finding a new date for these events because Steve doesn't like to dance and will not dance unless it's a slow song. I can't dance either, but there comes a point where you just need to not worry about it and have fun. So me and Anthony danced out there for a while, I finally talked Steve into dancing to the "Play That Funky Music, White Boy" song, and I even did the electric slide. Why I did that, I will never understand. I suppose it's just a relief to know I'm doing some steps right, no matter how corny the dance. After that night, Steve and I have decided to take ballroom lessons. I was afraid that people were going to think I was drunk, because I went into "Having so much fun that I began to get silly" mode. However, I was not thankyouverymuch! We finally left after all of the door prizes were given out (which I didn't win one of) and we went home to let the dogs in and go to bed. It was a full, yet enjoyable, day.
Sunday was a lot more restful. Church and my parent's house for lunch, then stopping by Steve's parent's house to visit his mom (who is still really drained, so please keep her in your prayers) and after running a few errands, we got to go home. Steve still hasn't been feeling well, he found out a few days ago that he had bronchitus (?) so we stayed home while he rested and I wrapped gifts.
I like weekends...
Friday, December 16, 2005
"Sipping thoughts of peace, hope floats my way."
Once again, the tea bag wisdom isn't wisdom at all. It's some kind of abbreviated haiku. Part of me wonders if the person who writes this is some kind of poet that couldn't make it in the Fortune Cookie industry. Maybe he's got some kind of mental block for syllabuls. Kind of like Zoolander couldn't turn left, this guy (or girl) can't write the standard 5-7-5.
You know, it just dawned on me. Someone who makes these tea bags with the lame sayings on them is someone who has the same job I do. One of these days, I may be designing lame fortune cookie tea bags! Oy Vey!
The directions are a little more interesting today. "Pull fresh water from the orange grove spring." Um...okay. Let me just go do that. Somehow, I think you have to live in some kind Zen neitherworld where the orange grove springs have wise water and you can relax at the drop of a hat to drink this properly.
I am driving the Chick Magnet today. Josh is moving into his new house, and needed to borrow Rudolph, so we did tradsies until he's done. The Chick Magnet is an Eclipse of indeterminate year. It's a sporty little black thing that's low to the ground and has a spoiler the size of Steve's head. It's like the Bat Mobile! I haven't driven a sports car in so long that it feels like I'm sitting on a skateboard being pulled by some unseen force. It's so much lighter than the Durango. I'm a little offended that Steve and Josh were so worried about me driving the car. I mean, last night on the way home, I wanted to drive it to get a feel for it, and Steve was acting like my mom used to when I only had my permit! He was -get this- giving me directions to our house. Okay, I know it's a different car than I normally drive, but I don't think it will impair my sense of direction. It's not like it's going to go all Night Rider on me and take over or something. Oh well, hopefully I can get it back to Josh in one piece. : ) We are supposed to go to Josh's new house and celebrate his first night as a homeowner. I get to cook. Let's hope I don't burn down the house before he gets to sleep in it! : )
I like the way my office is arranged much better than the old way. I think my chi flows much better. Well, either that or not sitting in a direct beam of sunlight for two hours in the morning is allowing my brain cells to heal. Brain cells, Chi...it's pretty much all the same.
This morning I was walking in and happened to see two very beautiful leaves limned in frost on the pavement. Luckily I had my camera in my purse, so I pulled it out and kneeled down to take a couple of close up snaps. The security guard either thought I was having a seizure or was bowing to Mecca. Next time I will hold the camera up over my head so that it can be clearly seen before I get down on the ground. That way I won't scare anyone.
Once again, the tea bag wisdom isn't wisdom at all. It's some kind of abbreviated haiku. Part of me wonders if the person who writes this is some kind of poet that couldn't make it in the Fortune Cookie industry. Maybe he's got some kind of mental block for syllabuls. Kind of like Zoolander couldn't turn left, this guy (or girl) can't write the standard 5-7-5.
You know, it just dawned on me. Someone who makes these tea bags with the lame sayings on them is someone who has the same job I do. One of these days, I may be designing lame fortune cookie tea bags! Oy Vey!
The directions are a little more interesting today. "Pull fresh water from the orange grove spring." Um...okay. Let me just go do that. Somehow, I think you have to live in some kind Zen neitherworld where the orange grove springs have wise water and you can relax at the drop of a hat to drink this properly.
I am driving the Chick Magnet today. Josh is moving into his new house, and needed to borrow Rudolph, so we did tradsies until he's done. The Chick Magnet is an Eclipse of indeterminate year. It's a sporty little black thing that's low to the ground and has a spoiler the size of Steve's head. It's like the Bat Mobile! I haven't driven a sports car in so long that it feels like I'm sitting on a skateboard being pulled by some unseen force. It's so much lighter than the Durango. I'm a little offended that Steve and Josh were so worried about me driving the car. I mean, last night on the way home, I wanted to drive it to get a feel for it, and Steve was acting like my mom used to when I only had my permit! He was -get this- giving me directions to our house. Okay, I know it's a different car than I normally drive, but I don't think it will impair my sense of direction. It's not like it's going to go all Night Rider on me and take over or something. Oh well, hopefully I can get it back to Josh in one piece. : ) We are supposed to go to Josh's new house and celebrate his first night as a homeowner. I get to cook. Let's hope I don't burn down the house before he gets to sleep in it! : )
I like the way my office is arranged much better than the old way. I think my chi flows much better. Well, either that or not sitting in a direct beam of sunlight for two hours in the morning is allowing my brain cells to heal. Brain cells, Chi...it's pretty much all the same.
This morning I was walking in and happened to see two very beautiful leaves limned in frost on the pavement. Luckily I had my camera in my purse, so I pulled it out and kneeled down to take a couple of close up snaps. The security guard either thought I was having a seizure or was bowing to Mecca. Next time I will hold the camera up over my head so that it can be clearly seen before I get down on the ground. That way I won't scare anyone.
Thursday, December 15, 2005
I will begin by saying this: It isn't my birthday. I was born on February 14th about a hundred and seven years ago.
I rearranged my office during my lunch break. I had no idea how heavy these desks were until I had to scoot them across carpet. I have one L shaped desk that houses my personal stuff and computer, and two giant rectangular ones (that are really drafting desks from the 60s) made of oak that weigh a million pounds apiece. I got trapped behind those at one point, so that was a lot of fun having to crawl under them. It was like playing Tetris in here for a while, but now my back isn't to the door and my desk is somewhere near the flow of air conditioning.
Go me!
I rearranged my office during my lunch break. I had no idea how heavy these desks were until I had to scoot them across carpet. I have one L shaped desk that houses my personal stuff and computer, and two giant rectangular ones (that are really drafting desks from the 60s) made of oak that weigh a million pounds apiece. I got trapped behind those at one point, so that was a lot of fun having to crawl under them. It was like playing Tetris in here for a while, but now my back isn't to the door and my desk is somewhere near the flow of air conditioning.
Go me!
Nelson, that's a good idea, but the party is on Saturday. I don't have time for a vote. However, to incorporate your idea of wearing the most festive one, I am now in the process of painting reindeer on the back of the vampire dress. It'll be awesome! : )
Numi Tea Advice of the day isn't really advice:
"Breath embraces sunshine, I drink the moment."
Huh? It almost sounds like a hikau, but not really. The directions tell me to sit back and relax before I pour the boiling water. I probably shouldn't relax too much or I might miss the cup altogether. Maybe I'll relax after I make the tea. But what if the tea requires relaxed water pouring before it will steep? What if I can't have the tea? See, now I can't relax at all! STUPID TEA!
For the first time ever, I am cold in my office. Probably because we've had two consecutive days of overcast skies, so the greenhouse effect isn't in effect. When I get cold, I get sleepy. This should be an interesting day!
Numi Tea Advice of the day isn't really advice:
"Breath embraces sunshine, I drink the moment."
Huh? It almost sounds like a hikau, but not really. The directions tell me to sit back and relax before I pour the boiling water. I probably shouldn't relax too much or I might miss the cup altogether. Maybe I'll relax after I make the tea. But what if the tea requires relaxed water pouring before it will steep? What if I can't have the tea? See, now I can't relax at all! STUPID TEA!
For the first time ever, I am cold in my office. Probably because we've had two consecutive days of overcast skies, so the greenhouse effect isn't in effect. When I get cold, I get sleepy. This should be an interesting day!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.
I've gone all Captain Picard with my tea choice this morning. I don't know that I've ever had Earl Grey Tea, but if it's good enough for Patrick Stewart, it's good enough for me! : ) I almost got attacked by the Camoflage Ninja on my way back to the office with my hot water. This guy is funny. He's Jason's roomate, Lance, and he has learned that he can jump out and scare me if I'm not paying attention. Luckily I saw him in time to warn him before he made me jump and scald his face off.
Oh yeah, my Numi tea wisdom of the day is:
"Wisdom steeps in youthful moments."
I'm suppost to bring the "wisest" waters to a boil. I had to improvise with SpRocket Center water. I wouldn't call that too wise. Hopefully it will be okay.
Yesterday was my last class for this semester! WOO-HOO!!!!!!! I thought we were just going to have to drop off our prints, but we had a critique. :P Apparently whatever I did to my prints was good because I had two classmates ask me for a copy of the one with the red bird on it. Eat that Mr. Your-Work-Is-Almost-Too-Cutsey!!!!!!! Personally, I would rather my artwork be appreciate by a more mainstream consumer base simply for revenue purposes. Even if any of my prints or drawings are bought and used to make greeting cards, at least I'll see the fruits of my labor. All of those people who focus on hidden meaning and all of that hippy artsy stuff will have to be dead before their work is appreciated. So NYEAH!
Steve and I have decided to go to the Rocket Center Christmas party and I don't know what I'm going to wear. I have three choices, all with both pros and cons attached.
The Wilma Dress--Pro: I already know it looks good, I really like it, and I have a pair of great earrings to wear with it. Con: The whole being strangled by the scarf thing and I'll have to be spray painted again so as not to glow in the dark.
The Silvery Dress--Pro: Love the dress, finally found a sweater that matches it enough to not have to go outside in December with only spaghetti straps and no sleeves, and the Prettiest Shoes I Own match it. Con: Probably not as thin as I should be for this dress, sweater is made of angora and sheds (making me sneeze), can't wear hose with the great shoes.
The Black and Purple Goth Vampire Dress--Pro: Made of velvet so it's warm, long sleeves and long skirt cover up...everything, interesting and certainly no one else will be wearing one like it. Being pale isn't an issue. Con: It's a freakin' Goth Vampire dress. I don't know if it will look appropriately on me now that my hair isn't dyed black anymore.
Eh, I'll try all of them on again and choose. Maybe I'll just wear the vampire dress for funzies! Who knows?
I had a couple of replies to my entry about the "Pickle Tweezers". Just to let you know, it's also fun to say when your frustrated, so instead of using bad language, just yell PICKLE TWEEZERS! To Lauren, you should yell that at your new boss when she ticks you off. If nothing else, she may think you're unhinged and leave you alone. : ) To Jason: Anyone can use a fork. Use the pickle tweezers, Luke...
Feliz Naviblah everyone!
I've gone all Captain Picard with my tea choice this morning. I don't know that I've ever had Earl Grey Tea, but if it's good enough for Patrick Stewart, it's good enough for me! : ) I almost got attacked by the Camoflage Ninja on my way back to the office with my hot water. This guy is funny. He's Jason's roomate, Lance, and he has learned that he can jump out and scare me if I'm not paying attention. Luckily I saw him in time to warn him before he made me jump and scald his face off.
Oh yeah, my Numi tea wisdom of the day is:
"Wisdom steeps in youthful moments."
I'm suppost to bring the "wisest" waters to a boil. I had to improvise with SpRocket Center water. I wouldn't call that too wise. Hopefully it will be okay.
Yesterday was my last class for this semester! WOO-HOO!!!!!!! I thought we were just going to have to drop off our prints, but we had a critique. :P Apparently whatever I did to my prints was good because I had two classmates ask me for a copy of the one with the red bird on it. Eat that Mr. Your-Work-Is-Almost-Too-Cutsey!!!!!!! Personally, I would rather my artwork be appreciate by a more mainstream consumer base simply for revenue purposes. Even if any of my prints or drawings are bought and used to make greeting cards, at least I'll see the fruits of my labor. All of those people who focus on hidden meaning and all of that hippy artsy stuff will have to be dead before their work is appreciated. So NYEAH!
Steve and I have decided to go to the Rocket Center Christmas party and I don't know what I'm going to wear. I have three choices, all with both pros and cons attached.
The Wilma Dress--Pro: I already know it looks good, I really like it, and I have a pair of great earrings to wear with it. Con: The whole being strangled by the scarf thing and I'll have to be spray painted again so as not to glow in the dark.
The Silvery Dress--Pro: Love the dress, finally found a sweater that matches it enough to not have to go outside in December with only spaghetti straps and no sleeves, and the Prettiest Shoes I Own match it. Con: Probably not as thin as I should be for this dress, sweater is made of angora and sheds (making me sneeze), can't wear hose with the great shoes.
The Black and Purple Goth Vampire Dress--Pro: Made of velvet so it's warm, long sleeves and long skirt cover up...everything, interesting and certainly no one else will be wearing one like it. Being pale isn't an issue. Con: It's a freakin' Goth Vampire dress. I don't know if it will look appropriately on me now that my hair isn't dyed black anymore.
Eh, I'll try all of them on again and choose. Maybe I'll just wear the vampire dress for funzies! Who knows?
I had a couple of replies to my entry about the "Pickle Tweezers". Just to let you know, it's also fun to say when your frustrated, so instead of using bad language, just yell PICKLE TWEEZERS! To Lauren, you should yell that at your new boss when she ticks you off. If nothing else, she may think you're unhinged and leave you alone. : ) To Jason: Anyone can use a fork. Use the pickle tweezers, Luke...
Feliz Naviblah everyone!
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
"Pure joy is meant to be shared"
I just love getting these little snips of wisdom from my tea bags. : ) Today I'm trying a new kind of tea called "Numi Full Leaf Organic Tea" and it has all of this Zen-like advice on the packet. On the directions, it recommends humming while pouring the hot water over the tea bag. Then I'm supposed to let the soothing taste "warm and delight" me. It'll have to buy me dinner first.
Yesterday I had a "Mentos" moment when trying to figure out how I was going to salvage my lithography prints. As I told you, the color ones didn't register and the final ones had to be reprinted from an old plate. Well, since none of the color ones were straight, I cut off the edges of the print until there was no border left, so you can't tell that they were crooked. Then I took the reprint, and trimmed the edges as close as I could to the image, and hand painted a red bird into the tree. They both look 100% better than they did, so hopefully the teacher will not be repelled.
"Mentos, the Freshmaker!"
You want to know how to freak me out? Just put a hoodie sweatshirt near the bed in case I wake up cold. The other night I woke up freezing cold. I reached over, half asleep, and grabbed a giant NASA sweatshirt with a hood and tried to pull it over my pajamas. Apparently, I wasn't awake enough to realize I was putting it on backwards, because the hood flipped up over my face and in my clouded, sleep addled mind, I thought it was trying to eat me. I thrashed around trying to escape until I woke up a little more and realized I just needed to turn it around. No wonder Steve has trouble sleeping. :(
I just love getting these little snips of wisdom from my tea bags. : ) Today I'm trying a new kind of tea called "Numi Full Leaf Organic Tea" and it has all of this Zen-like advice on the packet. On the directions, it recommends humming while pouring the hot water over the tea bag. Then I'm supposed to let the soothing taste "warm and delight" me. It'll have to buy me dinner first.
Yesterday I had a "Mentos" moment when trying to figure out how I was going to salvage my lithography prints. As I told you, the color ones didn't register and the final ones had to be reprinted from an old plate. Well, since none of the color ones were straight, I cut off the edges of the print until there was no border left, so you can't tell that they were crooked. Then I took the reprint, and trimmed the edges as close as I could to the image, and hand painted a red bird into the tree. They both look 100% better than they did, so hopefully the teacher will not be repelled.
"Mentos, the Freshmaker!"
You want to know how to freak me out? Just put a hoodie sweatshirt near the bed in case I wake up cold. The other night I woke up freezing cold. I reached over, half asleep, and grabbed a giant NASA sweatshirt with a hood and tried to pull it over my pajamas. Apparently, I wasn't awake enough to realize I was putting it on backwards, because the hood flipped up over my face and in my clouded, sleep addled mind, I thought it was trying to eat me. I thrashed around trying to escape until I woke up a little more and realized I just needed to turn it around. No wonder Steve has trouble sleeping. :(
Monday, December 12, 2005
If you're having a bad day, I've found something that can make you smile. Just say one of these phrases out loud, and you will smile, either because you feel silly saying them or you'll just realize how much fun they are to say!
Nibby Bar
Feisty Chicken
Snappy Corn
and my personal favorite:
Pickle Tweezers!
That last one just kills me.
Nibby Bar
Feisty Chicken
Snappy Corn
and my personal favorite:
Pickle Tweezers!
That last one just kills me.
Weekend Update...yee and/or Ha
Friday was my last final for this semester, and I honestly don't think I did so hot. We spent so much time doing those inane class presentations that we didn't have much time to devote to actually, oh I don't know, learning about the things we were going to be tested on. Her whole thing was "Well, you had the study guide a week before the exam." and that's all well and true, but she didn't seem to remember that we were finishing our Stupid Papers and putting together our Stupid Presentations, and studying for the billion other finals we had. But that's okay. we had the study guide a WEEK before the final. That solves everything. Anyways, so I struggle through that exam and head on down to the printing studio where I was going to finish up my projects and get everything completed before the weekend! Did I, you may ask? Well, I tried. My next to last project, the one I'd been having so much trouble with, wouldn't register. I did my best, but only one out of ten even looks close to being right. So I move on to my last project. I was so proud of this one. I took some (unsolicited) advice from a classmate and drew an abstract nativity scene. If I do say so myself, it looked really nice. I painstakingly transferred the image to the plate, got it prepped for printing, and the image wouldn't print. At. All. All of the shading, everything was lost. I didn't know what to do! I didn't have time to think up a new project, or anything else, so I ended up using an old plate of a former project to print 10 rather sad copies so that I could bring them home and do something creative with them. I still haven't gotten around to it, so we'll see. Now I'm going to have to include a note in with my final project so that the teacher will know I wasn't just slacking. Sigh. It was a very frustrating day all around.
Saturday was a little better. Steve and I had some errands to run and some christmas gifts to buy, so we did that. We also had planned on visiting his parents that night because his Aunt and Uncle from Texas were driving through town on their way back from Atlanta. We were going to have dinner with everyone. Steve found a wonderful gift for his grandma (who's visiting and who's birthday was a week ago), so we got it for her and wrapped it before we left for their house. I love to give gifts, I can't help it. It's so much fun when you can pick out something you know someone will like and watch them open it. We got her one of those electric music boxes that play 50 different songs and have little figures waltzing in a little glass fronted space down at the bottom. She loved it. : ) Then me, Grandma and Aunt Molly finished making dinner. Rhonda is doing well with her chemotherapy, but she's still weak from her first surgery and the treatments keep her kind of drained, so she supervised. : ) We ate and talked, and sat around for a while afterwards before Steve and I had to come home. It was a nice day.
Sunday, Steve woke up with a bad sore throat, so I went to church alone. I stayed through sunday school, since I'm still doing the secretary stuff for Rhonda, and I left to get Steve some medicine. I never think about the sheer amount of different kinds of medicines you can get for different symptoms, but I swear, I stood in front of that display for about 15 minutes trying to figure out what to get. I finally setteled on some viscious blue Tylonol for Sore throats, some Wal-Mart Brand numbing spray, and some of those candy sorta things that you suck on...can't think of the names of those right now. Those seemed to help a little. He was still feeling too bad to go with me to Mom and Dad's house, so I did that alone as well. Angie and her family weren't there, so it was just Mom, Dad, Tommy, and me. We had spaghetti, we watched a DVD and I promptly fell asleep on the couch. I don't honestly think I fully woke up until I was driving home. That's kind of a scary feeling! I had been asked to sing at church at night, so Steve (who was feeling better) and I went back. We invited Josh to hear me sing, Steve's grandma loves Josh to death and wanted to see him as well, and I always love it when he comes to church with us because he's Catholic. Now, he's pretty much used to visiting a Baptist church at this point, but there's always some little thing he forgets or starts to do. Our church doesn't stand on much ceremony at all, but it IS different from what he's used to, I guess. The first time we invited him, he was kind of nervous, you could tell. He had to remember not to genuflect (almost did), got halfway through crossing himself after a prayer, and almost kneeled during another one of the prayers. Afterwards he was so embarrassed, and I kept having to tell him it was okay. I mean, we are worshipping the same God, after all, and I don't think He would mind that Josh did it a little differently than everyone else in the room. Well, at least I don't think so! : ) After church we went out to eat with Steve's family and about a hundred other people from church.
So, except for my projects getting screwed up, it was a decent weekend. I don't think I've quite gotten the concept that school is out (well, except for tomorrow when I have to go to school and drop off the ill fated prints). Hopefully I will get a day soon where I can relax.
Friday was my last final for this semester, and I honestly don't think I did so hot. We spent so much time doing those inane class presentations that we didn't have much time to devote to actually, oh I don't know, learning about the things we were going to be tested on. Her whole thing was "Well, you had the study guide a week before the exam." and that's all well and true, but she didn't seem to remember that we were finishing our Stupid Papers and putting together our Stupid Presentations, and studying for the billion other finals we had. But that's okay. we had the study guide a WEEK before the final. That solves everything. Anyways, so I struggle through that exam and head on down to the printing studio where I was going to finish up my projects and get everything completed before the weekend! Did I, you may ask? Well, I tried. My next to last project, the one I'd been having so much trouble with, wouldn't register. I did my best, but only one out of ten even looks close to being right. So I move on to my last project. I was so proud of this one. I took some (unsolicited) advice from a classmate and drew an abstract nativity scene. If I do say so myself, it looked really nice. I painstakingly transferred the image to the plate, got it prepped for printing, and the image wouldn't print. At. All. All of the shading, everything was lost. I didn't know what to do! I didn't have time to think up a new project, or anything else, so I ended up using an old plate of a former project to print 10 rather sad copies so that I could bring them home and do something creative with them. I still haven't gotten around to it, so we'll see. Now I'm going to have to include a note in with my final project so that the teacher will know I wasn't just slacking. Sigh. It was a very frustrating day all around.
Saturday was a little better. Steve and I had some errands to run and some christmas gifts to buy, so we did that. We also had planned on visiting his parents that night because his Aunt and Uncle from Texas were driving through town on their way back from Atlanta. We were going to have dinner with everyone. Steve found a wonderful gift for his grandma (who's visiting and who's birthday was a week ago), so we got it for her and wrapped it before we left for their house. I love to give gifts, I can't help it. It's so much fun when you can pick out something you know someone will like and watch them open it. We got her one of those electric music boxes that play 50 different songs and have little figures waltzing in a little glass fronted space down at the bottom. She loved it. : ) Then me, Grandma and Aunt Molly finished making dinner. Rhonda is doing well with her chemotherapy, but she's still weak from her first surgery and the treatments keep her kind of drained, so she supervised. : ) We ate and talked, and sat around for a while afterwards before Steve and I had to come home. It was a nice day.
Sunday, Steve woke up with a bad sore throat, so I went to church alone. I stayed through sunday school, since I'm still doing the secretary stuff for Rhonda, and I left to get Steve some medicine. I never think about the sheer amount of different kinds of medicines you can get for different symptoms, but I swear, I stood in front of that display for about 15 minutes trying to figure out what to get. I finally setteled on some viscious blue Tylonol for Sore throats, some Wal-Mart Brand numbing spray, and some of those candy sorta things that you suck on...can't think of the names of those right now. Those seemed to help a little. He was still feeling too bad to go with me to Mom and Dad's house, so I did that alone as well. Angie and her family weren't there, so it was just Mom, Dad, Tommy, and me. We had spaghetti, we watched a DVD and I promptly fell asleep on the couch. I don't honestly think I fully woke up until I was driving home. That's kind of a scary feeling! I had been asked to sing at church at night, so Steve (who was feeling better) and I went back. We invited Josh to hear me sing, Steve's grandma loves Josh to death and wanted to see him as well, and I always love it when he comes to church with us because he's Catholic. Now, he's pretty much used to visiting a Baptist church at this point, but there's always some little thing he forgets or starts to do. Our church doesn't stand on much ceremony at all, but it IS different from what he's used to, I guess. The first time we invited him, he was kind of nervous, you could tell. He had to remember not to genuflect (almost did), got halfway through crossing himself after a prayer, and almost kneeled during another one of the prayers. Afterwards he was so embarrassed, and I kept having to tell him it was okay. I mean, we are worshipping the same God, after all, and I don't think He would mind that Josh did it a little differently than everyone else in the room. Well, at least I don't think so! : ) After church we went out to eat with Steve's family and about a hundred other people from church.
So, except for my projects getting screwed up, it was a decent weekend. I don't think I've quite gotten the concept that school is out (well, except for tomorrow when I have to go to school and drop off the ill fated prints). Hopefully I will get a day soon where I can relax.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
I'm officially stressed.
Yesterday when I went to the doc for a physical, I told him about the headaches I've been having. I thought they were sinus headaches (of which I am not unfamilliar) but when I told them where they were, he told me I was having "tension headaches". Well, shock my drawers...could I possibly be tense? You think? Today will be the first of two final exams this week, and then I will have to finish my lithography prints to turn in by tuesday of next week. It'll be a miracle if I don't have a complete cardiac episode before all of this is over with. Last night I tried studying for my algebra exam, and not one thing on my study guide has stuck in my head. This specific exam is going to be over everything we've learned this semester. I don't remember everything we've learned this semester!!!!!!! Steve figured it up, and even though I don't need to make an exceptionally high grade to pass the class, I'm scared that with the epic "nothingness" that is in my brain this morning, I will not make even that! Then I have to come home and study for my history exam that I'll have tomorrow afternoon, and I'm sorry, but most cathedrals look the same to me. My head has been crammed with transepts, flying butresses, scissor vaults and stained glass. To be quite honest, I've been so focused on the Stupid Paper, that when I think of medieval churches, all I can see in my head is the Arena Chapel, which we didn't even study!!! ACK! Please pray for me. I'm going to need it!
Yoga Breath....Yoga Breath...Yoga Breath....
On lighter topics:
I get to add "cruel to animals" onto my weird next door neighbor title. Yesterday, I had to come home early to let the exterminator in, so apparently I was here in time to actually see the elusive kids that live next door. I heard this awful barking sound and a child screaming, so I look out the window to see my dogs playing the "I'm going to eat your face" game with Cleatus and Kay Bob (neighbor dogs) through the fence, while the kids are egging them on.
Now, I may have two of the cutest dogs in the world, but they can't be accused of being the smartest dogs in the world. When they get worked up around a new dog, and that dog is out of their reach, Butler and Bear turn on each other in the "Alpha Dog Caged Death Match". To be fair, Bear usually forgets that he's smaller than Butler and starts the fight, but Butler, being bigger and stronger, will get the upper hand...er...paw.
Anyways, the barking and the screaming seemed to be getting a little raucous, so I am walking out the door to bring them in and put them in the kennel, when I beging to hear the unmistakble sounds of "Dogs of the Serengeti" snarling and mauling each other. So I run to the door, rip it open, and do my shrill football whistle (which still amazes and delights those who don't realize I can make a sound like that) but it does nothing to get the dogs apart. The children are all standing still and watching wide-eyed as Butler goes all Mr. Hyde on Bear and has him by the throat on the ground trying to kill him. So I go to plan B: I grab the water bucket and run as fast as I can across the yard, spilling water all over my yoga pants and qualifying for the neighborhood wet tee-shirt contest in the process. Well, the dogs see me coming, but they aren't ready to break it up yet, so they sort of roll away from me, but I aimed and got them both with the bucket of water. The same bucket of water that was probably close to freezing cold. That did it. They broke apart and ran for the house, and I'm standing there wet, while the neighbor kids are looking at me. I just turned on my patented "Southern Belle" smile and said "I'm sorry, ya'll!" and did my pagent wave as I turned back towards the house and went in. The poor dogs were soaked and cold, and they kept looking at me like "What was THAT for?! We were only trying to kill one another! It's what dogs DO!" When I closed them up in their kennels and sat on the couch, they glowered, yes GLOWERED, at me while they licked their feet dry. I don't even want to know what those kids told their parents!
Yesterday when I went to the doc for a physical, I told him about the headaches I've been having. I thought they were sinus headaches (of which I am not unfamilliar) but when I told them where they were, he told me I was having "tension headaches". Well, shock my drawers...could I possibly be tense? You think? Today will be the first of two final exams this week, and then I will have to finish my lithography prints to turn in by tuesday of next week. It'll be a miracle if I don't have a complete cardiac episode before all of this is over with. Last night I tried studying for my algebra exam, and not one thing on my study guide has stuck in my head. This specific exam is going to be over everything we've learned this semester. I don't remember everything we've learned this semester!!!!!!! Steve figured it up, and even though I don't need to make an exceptionally high grade to pass the class, I'm scared that with the epic "nothingness" that is in my brain this morning, I will not make even that! Then I have to come home and study for my history exam that I'll have tomorrow afternoon, and I'm sorry, but most cathedrals look the same to me. My head has been crammed with transepts, flying butresses, scissor vaults and stained glass. To be quite honest, I've been so focused on the Stupid Paper, that when I think of medieval churches, all I can see in my head is the Arena Chapel, which we didn't even study!!! ACK! Please pray for me. I'm going to need it!
Yoga Breath....Yoga Breath...Yoga Breath....
On lighter topics:
I get to add "cruel to animals" onto my weird next door neighbor title. Yesterday, I had to come home early to let the exterminator in, so apparently I was here in time to actually see the elusive kids that live next door. I heard this awful barking sound and a child screaming, so I look out the window to see my dogs playing the "I'm going to eat your face" game with Cleatus and Kay Bob (neighbor dogs) through the fence, while the kids are egging them on.
Now, I may have two of the cutest dogs in the world, but they can't be accused of being the smartest dogs in the world. When they get worked up around a new dog, and that dog is out of their reach, Butler and Bear turn on each other in the "Alpha Dog Caged Death Match". To be fair, Bear usually forgets that he's smaller than Butler and starts the fight, but Butler, being bigger and stronger, will get the upper hand...er...paw.
Anyways, the barking and the screaming seemed to be getting a little raucous, so I am walking out the door to bring them in and put them in the kennel, when I beging to hear the unmistakble sounds of "Dogs of the Serengeti" snarling and mauling each other. So I run to the door, rip it open, and do my shrill football whistle (which still amazes and delights those who don't realize I can make a sound like that) but it does nothing to get the dogs apart. The children are all standing still and watching wide-eyed as Butler goes all Mr. Hyde on Bear and has him by the throat on the ground trying to kill him. So I go to plan B: I grab the water bucket and run as fast as I can across the yard, spilling water all over my yoga pants and qualifying for the neighborhood wet tee-shirt contest in the process. Well, the dogs see me coming, but they aren't ready to break it up yet, so they sort of roll away from me, but I aimed and got them both with the bucket of water. The same bucket of water that was probably close to freezing cold. That did it. They broke apart and ran for the house, and I'm standing there wet, while the neighbor kids are looking at me. I just turned on my patented "Southern Belle" smile and said "I'm sorry, ya'll!" and did my pagent wave as I turned back towards the house and went in. The poor dogs were soaked and cold, and they kept looking at me like "What was THAT for?! We were only trying to kill one another! It's what dogs DO!" When I closed them up in their kennels and sat on the couch, they glowered, yes GLOWERED, at me while they licked their feet dry. I don't even want to know what those kids told their parents!
Monday, December 05, 2005
Weekend Update
I had a fun weekend, if I do say so. Wrote a blog about it. Like to hear about it? Here it go...
Friday was payday, and we all know what we have to do on payday, right? Bills. Well, After I took care of my bills and such, I took myself to the mall to use the coupon I was e-mailed from New York and Co. I love that store. They have clothes for grown ups, in my size, that look nice! I bought a two shirts, a sweater and a couple of pairs of earrings. I don't normally buy earrings since I make jewelry, but I really wanted some dangly-sparkly ones. I can't help it, I'm a girl. Then I had to go to Target and pick up a prescription, which led to other shopping I couldn't control. I think it's a sickness. : (
Saturday I was going to go to school and work on my lithography project in hopes that I would have the studio to myself. Unfortunately, I didn't because a whole lot of people have left their project's until the last minute like I have. I worked for hours, all for nothing, because my prints were scummy. It was all my fault because I didn't have enough of a mask on my plate when I transferred the image onto it. I didn't want to turn it in as it was because I know I could do better, so all of that time was wasted. I was determined not to get my hands dirty because Steve's work Christmas party was that night, and I didn't want to have grease monkey hands, but unfortunately I didn't have my left glove on when I picked up the roller and my whole thumb was black. Oh well, it would at least match my dress! For Steve's party, I finally had the opportunity to wear my Wilma Flintstone dress! The one that is one shouldered that he made fun of when I tried it on for him? (He actually chose that one for me to wear when I asked, so he must've changed his mind about it, or he still feels guilty). I was kind of nervous about wearing it because it has this scarfie thing attached to the shoulder that you wrap around your neck, and I had an ungodly fear that it would get shut in a door and strangle me to death. Anyways, to make a long story short...I was a hottie.
Stop laughing. ; )
We got there a little late, which was totally my fault for some reason, but we still got there before anything started. As we walked in, Steve started pointing out people that he tells me about, but I didn't know who they were until he gave me their code names: i.e. "Inflatable Moose Head lady" "Day Planner Virus" and such. Well, not everyone had to have a code name, I do know some of his co-workers by their real names! Unfortunately in a bad move on my part, I didn't wear my glasses in an effor to look more formal. That sucked because I am so nearsighted. If I wanted to see someone across the room, I had to do the squinty eyed pirate face thing (Arrrrrrgh), which I'm sure looked attractive.: ) Anyways, when we had been there a few minutes, one of Steve's co-workers told us that the "guy/girl" was there. Me, with my morbid sense of curiosity, wanted him to be pointed out right then and there. Long before that night, Steve told me all about this man that works with him that is a pre-op male to female transexual. I had a sort of idea what the guy would look like: a tall, masculine looking woman, right? Nooooooooooooooooooo, not at all. Even though I couldn't see anything else, I zeroed in on this...dude in a dress. I wish I could be more nice about it, but I can't. He...she...whatever (there should really be a pronoun for situations like this) looked like a dude with a receeding hairline mullet (all party in the back, going out of business in the front) wearing a dress and makeup. I'm really glad that he didn't turn around and see me, because I'm fairly sure he would have been offended. I don't know what I looked like, but I felt like...well, have you ever seen a confused dog? You know, they kind of turn their heads sideways with one ear cocked up and make a "merf" sound? That's how I felt. Of course, then the trying-not-to-look-but-helpless-to-stop part of my brain turned on. To make matters even worse, ge ended up behind me in the buffet line singing in a soft, falsetto voice. It was all I could do not to turn around and stare with my mouth open. It really made me wish that it was possible to step aside, while all of the lights go off around you and you stand in a spotlight, so that you can do a little monologue like on TV, just so that I could have been bewildered out loud. Luckily Good Kelly won out over Bad Kelly, and I was able to get my food and sit down without incident. I got to meet a lot of really great people. Everyone seems to really like Steve, or they just pretend to so that he will not format their hard drives! Maybe it's a little of both? We danced all of three times because Steve won't dance with me unless it's a slow song, on account that we don't know how to dance. This has never stopped me before, but apparently it is a problem for him, so we just schmoozed a little and went home. It was a fun night!
Sunday we went to church, as per our usual. I started getting a bad headache, and had to dig around in my purse for some Excedrine. That was kind of a bad move on my part because I hadn't eaten anything that morning, and I also take some medicine that already makes me kind of hyper. By the time the music part was over, I was wired for sound. I tingled all over, and I was beginning to see auras! I don't know what was going on, but my mind was going a mile a minute. I'm glad we aren't a charismatic Baptist church, because I might had said some weird stuff. That afternoon we went to my parent's house, and dropped in on his parents as well, and then I had to go back to school for more torture in the Studio. Did I accomplish anything? Very little. I was there from about 5:30 to 9:30, and all I got done was 10 blue rectangles. I was so mad! See, we are working on our photographic technique, which is where we coat an aluminum plate with a light sensitive material and expose it with a negative to make our image base. Did it work? NO! Because some hastared(and I know who he is, dagnabbit) brought the light sensitive liquid out of the darkroom and into the studio. He didn't seem to believe me when I told him that was a bad move, but I finally convinced him to take it back. I didn't think it had been long enough to do any damage, but I was wrong. My plate didn't develop fully, and it set me back a few hours on this project, and I still have another one to go!!!!!! By this time my hands looked frostbitten due to the black and blue ink I was using, I had a smear of paint on my face, and I was MAD. So I left. Usually when I have to stay at the studio late, I will call Steve on my cellphone as I walk to my car. I figure that somehow the fact that I have him on the phone will deter anyone from abducting me, and if it doesn't, at least he can call the police right away. Well, unfortunately, I couldn't do that this time because I have lost my cellphone. I thought to myself that I would be fine this time, it was a short walk...no problem. However, when I looked outside, I saw a car just sitting there with it's lights trained on the building. I didn't feel safe without my cellphone, but I was still going to have to leave, so I just grabbed the first thing out of my bag and put it up to my ear. Unbeknownst to the creepy car (which actually turned out to be a security guard), I walked form the building to the car, calmly talking on my granola bar!
Time's up and I am out!
I had a fun weekend, if I do say so. Wrote a blog about it. Like to hear about it? Here it go...
Friday was payday, and we all know what we have to do on payday, right? Bills. Well, After I took care of my bills and such, I took myself to the mall to use the coupon I was e-mailed from New York and Co. I love that store. They have clothes for grown ups, in my size, that look nice! I bought a two shirts, a sweater and a couple of pairs of earrings. I don't normally buy earrings since I make jewelry, but I really wanted some dangly-sparkly ones. I can't help it, I'm a girl. Then I had to go to Target and pick up a prescription, which led to other shopping I couldn't control. I think it's a sickness. : (
Saturday I was going to go to school and work on my lithography project in hopes that I would have the studio to myself. Unfortunately, I didn't because a whole lot of people have left their project's until the last minute like I have. I worked for hours, all for nothing, because my prints were scummy. It was all my fault because I didn't have enough of a mask on my plate when I transferred the image onto it. I didn't want to turn it in as it was because I know I could do better, so all of that time was wasted. I was determined not to get my hands dirty because Steve's work Christmas party was that night, and I didn't want to have grease monkey hands, but unfortunately I didn't have my left glove on when I picked up the roller and my whole thumb was black. Oh well, it would at least match my dress! For Steve's party, I finally had the opportunity to wear my Wilma Flintstone dress! The one that is one shouldered that he made fun of when I tried it on for him? (He actually chose that one for me to wear when I asked, so he must've changed his mind about it, or he still feels guilty). I was kind of nervous about wearing it because it has this scarfie thing attached to the shoulder that you wrap around your neck, and I had an ungodly fear that it would get shut in a door and strangle me to death. Anyways, to make a long story short...I was a hottie.
Stop laughing. ; )
We got there a little late, which was totally my fault for some reason, but we still got there before anything started. As we walked in, Steve started pointing out people that he tells me about, but I didn't know who they were until he gave me their code names: i.e. "Inflatable Moose Head lady" "Day Planner Virus" and such. Well, not everyone had to have a code name, I do know some of his co-workers by their real names! Unfortunately in a bad move on my part, I didn't wear my glasses in an effor to look more formal. That sucked because I am so nearsighted. If I wanted to see someone across the room, I had to do the squinty eyed pirate face thing (Arrrrrrgh), which I'm sure looked attractive.: ) Anyways, when we had been there a few minutes, one of Steve's co-workers told us that the "guy/girl" was there. Me, with my morbid sense of curiosity, wanted him to be pointed out right then and there. Long before that night, Steve told me all about this man that works with him that is a pre-op male to female transexual. I had a sort of idea what the guy would look like: a tall, masculine looking woman, right? Nooooooooooooooooooo, not at all. Even though I couldn't see anything else, I zeroed in on this...dude in a dress. I wish I could be more nice about it, but I can't. He...she...whatever (there should really be a pronoun for situations like this) looked like a dude with a receeding hairline mullet (all party in the back, going out of business in the front) wearing a dress and makeup. I'm really glad that he didn't turn around and see me, because I'm fairly sure he would have been offended. I don't know what I looked like, but I felt like...well, have you ever seen a confused dog? You know, they kind of turn their heads sideways with one ear cocked up and make a "merf" sound? That's how I felt. Of course, then the trying-not-to-look-but-helpless-to-stop part of my brain turned on. To make matters even worse, ge ended up behind me in the buffet line singing in a soft, falsetto voice. It was all I could do not to turn around and stare with my mouth open. It really made me wish that it was possible to step aside, while all of the lights go off around you and you stand in a spotlight, so that you can do a little monologue like on TV, just so that I could have been bewildered out loud. Luckily Good Kelly won out over Bad Kelly, and I was able to get my food and sit down without incident. I got to meet a lot of really great people. Everyone seems to really like Steve, or they just pretend to so that he will not format their hard drives! Maybe it's a little of both? We danced all of three times because Steve won't dance with me unless it's a slow song, on account that we don't know how to dance. This has never stopped me before, but apparently it is a problem for him, so we just schmoozed a little and went home. It was a fun night!
Sunday we went to church, as per our usual. I started getting a bad headache, and had to dig around in my purse for some Excedrine. That was kind of a bad move on my part because I hadn't eaten anything that morning, and I also take some medicine that already makes me kind of hyper. By the time the music part was over, I was wired for sound. I tingled all over, and I was beginning to see auras! I don't know what was going on, but my mind was going a mile a minute. I'm glad we aren't a charismatic Baptist church, because I might had said some weird stuff. That afternoon we went to my parent's house, and dropped in on his parents as well, and then I had to go back to school for more torture in the Studio. Did I accomplish anything? Very little. I was there from about 5:30 to 9:30, and all I got done was 10 blue rectangles. I was so mad! See, we are working on our photographic technique, which is where we coat an aluminum plate with a light sensitive material and expose it with a negative to make our image base. Did it work? NO! Because some hastared(and I know who he is, dagnabbit) brought the light sensitive liquid out of the darkroom and into the studio. He didn't seem to believe me when I told him that was a bad move, but I finally convinced him to take it back. I didn't think it had been long enough to do any damage, but I was wrong. My plate didn't develop fully, and it set me back a few hours on this project, and I still have another one to go!!!!!! By this time my hands looked frostbitten due to the black and blue ink I was using, I had a smear of paint on my face, and I was MAD. So I left. Usually when I have to stay at the studio late, I will call Steve on my cellphone as I walk to my car. I figure that somehow the fact that I have him on the phone will deter anyone from abducting me, and if it doesn't, at least he can call the police right away. Well, unfortunately, I couldn't do that this time because I have lost my cellphone. I thought to myself that I would be fine this time, it was a short walk...no problem. However, when I looked outside, I saw a car just sitting there with it's lights trained on the building. I didn't feel safe without my cellphone, but I was still going to have to leave, so I just grabbed the first thing out of my bag and put it up to my ear. Unbeknownst to the creepy car (which actually turned out to be a security guard), I walked form the building to the car, calmly talking on my granola bar!
Time's up and I am out!
Friday, December 02, 2005
If anyone out there is having trouble thinking of something to get me for Christmas, I will go ahead and tell you the perfect thing!
I want to sit in front of my Christmas tree and eat Godiva dark chocolate while Josh Groban holds my hand and sings to me in Italian.
I don't think I'm asking too much, do you? : )
Actually, I have just recently fallen in love with Josh Groban. A friend lent me a CD of his where he is singing Christmas songs with "el Divo" or something like that. Of course, when I heard that I was expecting operatic versions of "Whip It" but "Divo" turned out to me the male counterpart to the word "Diva". I'm not kidding when I say hearing him sing "Oh, Holy Night" makes me get teary eyed. His voice makes me think of caramel...I don't know why except for the fact that I hear in color, and that's what color his voice is. There is absolutely nothing more appealing to me than a man with talent. Merely good looking guys are boring. Give me a man who can make music, write, or create art. *siiiiiiiiiiiigh* Josh Groban...
You'll never guess what I did yesterday. I got a spray on tan. It looks good, albeit a tinge too orange, and I don't have to worry about getting cancer from it, so there's a bonus. I don't ever get a chance to get a tan because I'm not outside that much during the summer due to the fact that I don't like to be hot, so usually I'm Goth pale. The only thing I don't like about it is the smell of the stuff. It's some kind of sugar derivative, and anytime you get it wet or if you get hot, it smells kind of unusual. No one else seems to notice it, so I guess it's just because it's on me. Anyways, I did it because Steve's office party is soon and I wanted to be able to wear black without anyone asking him where he picked up the zombie.
Butler had his birthday party last night. We didn't go wild or make him wear a party hat this time. I think he was confused. He kept going into his kennel and looking out like he was asking us when we were going to lock him up so he could go to bed. He got Krystals fries and some dog cookies, as well as some cheese. Parties for the dogs usually revolve around things they can eat. Mostly that's because they don't have thumbs and wouldn't be able to play Pin-the-Tail-On-the-Donkey.
I want to sit in front of my Christmas tree and eat Godiva dark chocolate while Josh Groban holds my hand and sings to me in Italian.
I don't think I'm asking too much, do you? : )
Actually, I have just recently fallen in love with Josh Groban. A friend lent me a CD of his where he is singing Christmas songs with "el Divo" or something like that. Of course, when I heard that I was expecting operatic versions of "Whip It" but "Divo" turned out to me the male counterpart to the word "Diva". I'm not kidding when I say hearing him sing "Oh, Holy Night" makes me get teary eyed. His voice makes me think of caramel...I don't know why except for the fact that I hear in color, and that's what color his voice is. There is absolutely nothing more appealing to me than a man with talent. Merely good looking guys are boring. Give me a man who can make music, write, or create art. *siiiiiiiiiiiigh* Josh Groban...
You'll never guess what I did yesterday. I got a spray on tan. It looks good, albeit a tinge too orange, and I don't have to worry about getting cancer from it, so there's a bonus. I don't ever get a chance to get a tan because I'm not outside that much during the summer due to the fact that I don't like to be hot, so usually I'm Goth pale. The only thing I don't like about it is the smell of the stuff. It's some kind of sugar derivative, and anytime you get it wet or if you get hot, it smells kind of unusual. No one else seems to notice it, so I guess it's just because it's on me. Anyways, I did it because Steve's office party is soon and I wanted to be able to wear black without anyone asking him where he picked up the zombie.
Butler had his birthday party last night. We didn't go wild or make him wear a party hat this time. I think he was confused. He kept going into his kennel and looking out like he was asking us when we were going to lock him up so he could go to bed. He got Krystals fries and some dog cookies, as well as some cheese. Parties for the dogs usually revolve around things they can eat. Mostly that's because they don't have thumbs and wouldn't be able to play Pin-the-Tail-On-the-Donkey.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
I am now one of two very awesome chicas who have finished an important and long paper. Of course, the other chica is more awesome than me because she's graduating with her masters on the 17th (you know who you are...congrats!) and I have merely finished the Stupid Paper that has loomed for months, but it's all about perceptions, right? I did my happy dance right in the parking lot. I don't have to worry about looking strange there, it IS the art building after all.
I thought I had about an hours work left on the paper last night. Josh was coming over to watch our annual dose of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (one of the funniest movies...EVER) and we were going to put up the Christmas tree. Well, I got down to work on the paper at about 6:00, took a break for dinner and to watch as much of the movie as I could while I was eating, went back to work on the paper...and didn't get done until 1:00 am. So I didn't get to help with the tree at all, and I have to live with the fact that Steve placed the ornaments all over the place without my discerning eye! He's a computer guy, for the love of Pete! What does he know about placement? : ) Well, at least he got Han and Chewie and Rhett and Scarlett together in the right places. I still had another assignment to finish, so I didn't get to bed until about 2:15 this morning, and I had t get up around 6:15, so I'm running on very little sleep. This should be an interesting day!
Speaking of interesting days! Today is Rhett Butler Bernard Pratt's 3rd birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUTLER! So this makes him 21 in dog years now, I think. I wonder if we can get him into any bars? We are going to get him some french fries from Krystals, which are his favorite treat and we also got him a little box of special dog treats too. I think we are going to forgo the hot dogs this year seeing as how he yarked in the kennel last time he ate those. We all know how I feel about that! I wish I could post a picture of him here, but for some reason my Macintosh doesn't format the blog page the same as my PC, so I can't link, post pictures, or check my spelling. : ( Oh well, just realize he is one of the two cutest dogs in the world!
Now, go away, I have things to accomplish!
I thought I had about an hours work left on the paper last night. Josh was coming over to watch our annual dose of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (one of the funniest movies...EVER) and we were going to put up the Christmas tree. Well, I got down to work on the paper at about 6:00, took a break for dinner and to watch as much of the movie as I could while I was eating, went back to work on the paper...and didn't get done until 1:00 am. So I didn't get to help with the tree at all, and I have to live with the fact that Steve placed the ornaments all over the place without my discerning eye! He's a computer guy, for the love of Pete! What does he know about placement? : ) Well, at least he got Han and Chewie and Rhett and Scarlett together in the right places. I still had another assignment to finish, so I didn't get to bed until about 2:15 this morning, and I had t get up around 6:15, so I'm running on very little sleep. This should be an interesting day!
Speaking of interesting days! Today is Rhett Butler Bernard Pratt's 3rd birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY BUTLER! So this makes him 21 in dog years now, I think. I wonder if we can get him into any bars? We are going to get him some french fries from Krystals, which are his favorite treat and we also got him a little box of special dog treats too. I think we are going to forgo the hot dogs this year seeing as how he yarked in the kennel last time he ate those. We all know how I feel about that! I wish I could post a picture of him here, but for some reason my Macintosh doesn't format the blog page the same as my PC, so I can't link, post pictures, or check my spelling. : ( Oh well, just realize he is one of the two cutest dogs in the world!
Now, go away, I have things to accomplish!
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