Joining the Crowd

It started with Lindsy, then Suzy followed suit, and NOW I too get to join the ranks of those with a squirrel living in my attic. Or, that’s what I hope it is. My first experience (though I didn’t realize it at the time) was right after I moved in and I something woke me up at 5 a.m. I figured it was just the house creaking because nothing else I could think of that could be up there would be making that much noise. But come to find out, though small, squirrel’s can sound quite heavy when walking on the beams above.

Since the first incident, I hadn’t really heard anything till Tuesday night. At 12:43 a.m. something wakes me from my sleep and I sit right up in bed. I had been dreaming that something was coming through my ceiling. I knew I heard something, but after a few minutes, thought maybe Melissa had just gotten up for some reason. It took me a little bit to get my heart to stop racing so I was just laying there waiting to go back to sleep when I heard it again…something climbing up my wall and moving above me. I could even tell when it moved from the rafters to the insulation. No doubt there was something up there, but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment, so I went back to sleep.

The next day, I pondered what to do about my unwanted, non-rent paying resident. I wasn’t going up in the attic, that’s for sure. I’m scared of the attic. And really not just may attic – any attic. The only way I will even consider entering an attic is if it has the pull down stairs. I’m not sure why that makes a difference. Maybe I feel that if it’s just a crawl space in the ceiling, than it really wasn’t meant to be entered (and for those who have seen The Grudge, no jokes about creepy Japanese kids who live in the attic).

I finally decided to plug in this thing I had in my old garage that puts out ultra sonic noises to keep the mice away in hopes that maybe it would work on the squirrel. So far I haven’t heard anything the last two nights, but I’m not getting my hopes up at this point. I think as long as he doesn’t do anything destructive in my attic, I might just let him be!

December Observations – 2005

Here are some things that have crossed my mind this holiday season:

1. There is only truly one “Singing” Salvation Army Bell Ringer. Many of you know which one I’m talking about. I usually see him at Wal-Mart on 33rd, but he does move around some. My first thought is always, “what a freak” but at the same time, he’s not too bad and really cheerful. Puts all the other Salvation Army Bell Ringers to Shame. On that same note, I was at Gordman’s Monday night and their SABR was trying, but it wasn’t the same. His two biggest down-falls 1) he can’t sing and 2) he was singing something I think he wrote. Not a Christmas song I have ever heard, and after all my years in choir, I’ve heard and sung them all. If they had an American Idol, Salvation Army Bell Ringer Edition, he would be on the ones who didn’t make it episode.

2. I was so impressed that this year, I had not seen a single decorated car. I really had hope that my fellow Oklahomans had finally realized how STUPID it is to decorate your car for Christmas…then I went to Sonic. There as a Lexis (yes, a Lexis) at Sonic with magnets that looked like Christmas lights stuck to the side of the car. As disappointed as I was, at least I still hadn’t seen a car with a wreath tied to the grill. Of course all hope was lost when I went to Kohl’s and saw as car, sitting in the parking lot, with a very sad looking wreath tied to the grill. PEOPLE!!! Just say NO!

3. I have not once heard the Hippopotamus song this year (except for the day Wanda Neel was whistling it at work). It’s just not Christmas without it. What’s the deal?!?

4. I am a Christmas slacker this year. I’m so sorry to everyone I normally send cards to, but haven’t. For those I usually give baked goods to and haven’t. And for those of you I should have done something for and didn’t. My family is lucky to get gifts this year. Why? 1) I just moved a month ago and I haven’t had the time to do anything and 2) I keep having to write $45 checks to the warranty company because little things keep breaking (did I mention I need to replace a shingle – this might just have to be a episode 1 of the “Stacey’s Home Improvement Video Diary”). By the way, I caulked all my own down stairs windows the other night. I don’t know if I did the most profession job, but the caulking is clear and there is no longer cold air blowing in my window.

5. This really isn’t about Christmas exactly, but I thought it was funny (at least my Aunt Beverly has gotten a good laugh about it). Anyway, when I moved in with Jeana, our condo already had a washer and dryer, so since Suzy had just built her house and needed a washer and dryer, I let her “store” mine for me. Well, what I thought might only be a year or two ended up being five. When Melissa decided to move in with me, she also had a washer and dryer she didn’t want to get rid of, so I just sold mine to Suzy since she was already in possession of them anyway. Okay, I tell you all of this to preface this story… until Thursday, I hadn’t had a washer and dryer in my house. Yes, there were plenty of people that would have let me do laundry at their house, but there never was a convenient time. So, with the exception of going over to Jason’s one afternoon a few weeks ago to wash jeans and towels, I haven’t done laundry in 5 weeks. My Aunt Bev’s comment was, “you have a LOT of clothes!” My response was “No, I have a LOT of underwear.” Some things can be recycled (depending on how long you wore them and what you were doing) – but not underwear. I never really knew how many pairs I had, but I officially have enough to last me 37 days if I’m really desperate (40 if I resort to swim suit bottoms – which 2 former roommates who will remain nameless have been known to do). I know you’re glad a shared, but I just thought this was really funny.

Okay, I’ll spare you any more of my thoughts on life till after Christmas (that’s always eventful). Have a Merry Christmas!

My Quiz

Yeah, I was feeling left out. So here is my quiz...

Stacey's "I Sure Get Hurt A Lot" Quiz

The Christmas Quiz

I decided to just post this instead of sending out like I was instructed. =)
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1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate w/ whipped cream and chocolate chips

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Both. Once he just parked it in the garage.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White lights only

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Well, kind of. I hang it on the door knob, so it’s kind of hard to stand under it.

5. When do you put up your decorations? As soon as I can after Thanksgiving.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Turkey, Dressing, Mashed Potatos and Green Bean Casserole

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? My brother and I always had this thing about wanting to be the first one up. Thing was, once I got a little older, I didn’t want to get up too early, so after he went to bed (knowing he slept like a log), I would change his alarm clock so that it wouldn’t go off till after I had mine set to go off. That way I could still be the first one up!

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I think it was when I found the empty box for my gift from Santa hidden behind the garage. Matter of fact, that box was for my baby doll carriage that my brother ran into with his bike a few months later and broke the wheel. I never got to play with it again!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Not always. Just depends on everyone’s schedules. Even growing up it would change. Sometimes one, sometimes all, sometimes not till the next morning.

10. What kind of cookies does Santa get set out for him? Sugar Cookies, until Santa became diabetic – then he got veggies.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Only on Christmas!

12. Can you ice skate? I used to be able to. The last time I tried wasn’t too pretty.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Nothing really stands out. I’ve had a lot of great gifts though (and some really random ones).

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Being with family.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? The Christmas sugar cookie!

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? I love to drive around and look at Christmas lights.

17. What tops your tree? Nothing this year (nothing Christmas at my house). I don’t think I own a tree toper.

18. Which do you prefer Giving or Receiving? Giving

19. What is your favorite Christmas Carol? I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas

20. Candy Canes? They’re pretty, but rarely eat them.

What We Believe

A few of my "blogging" friends got this same email, but I thought the quiz referenced would be interesting to take. Here is the story itself and below are my results.

What We Believe

by Chris Stinnett

From the very beginning of the Internet, there were strange sites found. At one time, from anywhere in the world, you could log on and discover how many cold sodas were in a particular vending machine on the second floor of a building at UCLA. Now, of course, things are much more sophisticated—or at least, flashier.

For example, at a website called BeliefNet, you can take a quiz to discover what religion most closely matches your beliefs. Just navigate here and you can take a 20 question quiz that will reveal your basic faith structure. (Of course, they note at the top of the quiz that they are not legally liable for the ultimate fate of your soul!)

I couldn’t resist. I logged on and took the quiz, submitted the answers and found that I am: 100% Eastern Orthodox, 100% Roman Catholic, 95% Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant and even 88% Seventh-Day Adventist. Apparently, I am more in line with Orthodox Judaism (74%) than with Liberal Christian Protestants (70%), and better suited to Islam (65%) than Mormonism (63%).

This is a spiritual counterpart to early computer dating. They examine your existing beliefs and match you to a group that will mirror your convictions. Of course, this is exactly backward to the impact our faith should have in our lives. God expects to change our faulty thinking and confused beliefs so that we learn the truth and live in actual righteousness with Him.

He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:2-4 NIV).

Jesus calls us to become humble, not childish. We must accept the fact that our understanding is limited. We accumulate convictions and beliefs that are based on false and incomplete knowledge. We need to have convictions that are based on fuller facts And that is what God offers us in His word.

When we hear the truth of God’s word, our false beliefs and shallow convictions are challenged and confronted by the truth. From that moment, we must choose whether we will accept God’s word and change our lives or remain in our former ignorance and reject Him.

What we already believe is not important. What we come to believe on the basis of God’s word is crucial. The work and ministry of the church must reflect God’s call for holiness, not America’s call for comfort.

We must gain and hold a faith based on the truth of God’s word. He accepts responsibility for the fate of our souls!

My Results:

1. Eastern Orthodox (100%)
2. Roman Catholic (100%)
3. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (99%)
4. Seventh Day Adventist (95%)
5. Orthodox Quaker (83%)
6. Orthodox Judaism (79%)
7. Islam (71%)
8. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (66%)
9. Hinduism (63%)
10. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (61%)
11. Sikhism (56%)
12. Jehovah's Witness (51%)
13. Bahá'í Faith (50%)
14. Liberal Quakers (42%)
15. Reform Judaism (39%)
16. Jainism (34%)
17. Unitarian Universalism (32%)
18. Mahayana Buddhism (25%)
19. Theravada Buddhism (25%)
20. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (25%)
21. Scientology (20%)
22. Neo-Pagan (19%)
23. Nontheist (18%)
24. New Thought (16%)
25. New Age (11%)
26. Secular Humanism (8%)
27. Taoism (8%)

One Word Responses

I received this email from a co-worker and so I decided to send it out myself and post the responses on my blog. Feel free to add your own if you like.

“Describe me in ONE WORD...just one word! Send it to me only then send this message to your friends and see how many strange things people say about you! This could be fun! Just hit reply and send me my word back. Then forward this message on to your friends (including me) and see what they say about you! INTERESTING!”

Thoughtful
Random
Safe
Tenacious
Mature (2)
Christian
Unique
Unlucky
Quirky
Fun

Now, some of my friends have failed to respond. Does this mean that their “one word” isn’t a nice one, but they’re too nice to tell me what they really think? Hmm…

Always Makes Me Laugh

There is one item used in home improvement that never fails to make me laugh. I crack up every time I ask our maintenance guy if I can borrow it. Know what it is? It's the "stud finder!"

For those of you unfamiliar with what this is, it's a device you used to find the studs in your wall so that you know where to best anchor nails. You run it across the wall and when it comes across a stud, it lights up.

Works on men too, I have found. I once ran it past our interns (in the Seth, Bart & Jeremy days) and it didn't light up at all!

I think I might need to ask for a stud finder for Christmas!

Baptism by Fire

I have always had the worst luck, so I don’t know why I thought my venture into home ownership would go smoothly. I know everyone keeps telling me how much I’m going to love it, but right now, it’s just draining my wallet. Don’t get me wrong, I like my new place and I’m looking forward to being all settled in and having everything fixed up the way I want it, but it hasn’t even been two weeks and I’m starting to wonder what the heck I was thinking! Let me give you the run down:

Thursday, Nov. 17 – Closing Day
The closing went pretty smoothly and quickly. I was excited to find out the day before that I had gotten a new dishwasher out of the whole deal. Things were looking good to go. I leave the closing and run by the new place to drop off a few things and make sure nothing needed to be done before we started moving in. When I went to leave, my garage door wouldn’t close. I finally got it down manually and had to make my first homeownership repair call. Luckily the repair guy was able to fix the problem pretty easily, but I will eventually have to have some work done on the garage door. Yeah me!

Sunday, Nov. 20
Sunday morning I’m getting ready for church when I start to hear a strange noise. I knew that mostly likely it’s nothing and that I was just being paranoid because I’m in a new place, but I decided to check it out to be on the safe side. I turn off the T.V. and I definitely was hearing a noise – and not just any noise, it sounds like there is someone in my kitchen. Okay, now I’m really freaked out. So I dial 911 on my cell phone and have my finger over the call button and head to the top of the stairs. I don’t know what I thought I was going to do next because I had nothing to protect myself with – it was all downstairs. So I stand at the top of the stairs a few moments longer and definitely – there is a noise coming from my kitchen. Then I hear a noise on the front porch, so I gain the courage to peek out the window. It’s the painters!!! The seller didn’t tell me they were coming and the noise I heard was them setting up their ladders – which sounds like they’re in the kitchen.

So I get finish getting ready for church. When I go to leave, they’ve taped a drop cloth to my garage, so they had to lift it up. Great – now they know that for the time being, I live alone. Very comforting – NOT! So, I decide to take my time coming home from church hoping that MAYBE they’ll be gone when I get home. No such luck.

As I’m pulling onto my street, I notice 3 police cars parked in front of my house. My first thought, “Lovely, they tried breaking into my house and he neighbors called the police.” As I get closer, I notice that they have arrested a woman in my front yard. I have no idea why, but I’m glad it’s not because she was breaking into my house. I think she’s the daughter of one of my neighbors – sure hope she doesn’t live there!

Then Monday morning, I wake to hear a noise above me. My first thought that it was just Jeana, until I woke up enough to realize that Jeana doesn’t live with me anymore and there is no one above me… I’m on the top floor! It was probably just the house settling, but it was 5:33 a.m. and I was WIDE awake. Needless to say, I’m now overly paranoid about EVERY noise I hear and I’ve had to start turning on the sleep timer on my T.V. so that I can fall asleep. I keep thinking I need to get a security system, but if it accidentally gets set off (which I hear they do) that will only freak me out even more.

Tuesday, Nov. 22
I’m working on trying to get things unpacked when my doorbell rings. It’s my neighbor and he came over to ask me if I knew that water was coming out the side my house through the foundation. Went outside and sure enough…there is water coming out the side of my house. So I go inside to investigate and low and behold, there is half an inch of water standing from behind my fridge to about halfway into the dining room. I pulled the fridge and everything else away from the wall and start finding towels. As I found out this morning, there seems to be a leak in the pipe that attaches to the fridge – if you have an ice maker, which I don’t. So the plumber disconnected the pipe and if I ever get a fridge with an icemaker, we’ll just run a new pipe. Much cheaper than tearing out the old one and finding the leak.

That same night, I started hearing this loud humming noise every so often. Come to find out, my heater wasn’t blowing hot air. Thank heavens for the home warranty because the motor was out on my heater. I would have much preferred for the heater to be out completely so that I could get a new one, but as long as I don’t have to pay for the repairs, I’m good.

Wednesday, Nov. 23
I finally get around to changing the locks on my house. I was so proud of myself because I managed to take the locks off myself and take them to the locksmith to get them changed out. Only cost me $22.50 instead of paying $65.50 to have them come out. Problem was, my mom was “helping” me and she popped the whole thing out instead of just letting me take the core out and when I went to put the deadbolt back on…it wouldn’t go back on. I tried everything I could think of for 3 days. Finally I called our maintenance guy here at work and he came over and whittled out enough to get it back on. I hope this is the last time I have to change the locks!

Thursday, Nov. 24 – Thanksgiving Day
The traditional “turkey day” was spent painting the insides of my kitchen cabinets. We decided by doing it that way, if we didn’t get it all done, we’d at least be able to put my kitchen stuff away. Lesson I learned from painting the kitchen cabinets: Make sure the house is open when you use Kilz, be sure to wear some sort of head covering when using Kilz (doesn’t come out of the hair easily) AND when painting over dark wood, use more than one coat of Kilz to avoid doing 4 coats of white! I think the cabinets will look good when I get done, but “done” is the operative word here. I was going to Kilz the outsides yesterday since I had the day off, but it was way too cold and windy here to do that. Hopefully there will be another nice day sometime soon.

Monday, Nov. 28
After spending a long afternoon and evening unpacking the kitchen, I went upstairs to get ready for bed when I noticed an orange stain on my bathroom rug. Seems my toilet is leaking at the base. As we speak, I’m waiting for someone with the warranty company to call me back and let me know when the plumber is coming.

I have to say, it kind of makes me laugh. Things like this always happen to me. Whether it is cars, homes or relationships, anything I touch inevitably fall apart. I could whine about it, but it won’t change things, so I’ve just learned to expect it and laugh -- and realize I will be in debt the rest of my life because of it. Which, if anyone out there would like to donate money towards the “Stacey’s Debt Reduction Fund”, let me know. I take cash or checks (and would take credit cards if I had a way to scan them.)

Funny Story Behind this Email

The Center for Disease Control has released a list of symptoms of bird flu. If you experience any of the following, please seek medical treatment immediately:

1. High fever
2. Congestion
3. Nausea
4. Fatigue
5. Aching in the joints
6. An irresistible urge to poop on someone's windshield.

Here's what's funny, on Monday I went to lunch with my friend Jenn and parked too close to a tree. When I came out, my car was COVERED in bird poop. I had to go wash my car before I could do anything else.

This has kind of been par for the course during moving week. I have had more glitches this week than I can even begin to mention. I've decided it's a lesson in rolling with the punches...something I've normally been good at, but I guess I must be slacking and needed a refresher course.

So, tomorrow is the big day. I do a final walk thru this afternoon at 4:00 and we close tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. Tomorrow night, I will go to sleep in my new home. A little nervous, but here goes nothing!!!

Tag

I think this time, I have taken randomness to a whole new level.

1. I’ve decided that packing peanuts are my favorite thing to use when packing. Not cheap, but they sure are easy. I’m the opposite.

2. I left the chicken I cooked to add to tonight’s dinner out all night, so I have to go buy canned chicken at lunch

3. My neighbor to the south has his nipples pierced and he’s hairy. I don’t like seeing him with his shirt off (which seems to be his attire of preference.

4. At least one of my neighbors to the north smokes in their back yard, which I hate because if I open the door to come or go, it pulls the smoke into our house and it makes it smell. =(

5. I’m in the process of moving (hence comment #1).

6. My best friend is having a boy in March.

7. I want a smooth haired Dachshund someday and I want to name him Roscoe.

8. You should use Kilz before painting over woodwork (helpful tip from Aunt Bev).

9. I’m thinking about darkening my hair – temporarily.

10. I have lots of bruises on my legs right now (sorry no pictures).

11. I need to clean off my both of my desks.

12. I have contemplated getting a tattoo someday, but I’m too afraid of getting a bad one.

13. It annoys me when random people try to use my blog to sell stuff (yes, I mean you!)

14. The older I get, the more skittish I become about spiders, bugs, rodents – anything that bites or carries germs. I guess the same could be said about kids.

15. I can’t decide what color to paint my kitchen.

16. I don’t know what I want for lunch.

17. I need to clean the polish off my toes.

18. I don’t think I have anything to do this afternoon.

19. I love chewy Sweetarts.

20. I have till January to use my free movie ticket.

Now I am supposed to tag 10 people to write their 20 random things, but I’m not going to.

Annoying

I get an email today from a co-worker saying “I hope this doesn’t make you mad at (name withheld)” and she forwards me and IM between her and her boss. Here is their conversation:

Secretary says: so, on to the bad news...
Secretary says: your CAP finally broke the color copier
Secretary says: I was up here on Saturday trying to complete them, and it just started shooting out pages that looked almost melted
Secretary says: It got worse and worse, and i finally had to pull all the paper out of the copier to get it to stop
Secretary says: Stacey tells me that we're going to have to pay off this broken copier before we could even propose getting another one, and even at that we might not get approved for the purchase
Boss says: Sorry it's caused such a problem for you
Secretary says: It's a problem for everyone.
Secretary says: We can't make our own color copies any more
Secretary says: ANYTHING in color will need to be outsourced
Boss says: Is it totally dead?
Secretary says: Yes
Boss says: That could have happened with any document
Secretary says: Yes, it could have happened with any document, but typically, we don't print multiple copies of 75 page documents

Here is what annoys me. I just had the copier serviced on Thursday and it was working GREAT – better than it has in a long time. Also, this secretary failed to mention that her child that actually broke the copier, which was why it wasn’t working on Saturday. She’s pushing it off as a copier problem when actually it was a user problem. Even if she didn’t want to mention that her child broke it, all she had to say was “there was a copier malfunction and your job didn’t get printed.”

Granted, I know our copiers can be a real pain sometimes, but she’s making it sound like the machine it completely unusable when that’s really not that case. And I didn’t even get mad when she told me before this IM that her child had broken the copier. I was able to fix it and it told her it was no big deal. But now I’m kind of irritated. Oh well.

All Kinds of Stuff

Yes, I know. I have seriously been neglecting my blog lately. Part of it is because summer is over and my work load has increased. Some of it has just been lack of inspiration. It seems that when something worth writing about takes place in my life, by time I get around to writing about it, it’s no longer interesting.

So, in an attempt to pay some attention to my blog, here are some things that have been taking place in my life lately…

Well, first of all, the biggest thing in my life right now is that I bought a house. A townhouse actually, but it’s still mine all the same. It’s been a real emotional rollercoaster for me. At first I was really freaked out about the whole thing because it happened so fast and I was starting to wonder if it was the best thing for me. The owners accepted my bid two weeks ago today and the next several days following were just awful. I was doing the whole “what if” thing. I finally had to remind myself that I had been praying about it a lot and praying that if it wasn’t the right decision for me at that time that things wouldn’t work out. I don’t close till November 17, so there is still time for things to go south. And if they do, I will be quickly looking for a place to live considering that my roommate is getting married November 19 and we have to be out by November 20. If I have your email address, you’ll be getting an invitation to the moving party because I’m going to have to do it quickly.

I found this video today on my friend Fletcher’s blog. He’s teaching English in China, so I know why he put this on there, but it is really funny.

This brings me to another thought…I think I need to invest in a video camera. I do some of the stupidest stuff sometimes and I’m so accident prone that I think that a “Stacey’s Home Improvement Cam” could help me finance some of the things I want to do if I turn it in to America’s Funniest Home Videos. Even if that doesn’t happen, it would give you all something to laugh at. Be glad I’m wearing hose today, or you would be getting new pictures of my latest injuries. I have a HUGE bruise on each of my knees, another HUGE bruise on my left calf and all kinds of little bruises from my trip to New Orleans.

Ah, New Orleans. This time last week, I was completing day one of probably the most disgusting service projects I’ve ever done. I have never seen so much mold! In case you’re wondering, I went to New Orleans with a group from church for a few days to do disaster clean up. The pictures can’t even begin to describe what we saw and did. I had never been to New Orleans before, so this was my first experience. I don’t know that I can say it was fun (though there were some “fun times”), but it really made you appreciate what you have and also made me seriously consider throwing out everything I know I don’t need. I also learned another valuable lesson…don’t keep anything in your home that you wouldn’t want some stranger finding when they’re cleaning out your house. I’ve also discovered that you learn a lot about people when you travel with them and especially when you’re trying to keep them from falling asleep at the wheel. I’d share more but, “what’s said in the van, stays in the van!” I’m just glad that I wasn’t the one in the driver’s seat when we played 2,220 questions. =) Sorry, I was going to include pictures, but it's not cooperating!

Well, on top of everything else, I have found myself again this year planning a Halloween Party with Lindsy. Not that I don’t enjoy doing stuff like that, but things have been a little hectic this year, so it’s been hard to put a lot of thought into it. Until we went to Target last night, I still had no idea what I was going to be for Halloween. I have a great Snow White costume, but I was Snow White last year and my hair is longer this year, so I really needed to do something else. I had a pretty good idea, but I really didn’t have time to pull it off (not sharing because it might be next year’s costume). So, last night while we were at Target, I found a pair of orange and black knee socks and that did it! I’m going to be a cute witch! =) I went to Wal-Mart after I dropped Lindsy off and bought a hat with orange trim, a cape and I already had the black dress. Not the most original idea, but by far the easiest – which is WONDERFUL!

So, until next time…

Old Crazy Dancing Lady Returns to the Gym

I think I’ve written about the crazy dancing lady at my gym before, but for those who haven’t heard about her, I’ve got this OLD lady (late 60’s, early 70’s) who comes to my gym and “shakes her thang” all over the place. I swear she used to be a pole dancer somewhere and who knows how many times she’s had to replace her hips based off the way she moves. It is a toss up on who is my favorite person to watch…Old Crazy Dancing Lady or Middle Aged Anorexic Ballerina.

My gym attendance hasn’t been the greatest lately and even at that, OCDL and I haven’t always been on the same workout schedule. BUT last night, she was back. She was sporting jazz shoes, dance hose, shorter than Daisy Duke’s short shorts (with butt cheeks hanging out) and a tight black crop shirt. The outfit alone was enough to make you snicker, but to see her dance. I wish I could describe it properly. There was a lot of shimmying. It was almost like Dirty Dancing meets Golden Girls. It was all I could do not to laugh out loud. Oh, and at one point, she decided to make use of the chin-up machine. I think the chin-up machine might have felt violated after she got done. And she LOVES to watch herself in the mirrors. That woman is all over the place.

Towards the end of my workout, I went to do crunches on one of those boards that hold your feet. Just as I’m walking over there, she walks in between the two boards that they have and begins talking to one of the fitness instructors. Well, there was no using it till she moved – which became evident wasn’t going to happen for a while – because she dances while she talks (the woman NEVER stops moving) and I didn’t want that image in my face while I was trying to do crunches (plus there isn’t much room between the two boards and I thought it would be rude to ask them to take their conversation some place else so that I could work out). So I sit down on another machine waiting for their conversation to end.

The conversation was almost as funny as OCDL. She was telling the instructor that she didn’t go to bed to 5 a.m. because she was up all night dancing at some dance club. Also is telling the instructor that she was just out there dancing by herself and 5 guys came up and all started dancing with her (and she was demonstrating how she was dancing – again, Dirty Dancing meets Golden Girls). The whole thing was just hilarious to me. Too bad she’s not there when I am more often because watching her is much more distracting than watching the TV. Thirty minutes on the elliptical just flies by.

So there you go Lindsy, a new post. Sorry, it’s not that I haven’t had stuff to write about, but it’s stuff that I still need to keep under wraps for the time being (I don’t want to jinx it). I know you’re curious. You’ll just have to tune in later.

Not Sure What to Title This One

I got an email today from a co-worker that was full of pictures. She sent it to me because of the last 3 pictures. After seeing them, I felt compelled to post them.

Two things come to mind when I see these pictures: 1) if I found this in one of our printers, it would completely freak me out; 2) talk about having a bad day. I don't like mice, but his face in the last picture is just so pathetic, I feel really bad for him.

For those of you that are concerned about the mouse, I'm told he was still alive, just stuck (of course, if he makes a habit of climbing into toner cartridges, his days might be numbered.)

I STINK!!!

I don’t know what it is about City Bites, but my clothes always reek after I leave. Needless to say, I had lunch there today and I smell awful and I just want to go home and change clothes. I don’t understand what it is about City Bites. I could understand smelling after leaving a BBQ place or some place that has a smoking section…but City Bites is a sandwich shop. What is up with that? Anyway, just thought I would share that I smell really bad right now and I can’t wait to go home and change and I will definitely be doing that before I go to my Relay for Life meeting tonight! Did I mention that I REALLY STINK!!!

Ramblings – The End of Summer Edition

Since nothing that has been going on in my life deserves an entire blog entry of it’s own, here are some of the highlights of my life in the last month.

Six Flags
A few weeks ago, I took Monday off and went to Six Flags with my friend Jenn, her daughter Kayla, and Jenn’s parents. It was the first day back to school for Dallas schools, so it was a great day to go. We never had to wait in line more than five minutes and that only happened twice. Jenn and I did discover that we have gotten too old for Six Flags. We had a blast, but the rides that we used to love really freaked us out this time. You should have seen us on the Sombrero ride. Not long into the ride, we looked at each other and said “this ride can end now.” We saw the word “inverted” on the Mr. Freeze ride and decided against that. Taking Kayla on the Log Jam was the highlight of the day. She loved it and kept saying “again, again”. So, if you ever want to go to Six Flags, I suggest taking a day off and going after Dallas school are back in session.

The Painters
They have been painting our condos lately and the painters really creep me out and they suck! Besides the fact that they painted our front door closed (yeah, that wasn’t fun), but when they painted in our backyard, they tossed all of our pots and anything else on the patio into the middle of the yard, BUT hung my wind chimes back up and moved the grill to a spot that was more in their way than it’s original location. This isn’t why they creep me out (I’m not posting that story), but it is why they SUCK! Oh, Tams! So wish you were still here!!!!

New Lock
I came home Friday at lunch and there was a new door knob and lock on my back door. I’m not sure why this is. Hmm…

Jilinda
My friend, Jilinda, called me Wednesday night and she’s getting married!!! I haven’t met him, but he sounds like a really great guy. His proposal was super sweet and definitely one for the record books. The sad thing is…I’m loosing my Dallas weekend shopping partner. Not that I can’t still go see her and go shopping, just not the same when there is a husband in the picture.

The Allergist
On Thursday, I went to an allergist for the first time. If you’ve never done that, quite an interesting experience. Good thing I’m not afraid of needles because I sure did get pricked with a ton of them. As a result, they determined that I’m highly allergic to cedar, ragweed, two types of mold, and dust mites. This would explain why I get sick at camp every summer!!! Luckily, allergy shots are not deemed necessary at this point. I do though have to shoot all kinds of stuff up my nose several times a day. Also learned that I have a deviated septum and something else up my nose that might need to be surgically corrected – but we’ll cross that bridge later (hopefully much later). I would tell you more, but my doctor was foreign – and though very nice – I couldn’t understand half of what she said. She also wrote down the directions for me on what I need to be doing over the next few months to try to help my allergy symptoms, but she’s a doctor, which means I can’t read her hand writing. I figure that doctor’s office will be hearing from me again.

Another Bombshell
Okay, I’m saving the best for last. If Jilinda calling to tell me she’s getting married wasn’t a big enough shock for my week...my best friend, Tonna, called me this morning to tell me she’s pregnant! The reason for my shock is that she and Kael always said they weren’t going to have kids (though I suspected they might change their minds eventually). I’m so excited to finally get to be “Aunt Stacey!” Okay, I’m still in shock, so that’s about all I can say about that for now.

Two Truths & A Lie

How well do you know me? See if you can tell which two are true and which one is the lie.

1) I can be dared to do just about anything.
2) If I could spend my life doing only one thing, it would be scrap booking.
3) I spewed green Hawaiian punch all over Jason’s house last night – twice.

A Reason to Rejoice

For the first time EVER in my bulletin printing days at MRCC, I was able to print the entire bulletin (all 2200 copies) without the copier jamming once!!! First time in over 3 years! This is a major accomplishment. I feel the need to celebrate!!!!

Momentary Lapse of Gratitude

Lately I have been feeling like I’m trying to run up the down escalader and getting no where. I’ve been so busy at work and working really long hours, yet feel like I’m getting no where. So, last night all of that frustration kind of came to a head and started feeling sorry for myself because on top of it all, finances have been really tight lately due to an abundance of unexpected expenses. And then it hit me. I started feeling like such a heel. I had just earlier been watching reports on TV about everything going on in Louisiana and Mississippi and how quickly I had let my own “self woes” let me forget how fortunate I actually am. I have a roof over my head, I have clothes in my closet, water in my faucet, and though they might not be the most appetizing combinations, I could survive for at least 2 weeks – maybe 3 on what is in my cabinets right now. These people have NOTHING right now. Definitely not one of my prouder moments.

Re: Request for a New Post

Yes, I have been neglecting my blog, but that's because I work with people who can't plan ahead and I have had 6 weeks worth of work to get done in 2. I do have some things to post (though I don't know how relevant they will be by time I find time again). I hope to return to blogging world by early September! (Sorry Tams, this will just have to do for now. Even sorrier that my last post was my opinion on Cheez Its.)

FYI

BBQ Cheez-It crackers are NASTY! Hot & Spicy are highly recommended though.

Falling Apart

This is quite appropriate when you consider the rest of my posts this week. To fill you in, I’ve had a sinus infection for the last 3 weeks and pretty bad sinus problems for the last few years. On Monday, I went back to the doctor because things just weren’t getting better. My doctor decided that my sinus problems were chronic (duh!) and that I should see an allergist. To speed up the process, my doctor decided to go ahead and schedule the CT scan that the allergist would do anyway.

So yesterday morning, I went in for my very first CT scan. Not bad at all – with the exception of having to lay still for so stinking long! Well, modern medicine is fast, because my doctor’s office called this morning and I have a sinus disease! It’s some long name followed by sinusitis. Next course of action is antibiotics for a month. Sure hope that works because if it doesn’t I will have to go see an Ear, Nose & Throat doctor to have my sinuses cleaned out and I don’t know what that entails, but it doesn’t sound like much fun!

Most Memorable “Accident Prone” Moments

When I was talking to my mom Monday night on the phone, I told her about my shaving accident from earlier that day (which seems to be healing well) and she brought up some of my past injuries, so I thought I would list the most memorable ones for you:

The curling iron burns (yes burns, more than one) to the head region. I’ve had marks on my ears, forehead and neck. The most memorable of those was the day of Jill & Dan’s wedding. The night before at the rehearsal dinner, the guys were talking about how they hate it when girls get hickies and blame them on the curling iron. Low and behold, the next day while I was getting ready for the wedding, I burnt my neck on a curling iron – badly I might add. Ended up with a 3rd degree burn that required a visit to the doctor.

The black eye my brother gave me when he threw a shoe at me. I started my 8th grade year with quite the shiner and was given the nickname “Spot” by my art teacher (senior year in high school and he’s still call me Spot when he saw me).

The curling iron burn to the palm of my hand. Never pick up a curling iron by the barrel unless you’re sure it’s not hot. Just because the light is off in the bathroom, doesn’t mean the curling iron hadn’t been plugged in all day and that it hadn’t just been unplugged right before you walked in to pick it up. Also, when your hand comes into contact with something that hot, it seems to like to grab hold even tighter. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to let go.

The car door slamming on my nose. Windy day and a sloping driveway at the Shoemaker residence in Wellington, KS does not a good outcome make. I don’t think I could re-enact it if I tried, but it gave Rachel a good laugh. I’m just glad I didn’t break it.

Broken pinky toe. I know a lot of people break their little toe, but how many have broken it while doing a handstand? Takes talent!

Branding myself with a hair dryer. Oh yes, it can be done and it takes YEARS for it to go way. How does one do this you ask? Try dropping a hot, running for 15 minutes, hair dryer on your leg barrel down.

Steam burn on fore arm. Who would have thought that reaching over a steaming coffee pot two years ago would leave a faint, yet still visable scar to this day?

The infamous “shaving accident.” Want to know more, read the post.

The infamous “waxing” accident. I’ll spare the details since I posted it previously, but still haven’t touched the stuff since. Luckily, the scaring is so minor, that unless you know where it is, you don’t even notice it (and make up completely covers it up).

Grapefruit size bruise in Jamaica. This actually is also my most embarrassing story. To make a long story short, we were in Jamaica when I was in college and the guys decided to throw one of the other guys in the pool. Not wanting his watch to get ruined, I was trying to take it off of him when he grabbed my ankle with the intention of taking me with him. Since I was wearing a dress and didn’t want my camera to go into the pool, I was trying to hand my camera to someone in our group while the guys try to use me as a human tug-o-war rope. Before it was over with, I’m in a straddled position with my dress was around my waist and ended up with the biggest bruise on the back of my leg from the near by rail.

The missing toenail. This is pretty gross, but I had a toenail just fall off one summer while I was talking on the phone. It didn’t bleed or anything, it just popped off. It didn’t look like anything was wrong with it, so I don’t know what happened. But since it was summer and I didn’t want it to be obvious that there was a toenail missing, I would just paint the skin. It grew back by the next summer.

And the best, yet STUPIDEST way I have ever injured myself…

The bruised ribs that I got when I fell on/out of a tree. I’m glad my mom doesn’t read this, but if my sister-in-law still does, I might be busted because I’ve never told my mom the real story. When we first moved to Hutchinson, we lived in a duplex on a dead end street. At the end of the street was a green belt that we used to hang out at. One afternoon, my friend Kelly and walked down there after school. It had been raining earlier that day, so everything was wet. I was wearing loafers with slick soles. The story we told my mom was that I slipped and hit the trunk of this tree that had fallen. The REAL story is for some STUPID reason (don’t remember why) I decided to climb a near by tree that was wet from the rain, in these slick soled loafers, and slipped (wonder why?) and fell out of the tree and landed on the tree that had fallen. I didn’t lie about the slipping and falling part, I just left out the reason why I slipped. Nope, I’m not a candidate for Mensa.

Tip of the Day

Bad Move

NEVER shave your legs when you're worked up about anything. The result, a 2 inch gash on your leg.

And for those of you asking why I chose to wear a skirt with such an injury...because I took the time to iron it last night and didn't have time to iron anything else because I spent the morning doctoring myself. If I ever start a list of what I want in a husband, good medical insurance will be on the top of the list!

The following is the running email in our office today…

Stefanie:
“I have an OB appointment AND ultrasound appointment at 1:30 on Monday. Because it is two appointments, it’s very likely they’ll take the entire afternoon, considering all the waiting room time. If it goes quickly, I’ll try to come back to work. If not, I’ll just see ya’ll Tuesday morning.”

Sarah’s Reply:
“And I have a doctor’s appt. on Monday at 10am and an ultrasound on Monday the 22nd at 8 a.m. I think collectively we are the doctorinist group of people I ever met!!!”

Debbie’s Reply:
“Ha! I’m not pregnant and not having an ultrasound. Just wanted everyone to know. If I was there would be pending funeral arrangements for one man I know.”

Linda’s Reply:
“Yeah, some of us are going to the doctor because we’re old and falling apart, and those who aren’t old are getting pregnant!”

Sarah’s Reply:
“Which category does Stacey fall in??”

My Reply:
“EXCUSE ME! I DON’T THINK I FALL INTO EITHER OF THOSE CATEGORIES. Just bad genetics!”


I’m telling you though, and I’ve said it before, it does not pay to work her and not have children. And I know Cochran (yeah, I still don’t like calling you that) has volunteered to “knock me up”, I believe I will be passing on taking anyone up on that offer anytime soon!

A Totally Bizarre & Gross Story

For those who have weak stomachs, you might want to pass on this one.

My mom called me last night and she was telling me that these friends of ours from church had gone on vacation with their whole family to Breckenridge last week. While they were there, they decided to take the kids to ride the Alpine Slides. Anyway, Cathy was coming down the side when her toboggan thing flipped. Since her grandson was right behind her, she didn’t want him to run into her, so she flipped it back over really quick on continued down. When she got to the bottom, one side of her face was covered in blood and she couldn’t figure out why. Turns out she had almost completely cut her ear off!!! My mom said it took a ton of stitches, but they were able to reattach it. How gross (and freaky) is that!?! I told my mom to tell Cathy I can beat that, I’ve had both ears cut off (of course mine were done by a surgeon).

Anyway, I thought that was totally bizarre. For my Colorado traveling companions last summer, this is the same slides we went down! Good grief, my only concern was hitting a chipmunk along the way. Never would have dreamed of loosing an ear! I hold on to my ears every time I think about it!

Lunch Hour Observations

The following (though VERY random) were a couple of observations over my lunch hour that made me go hmmm... and well, just had to share!

Useful Information:
I saw the following message today on the side of a Budget moving truck in front of our condos: “Moving Tip #48 – Packing tape should NOT be used as a painful practical joke.” Really? That’s one of my favorite ways to use packing tape. Duck Tape on hairy legs...laughing just thinking about it! My mission is now to track down Budget Moving trucks and find out the rest of the 47 (or more) moving tips!

Get A Room:
As I was exiting my back door to head back to work, I saw something I had NEVER seen before...2 wasps mating. I didn’t appreciate the miracle of life too much though. The first thing I did was reach for the can of wasp killer. For those of you who don’t believe in killing any living things, don’t worry…they were gone before I got the lid off and I don’t know where they went. I was quite disappointed because it's been my hobby this summer - killing wasps. And this would have been a double bonus...2 at once!

When Did I Go Back to Jr. High?

Last week while I was at camp, I experienced something I don’t think I’ve experienced since the 8th grade…someone getting in my face. I think just about every girl out there knows what I mean. Some girl who thinks she’s all that, confronts you asking why you’ve been spreading rumors about her (or whatever her issue is). Often, this results in some sort of cat-fight that gathered a crowd.

Here is what I don’t understand:

1) I’m 31 years old…well past the age of petty teenage girl “issues”. My confronters were 16 & 17 and campers in my cabin!!! How stupid to mess with the person that dictates how late you get to sleep in the morning and has the power to make you clean toilets!

2) The “rumors” they accused me of spreading, were about their behavior that week (being late to everything, wearing things they weren’t supposed to, not being where they’re supposed to be, talking on their cell phones, etc.) and they couldn’t deny that they did any of it. As for “spreading” the so-called rumors…I don’t call discussing cabin issues in a staff meeting and looking for guidance on what to do next “spreading rumors”. I have no idea how any of this got back to them, but I’m sure it was some well-meaning counselor trying to steer them in the right direction (didn’t work by the way).

So after a LONG heated discussion about their behavior and their attitudes, we came to the agreement to start fresh the next day. Here is the kicker…one of the things they accused me of saying about them was that they were planning on sneaking out. I told them we were told by other counselors that they had been over-heard talking about sneaking out and that we should keep an eye on them. They PROMISED me that they would never sneak out, they were too afraid of getting caught.

Jump forward 24 hours or so. The entire next day, they had been sleeping in the cabin every spare moment they had. And on some occasions, when they shouldn’t have been in there. But instead of getting on their case AGAIN, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. We had a feeling they were up to something, but they promised me they wouldn’t try to sneak out, so I took their word for it.

That evening, after we got back to the cabin from the devo, there were about 5 of them (these two included) that were just acting suspicious. As a result, I had a hard time falling asleep because every time a bed moved, etc., I was awake. Finally sometime around 2 a.m. I fell asleep. My co-counselor, Jessica, came in at 4 a.m. from her “night-watch” duties. At 4:30 in the morning, we were all awoken by 5 girls sneaking out the door. Fran yelled at them asking them where they were going and they were out the door. Oh, it was ON!

Fran & Jessica jumped up and put on clothes and took out after them (I got the job of keeping an eye on the rest of the girls since I was sick and already sleep deprived). These bright young things were not too bright after-all. They were caught within minutes and couldn’t understand how they got caught (hello, the cabin door sticks! It always wakes us up when it opens.) I joined them in the mess hall shortly after and following some more heated discussions, they were informed that they would not be sleeping for the rest of the day and would spend their rest time serving others.

To be honest with you, I wish they had tried sneaking out earlier in the week. They were on their best behavior the rest of the day and were actually for the first time all week, enjoyable to be around.

Plus side to all of this, I got to see my first sunrise in about a year. It was beautiful.

I Fell From A Cypress Tree

WHAT TREE DID YOU FALL FROM?

I got this email from Vicki and well, didn't have the brain power to post anything else (but felt the need to update).

Find your birthday and then find your tree. This is fun and somewhat accurate in line with Celtic astrology. Mine was bizarrely accurate.

Dec 23 to Jan 01 - Apple Tree
Jan 01 to Jan 11 - Fir Tree
Jan 12 to Jan 24 - Elm Tree
Jan 25 to Feb 03 - Cypress Tree
Feb 04 to Feb 08 - Poplar Tree
Feb 09 to Feb 18 - Cedar Tree
Feb 19 to Feb 28 - Pine Tree
Mar 01 to Mar 10 - Weeping Willow Tree
Mar 11 to Mar 20 - Lime Tree
Mar 21 (only) - Oak Tree
Mar 22 to Mar 31 - Hazelnut Tree
Apr 01 to Apr 10 - Rowan Tree
Apr 11 to Apr 20 - Maple Tree
Apr 21 to Apr 30 - Walnut Tree
May 01 to May 14 - Poplar Tree
May 15 to May 24 - Chestnut Tree
May 25 to Jun 03 - Ash Tree
Jun 04 to Jun 13 - Hornbeam Tree
Jun 14 to Jun 23 - Fig Tree
Jun 24 (only) - Birch Tree
Jun 25 to Jul 04 - Apple Tree
Jul 05 to Jul 14 - Fir Tree
Jul 15 to Jul 25 - Elm Tree
Jul 26 to Aug 04 - Cypress Tree
Aug 05 to Aug 13 - Poplar Tree
Aug 14 to Aug 23 - Cedar Tree
Aug 24 to Sep 02 - Pine Tree
Sep 03 to Sep 12 - Weeping Willow Tree
Sep 13 to Sep 22 - Lime Tree
Sep 23 (only) - OLIVE Tree
Sep 24 to Oct 03 - Hazelnut Tree
Oct 04 to Oct 13 - Rowan Tree
Oct 14 to Oct 23 - Maple Tree
Oct 24 to Nov 11 - Walnut Tree
Nov 12 to Nov 21 - Chestnut Tree
Nov 22 to Dec 01 - Ash Tree
Dec 02 to Dec 11 - Hornbeam Tree
Dec 12 to Dec 21 - Fig Tree
Dec 22 (only) - Beech Tree

YOUR TREE (in alphabetical order)

Apple Tree (Love) -- quiet and shy at times, lots of charm, appeal, and attraction, pleasant attitude, flirtatious smile, adventurous, sensitive, loyal in love, wants to love and be loved, faithful and tender partner, very generous, many talents, loves children, needs affectionate partner.

Ash Tree (Ambition) -- extremely attractive, vivacious, impulsive, demanding, does not care for criticism, ambitious, intelligent, talented, likes to play with fate, can be very egotistic, reliable, restless lover, sometimes money rules over the heart, demands attention, needs love and much emotional support.

Beech Tree (Creative) -- has good taste, concerned about its looks, materialistic, good organization of life and career, economical, good leader, takes no unnecessary risks, reasonable, splendid lifetime companion, keen on keeping fit(diets, sports, etc).

Birch Tree (Inspiration) -- vivacious, attractive, elegant, friendly, unpretentious, modest, does not like anything in excess, abhors the vulgar, loves life in nature and in calm, not very passionate, full of imagination, little ambition, creates a calm and content atmosphere.

Cedar Tree (Confidence) -- of rare strength, knows how to adapt, likes unexpected presents, of good health, not in the least shy, tends to look down on others, self-confident, a great speaker, determined, often impatient, likes to impress others, has many talents, industrious, healthy optimism, waits for the one true love, able to make quick decisions.

Chestnut Tree (Honesty) -- of unusual stature, impressive, well-developed sense of justice, fun to be around, a planner, born diplomat, can be irritated easily, sensitive of others feelings, hard worker, sometimes acts superior, feels not understood at times, fiercely family oriented, very loyal in love, physically fit.

Cypress Tree (Faithfulness) -- strong, muscular, adaptable, takes what life has to give but doesn't necessarily like it, strives to be content, optimistic, wants to be financially independent, wants love and affection, hates loneliness, passionate lover which cannot be satisfied, faithful, quick-tempered at times, can be unruly and careless, loves to gain knowledge, needs to be needed.

Elm Tree (Noble-mindedness) -- pleasant shape, tasteful clothes, modest demands, tends not to forgive mistakes, cheerful, likes to lead but not to obey,honest and faithful partner, likes making decisions for others, noble-minded, generous, good sense of humor, practical.

Fig Tree (Sensibility) -- very strong minded, a bit self-willed, honest, loyal, independent, hates contradiction or arguments, hard worker when wants to be, loves life and friends, enjoys children and animals, few sexual relationships, great sense of humor, has artistic talent and great intelligence.

Fir tree (Mysterious) -- extraordinary taste, handles stress well, loves anything beautiful, stubborn, tends to care for those close to them, hard to trust others, yet a social butterfly, likes idleness and laziness after long demanding hours at work, rather modest, talented, unselfish, many friends, very reliable.

Hazelnut Tree (Extraordinary) -- charming, sense of humor, very demanding but can also be very understanding, knows how to make a lasting impression, active fighter for social causes and politics, popular, quite moody, sexually oriented, honest, a perfectionist, has a precise sense of judgment and expects complete fairness.

Hornbeam Tree (Good Taste) -- of cool beauty, cares for its looks and condition, good taste, is not egotistic, makes life as comfortable as possible, leads a reasonable and disciplined life, looks for kindness and acknowledgment in an emotional partner, dreams of unusual lovers, is seldom happy with its feelings,mistrusts most people, is never sure of its decisions, very conscientious.

Lime Tree (Doubt) - intelligent, hard working, accepts what life dishes out, but not before trying to change bad circumstances into good ones, hates fighting and stress, enjoys getaway vacations, may appear tough, but is actually soft and relenting, always willing to make sacrifices for family and friends, has many talents but not always enough time to use them, can become a complainer, great leadership qualities, is jealous at times but extremely loyal.

Maple Tree (Independence of Mind) -- no ordinary person, full of imagination and originality, shy and reserved, ambitious, proud, self-confident, hungers for new experiences, sometimes nervous, has many complexities, good memory, learns easily, complicated love life, wants to impress.

Oak Tree (Brave) -- robust nature, courageous, strong, unrelenting, independent, sensible, does not like change, keeps its feet on the ground, person of action.

Olive Tree (Wisdom) -- loves sun, warmth and kind feelings, reasonable, balanced, avoids aggression and violence, tolerant, cheerful, calm, well-developed sense of justice, sensitive, empathetic, free of jealousy, loves to read and the company of sophisticated people.

Pine Tree (Peacemaker) -- loves agreeable company, craves peace and harmony, loves to help others, active imagination, likes to write poetry, not fashion conscious, great compassion, friendly to all, falls strongly in love but will leave if betrayed or lied to, emotionally SOFT, low self esteem, needs affection and reassurance.

Poplar Tree (Uncertainty) -- looks very decorative, talented, not very self-confident, extremely courageous if necessary, needs goodwill and pleasant surroundings, very choosy, often lonely, great animosity, great artistic nature, good organizer, tends to lean toward philosophy, reliable in any situation, takes partnership seriously.

Rowan Tree (Sensitivity) -- full of charm, cheerful, gifted without egoism, likes to draw attention, loves life, motion, unrest, and even complications, is both dependent and independent, good taste, artistic, passionate, emotional, good company, does not forgive

Walnut Tree (Passion) -- unrelenting, strange and full of contrasts, often egotistic, aggressive, noble, broad horizon, unexpected reactions, spontaneous, unlimited ambition, no flexibility, difficult and uncommon partner, not always liked but often admired, ingenious strategist, very jealous and passionate, no compromise.

Weeping Willow (Melancholy) - likes to be stress free, loves family life, full of hopes and dreams, attractive, very empathetic, loves anything beautiful, musically inclined, loves to travel to exotic places, restless, capricious, honest, can be influenced but is not easy to live with when pressured, sometimes demanding, good intuition, suffers in love until they find that one loyal, steadfast partner; loves to make others laugh.

To all of my European Traveling Friends…

My friend, Tonna, and I are working on a little project and we need your help. For those of you who have traveled to Europe, what are some of the things you would add to your “must buy” list? (i.e. Poland = pottery, Prague = crystal, etc.) We’d love your feedback and if you have any friends who might have input, direct them here because we’d like as much feedback as possible. Thanks!

Thought to Ponder

“…Does the clay say to the potter, 'What are you making?'” ~ From Isaiah 45:9

Slackers of America ARISE

I found this article today on MSN. I AM NOT commenting, but found it very interesting. I wasn't surprised on the reasons they found (I could have told you all of that). Also, I have no opinion on the Missouri findings. Who cares!

Extra: Missouri is No. 1 in slacking off at work
Survey finds average U.S. worker spends two hours a day surfing the Web, running errands or staring into space.

By MSN Money staff and wire reports

A new survey suggests that we’re a nation of slackers -- worse at wasting time at work than even human resources professional suspected. According to an informally conducted poll, the average worker wastes more than two hours a day, not including lunch. Younger workers slack off more than older ones, and men and women waste about the same amount of time.

Although gender played no part in time wasting, geography loomed large. The No. 1 state for wasting time was Missouri, where workers who responded to the survey reported slacking off 3 hours and 12 minutes a day.

The top time-wasting states were:
2. Indiana 2.8 hrs/day
3. Kentucky 2.8 hrs/day
4. Wisconsin 2.8 hrs/day
5. Nevada 2.7 hrs/day

The survey didn't look at why Missouri is the worst in the nation. Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt was a little prickly. "Nobody can match the work ethic of Missourians. This survey, which our busiest citizens did not want to waste their time on, cannot undermine decades of experience. Missouri workers are among the most productive in the world."

The Missouri Department of Economic Development said a study it published last year on the industries driving the state economy found Missouri employees hard at work."

It appears to me the Missouri worker is equal to, or slightly higher, in productivity than other workers across the nation in most of the industries (the Missouri study) looked at," said department spokeswoman Kristi Jamison.

Not enough to do
The survey of visitors to America Online and Salary.com asked 10,044 respondents how much time they wasted in an average workday in a workweek consisting of five eight-hour days. Demographic information, including respondent geography, job category and gender was also collected.

The poll found the workers' top excuses for wasting time nationwide were not enough work or inadequate for the work they do.

More than 44% said the No. 1 way they waste time at work is personal Internet use, like reading e-mail, instant messages, playing interactive games -- and responding to online polls.

The second most popular, according to 23% of respondents, was socializing with co-workers. Other excuses included conducting personal business, spacing out, running errands and making personal phone calls.

The top time-wasting activities were:
1. Surfing Internet (personal use) 44.7%
2. Socializing with co-workers 23.4%
3. Conducting personal business 6.8%
4. Spacing out 3.9%
5. Running errands off-premises 0.1%

The top excuses for time-wasting:
1. Don't have enough work to do 33.2%
2. Underpaid for amount of work I do 23.4%
3. Co-workers distract me 14.7%
4. Not enough evening or weekend time 12.0%
5. Other 16.7%

Employers expect that workers will waste some time on the job, about an hour per day in addition to the lunch hour.

"Our survey results show that workers on average are wasting a little more than twice what their employers expect. That's a startling figure," said Bill Coleman, senior vice president at Salary.com.

He noted that some of the wasted time could be considered helpful, however, as conversations and personal Internet use can lead to new business ideas.

Question...

Why is it the one day when you really NEED to stay really busy at work to keep you from thinking about things you can't do anything about, it’s the day that you’ve accomplished everything you could possibly accomplish before noon even rolls around. It’s going to be a long day.

Well, It's Official

Effective November 19, 2005, I will be without a roommate. Yep, you guess it, Chris popped the "official" question on Friday night. I say "official" because I've known they were getting married for quite a while now and known the date for the last few weeks. It's been funny because they have already bought a house (that they close on next week), she's had her dress for about 2-3 weeks now, they've had the chapel reserved, even started premarital counseling...but it was to remain on the down-low till the ring showed up. Since I knew I was going to have to come up with new living arrangements but couldn't do an active roommate search until the ring was on her finger, I think I was almost as anxious for her to get this ring as she was. So if you see Chris & Jeana, congratulate them because they probably are the cutest couple I have ever seen and I'm extremely happy for them (even if he IS taking away the worlds greatest roommate).

Arachnophobia Episode 2

Oh you guessed it. One year later, a repeat of last summer’s skin crawling experience. Oh yes, I have hundreds of baby spiders all over my office again. Funny that it was the same week last year that this happened. I would say it’s a sign that I need to take this week off, BUT then, who would know that the spiders have hatched! They are the creepiest little black things that you have ever seen. It seem that they hatch in the billboard vinyls that I have in my office before Jay takes them upstairs. I’d take a picture, but they are way too tiny. Squirming here!!! One spider I can handle…hundreds are another story! Who knows how long it had been since they hatched. I only noticed them while talking to Tyson Condict who was sitting in the chair next to my billboard box. But i really think it was just today because they were too concentrated in that area. YUCK!!!!

Giving Up Control

“Most people I know who live free have experienced a serious stronghold or hindrance they fought to overcome. They usually appreciate and apply victory more readily because they’ve experienced the misery of defeat firsthand. I rarely meet people who have come to trust God fully who haven’t also painfully confronted the fact that they can’t trust themselves.”

I have been reading book lately by Beth Moore called Breaking Free. The above was the opening paragraph to the chapter I read last night and the last sentence really hit home for me.

I have been struggling lately with wanting some changes to take place in my life, but not really sure if the changes I WANT to make are the ones God wants me to make. I have always been such a control freak that I have always struggled with truly allowing God to take control. I guess that’s why the last sentence has hit home for me because I have finally come to a point where I truly realize that I CANNOT trust myself to make the right decision about at least one of the situations that I’m facing right now (of course, truth be known, that’s probably the case with every situation I face…old habits are hard to break). I can potential positives and negatives for either choice. As difficult as it has always been for me to give up control regarding decisions that affect my life (like I ultimately have much control anyway), I think for the first time in my life, I just don’t WANT to be the one to decide. I want God’s will.

The problem now is that I want God’s will NOW. I know that in the long run, I will be happiest with God’s decision. I’m just anxious to get there and get past this stage of constantly wondering what He’s up to.

Something else I have come to realize recently that my approach in regards to one of these situations has been wrong from the very beginning. My intentions have been good, but my viewpoint has been skewed. I have been under the misapprehension that God had left the entire burden up to me to make one of these changes. Problem was I didn’t know how to go about it. So because the desired outcome didn’t come about, I was feeling like a failure. I have since come to realize that I wasn’t expected to handle it on my own and that I should have developed a better support system.

All I have to say is that I’m thankful for the gift of prayer and for God’s amazing grace!

Color Quiz

Someone sent me this quiz a while back and I ran across it again this morning. Curious if the results would be anything similar to what they were the last time, I took it again. Am I really this much of an emotional mess? And here I thought I was actually at peace with the situations out of my control. =) Shoot! Sounds like I need a vacation! I'd be interested to know what it says about everyone else...

Your Existing Situation
Needs warm companionship, but is intolerant of anything short of special consideration from those close to her. If this is not forthcoming, is liable to shut herself away from them.

Your Stress Sources
Acutely distressed by what appears as a hostile environment. Feels she is being subjected to intolerable pressure and driven against her will. Rebellious and resentful at what she considers unreasonable demands on her. but feels powerless to control the situation or protect herself in any way.

Your Restrained Characteristics
Willing to become emotionally involved, but demanding and particular in her choice of a partner and in her relations with those close to her. Needs reassurance and is careful to avoid open conflict since this might reduce her prospects of realizing her hopes.

Feels trapped in a distressing or uncomfortable situation and seeking some way of gaining relief.

Your Desired Objective
Needs to feel identified with someone or something and wishes to win support by her charm and amiability. Sentimental and yearns for a romantic tenderness.

Your Actual Problem
The tensions induced by trying to cope with conditions which are really beyond her capabilities, or reserves of strength, have led to considerable anxiety and a sense of personal (but unadmitted) inadequacy. She attempts to escape into a substitute world in which things are more nearly as she desires them to be.

Your Actual Problem #2
Depleted vitality has created an intolerance for any further stimulation, or demands on her resources. This feeling of powerlessness subjects her to agitation and acute distress. She attempts to escape into a substitute world in which things are more nearly as she desires them to be.

Fast Broken

Oops. Our church (which by the way is also where I work) started a day of prayer and fasting for missions last night and it’s supposed to run till 6:00 this evening. Well, I totally forgot, and I guess Sarah did too because she brought stuff from Panera bread this morning. I ate my bagel (who is seriously going to pass up a cinnamon crunch bagel from Panera) and went on with my day. Then just a few moments ago, Sarah walked into my office and reminded me that everyone has been encouraged to fast today. Oops. =) I guess everyone will have day-old Panera tomorrow.

Phoebe O'Shea

“Phoebe O’Shea…has to go to the bathroom”

This was the message left on our voicemail this weekend by and elderly woman living in an area assisted living center. It was the funniest message we have ever had. If I had a way to do it, I would copy the message and try to post it on my blog as a sound file.

What made me laugh even more is that during the beginning of the message, you just heard her breathing, and then as if she was sick of being on hold, she says the first thing that comes to mind. That will be me as an old lady! Random stuff is always coming out of my mouth.

Am I On Candid Camera?

This was by far the craziest, weirdest, you name it, weekend I think I’ve had in a really long time (if ever). It definitely deserves a shout out on my blog.


The Tire

This weekend, I went with a group from our Singles Ministry to Tahlequah, OK to float the Illinois (the “s” is silent by the way) River. This is an annual event and unlike past years, the weather and river were actually perfect for floating. With the exception of my quick exit on what turned out to be the wrong exit, the drive down was uneventful until right before Suzy and I reached the Tahlequah/Muskogee exit. For some unknown reason, I all of a sudden got a flat tire. I was very fortunate though, because it happened right as we were coming up on an exit, so I was able to get off the highway and pull over someplace that didn’t have a lot of traffic. I get out of my car and yes, I did have a flat tire.

Problem was, my dad never would show me how to change a tire because he said that I would always have a man around to do it. Now I was never naïve enough to believe this, but he wasn’t going to show me how and I guess I never thought to ask any of my guy friends or boyfriends. Anyway, we had just had some friends pass us right before this happened, so we called them and they turned around and came back to help us. I think I would have been able to figure it out on my own, but I couldn’t get the lug nuts off. Thankfully Chris had a T-iron and was able to get them off and put my spare tire on for me.

So, spare tire intact, we proceed to continue our journey to the War Eagle Resort just outside of Tahlequah. Since it was after 9:30, Wal-Mart’s automotive center was already closed, so we just decided to stop by there on our way back from the river before we headed home. Bad choice. Had I been a wise woman, I would have gotten up early and taken my car to Tahlequah BEFORE we floated and picked it up on our way back through town. But NOOOO, it was just a flat tire. How long could it take Wal-Mart in Tahlequah to fix a flat tire? The answer to that question…3 hours. But what makes it worse, is that Suzy and I opted to not take a shower before we left the river, so we looked BEAUTIFUL to say the least. We did fit in with the locals though, so it wasn’t so bad.

So here is the ultimate question…what do you do for 3 hours in a Wal-Mart in Tahlequah, OK? Answer…eat in the snack bar and buy nail polish remover, a nail file and toe nail clippers and give yourself a pedicure. =) Oh yes, I have officially crossed the line into white-trashdome. Thankfully we were out of Tahlequah by 7:21 p.m. on Saturday and were basically incident free the rest of the way home.


Ultimate Redneck Vacation

I cannot in good conscience write on my blog without making mention of the observations I had on the river this weekend. I have floated the Illinois many, many times in my life and though I have been aware of this fact in the past, it never really hit home till this weekend. Floating the Illinois River is the ultimate redneck vacation. Oh to have a video to post of what we saw! I just can’t even begin to put into words what we experienced, but let me try:

1) You have women in bikinis that frankly, the person who sold them that bikini should be arrested for inflicting cruel and unusual punishment on the rest of the world.
2) When it comes to tattoos, some people need to learn the concept that “less is more”. It’s almost like they can’t stand to have an inch of skin not covered with ink. Why?
3) Old skanky men with much younger skanky women. I know the world isn’t lacking in skanky men, so why do these women feel the need to hook up with men old enough to be their grandfathers. It’s not like these men are sugar daddies or anything. The most they’ll be leaving behind when the pass from this world is their run down trailer in the trailer park. Why bother?
4) Frat boys. I must say the river had a large number of frat boys this time. The incident that really got me were the group of boys who stood on a bank discussing how they were going to get women to show them their chests. Yes, they were putting a lot of thought into this. I think what they decided on was this “Hey ladies (pause, pause, pause) show us your tits!” And who ever said college boys never grow up?
5) Beer. Lots and lots of beer. I think we were the only ones on the river not under the influence of something. The only thing scarier than intoxicated people in boats is the thought that eventually, all of these intoxicated people would be getting off the river and driving home.


Mark

Now to a subject that has nothing to do with Tahlequah at all. Some of you may have heard about this guy that I was sort of seeing a few years ago named Mark. Some mutual friends really thought we needed to meet, so they gave him my email address and we proceeded to email and call regularly for 7 months before we actually met. What’s funny is that he lives here in Edmond, so distance didn’t have anything to do with us taking so long to meet. But by time we did, we knew each other pretty well and seemed to hit it off. We went out a couple of times and things seemed to be going well. To make a long story short, he traveled a lot with his job, so he called me one night to say he was going to be out of town for the next few weeks, but wanted to know if I wanted to go do something when he got back and I told him sure, just give me a call when he got back. That was the last time I talked to him on the phone. I got a few half-hearted email responses after that, but that was it. Since I decided I had better things to do with my life, I just quit emailing him and hadn’t heard from him since.

Then yesterday, I was sitting in church and this family walked in late and sat in front of me. I didn’t really pay any attention to them till I got up to leave and noticed that the guy was Mark! The woman he was with had a son about 6 or 7, so I knew it wasn’t his child and the way she introduced him, I could tell they weren’t married. I am pretty sure he recognized me because he looked like a deer in the headlights when our eyes met. I turned really quick and started talking to Lindsy (which by the way Lindsy, this is why what ever I was saying to you was extremely distracted and probably made no sense). Well, that answers my question of whether or not he was still in the area. =)

Impatience

People are always telling me what a patient person I am. Personally I feel like a very impatient person when you really get down to it. I can put up with bad behavior from people (at least the ones I care about) most of the time because I have a great deal of hope it’s only temporary. But when it comes to the big picture…that’s a different story.

So often (this being one of those times) I’m faced with a difficult situation that I know in time will be resolved because I’m spending time in prayer about the situation and have faith that God will always do what’s best. Even if the result isn’t what I want ideally, I know God’s will is so much better than anything I could possibly desire on my own. Problem is, I want to know God’s will NOW. I find myself thinking, “If God would just show me the outcome, I’m okay with not knowing what it will take to get there.”

Yes, I know it’s in these times that character is built. Trust me, I’m quite the character! To make things worse, I never seem to want to take the easy way out. It’s like a game show and I’m being shown a “sure thing” behind curtain one, but NOOOO, I’m the type that will choose curtain two and take the hard road if I think the outcome could be even better than the sure thing. So I guess I can’t complain too much because I guess I’m partly responsible for my times of struggle. And really, it’s not that I can’t handle the struggles that come my way (especially this time), I’m just tired of “handling the struggles.” I’ll continue to push through whatever comes my way, but it sure would be nice to have a break now and then. =)

Ramblings About My Day

Well, since I'm looking for something to do, I thought I would ramble a little about my day. Let me start by saying that today is the first day of VBS. Yes, it is a mad house around here. It has quieted down a little at the moment, but will be picking up here again in about half an hour. We've already had our first injury of the year. A child ran into one of our secretaries and broke her toe. She is now sporting a lovely boot. =)

Even though the theme changes every year, some things with VBS always stay the same. There will always be crying children, we will always have at least one child during the week go missing which requires an all-out man hunt. We will always have people calling wanting us to go locate someone for them (finding a needle in a haystack would be easier). Not everything about VBS is bad because we always get cookies (well, not last year, they forgot about us).

The lovely spots all over my ankle appear to be a really bad case of chiggers. How I got chiggers on my knee, I'll never know. I guess they travel.

Today, I get to go to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned. Normally I wouldn't be excited about this, but I'm looking forward to getting out of the office.

Last night, I mowed the yard. It was so high that the poor mower almost didn't survive. Now we just need an edger. It also probably wouldn't hurt for us to plant some more flowers. Doubt I'll bother this summer. Maybe next.

Well, that's as random as it's going to get today.

Attack of the...Well, I'm Not Sure

My Ankle

This is a picture of my ankle. The little red dots are just a sampling of what is all over my legs. My best bet is that it is chigger or mosquito bites, but with all the poison ivy I came into contact with, that isn't completely out of the question I guess (I have never had poison ivy, so I really don't know for sure.) What ever it is, it doesn't really itch, just looks UGLY. I might be wearing pants the rest of the week. The darker red dot above the bone in my ankle is from a stick that attacked me while I was raking. I guess that's the price you pay for a weekend in the great outdoors.

On another note, if you ever find yourself in need of a clothes line, Racheal Henry and I are your gals! We built eight of them for the girls cabins as Silver Maple Camp. Can't promise they'll withstand a massive wind storm, but they look good and we got to use power tools! =) If I ever get a copy of the picture from Racheal, I'll post it.

When All Seems Lost

This is one of those "well-timed" forwards that I received from a co-worker and I thought I would post it.

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for GOD to rescue him, but every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. "GOD, how could you do this to me?" he cried.

Early the next day he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" Asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because GOD is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain, and suffering.

Remember that . . .
The next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of GOD.

Who Am I?

I absolutely love the words to this song, so I thought I would share.

Who Am I
Casting Crowns

Who am I, that the Lord of all the earth
Would care to know my name
Would care to feel my hurt
Who am I, that the Bright and Morning Star
Would choose to light the way
For my ever wandering heart

Not because of who I am
But because of what You've done
Not because of what I've done
But because of who You're

I am a flower quickly fading
Here today and gone tomorrow
A wave tossed in the ocean
A vapor in the wind
Still You hear me when I'm calling
Lord, You catch me when I'm falling
And You've told me who I am
I am Yours, I am Yours

Who Am I, that the eyes that see my sin
Would look on me with love and watch me rise again
Who Am I, that the voice that calmed the sea
Would call out through the rain
And calm the storm in me

I am Yours
Whom shall I fear
Whom shall I fear
'Cause I am Yours
I am Yours

The Point System

In the world of romance, one single rule applies to the man: Make the woman happy. Do something she likes, and you get points. Do something she dislikes and points are subtracted. You don't get any points for doing something she expects. Sorry, that's the way the game is played. Here is a guide to the point system:

SIMPLE DUTIES
You make the bed (+1)
You make the bed, but forget the decorative pillow (0)
You throw the bedspread over rumpled sheets (-3)

You go out to buy her what she wants (+5)
in the rain (+8)
but return with beer (-5)

You check out a suspicious noise at night (0)
You check out a suspicious noise, and it is nothing (0)
You check out a suspicious noise and it is something (+5)
You pummel it with an iron rod (+10)
It's her pet (-20)

SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS
You stay by her side the entire party (0)
You stay by her side for a while, then leave to chat with a college buddy (-2)
named Tina (-4)
who is a dancer (-6)
and has silicone implants (-80)

HER BIRTHDAY
You take her out to dinner (0)
You take her out to dinner and it's not a sports bar (+1)
Okay, it's a sports bar (-2)
It's a sports bar, it's all-you-can-eat night, and your face is painted the colors of your favorite team (-10)

A NIGHT OUT
You take her to a movie (+2)
You take her to a movie she likes (+4)
You take her to a movie you hate (+6)
You take her to a movie you like (-2) and it's called "Death Cop" (-3)
You lied and said it was a foreign film about orphans (-15)

YOUR PHYSIQUE
You develop a noticeable potbelly (-15)
You develop a noticeable potbelly and exercise to get rid of it (+10)
You develop a noticeable potbelly and resort to baggy jeans and baggy Hawaiian shirts (-30)
You say, "It doesn't matter, you have one too." (-800)

ANSWERING THAT "BIG" QUESTION
She asks, "Do I look fat?" (-5) (Yes, you LOSE points no matter what!)
You hesitate in responding (-10)
You reply, "Where?" (-35)
Any other response (-20)

COMMUNICATION
When she wants to talk about a problem, you listen, displaying what looks like a concerned expression (0)
You listen for over 30 minutes (+50)
You listen for more than 30 minutes without looking at the TV (+500)
She realizes this is because you have fallen asleep (-1000)

Now what chance do Men have?