Ridding the World of Pests, One Gnat at a Time

For months now, I’ve had a gnat problem in my house. I have done EVERYTHING possible to try to get rid of them, and though I have lowered the count considerably, there are still some stragglers. What’s even more frustrating is that now they’re showing up at work. Am I bringing them with me…possibly. Not sure how exactly. Regardless, they are becoming quite annoying.

Since treating my house plants, getting rid of all fresh fruits and vegetables in the house, pouring Drano down my drains, and putting out bowls of water mixed with vinegar and dish washing soup isn’t ridding me of these pests, I have resorted to hand to hand combat. I have in fact begun slapping at them in the air and killing them by hand. I have already gotten 6 today at work and 4 at home last night.

There has to be a better method, so I’m open to any and all suggestions.

This is NOT the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I feel I’ve done pretty good keeping Scrooge at bay this holiday season, but today just about did me in.

Because I am doing a little traveling over this holiday season, I decided to take my car in before Christmas and get the oil changed and the tires rotated. My $20 oil change just turned into an $850 one (Tamra, I’m feeling your pain now).

They first called to say that they couldn’t rotate my tires because the steel was showing through on one of my tires (of course it was the cheap tire that I purchased to replace the blown out tire I received on the float trip several years ago.) If that wasn’t bad enough, they told me that all of my struts need to be replaced because they’re leaking grease. One would be tempted to get a new car if it weren’t for the fact that no roommate = less cash flow.

I think what really got me is when I realized that I could replace my stove for half of what I have to pay to fix my car. I guess its better that I found this out BEFORE I took my trip, but it still stinks. I keep telling myself that at least I have a car, and at least I have the money in savings, but I hate taking that much out of savings (of course, that’s what it’s there for). Can you write car repairs off on your taxes? =o)

Don't Get Excited

Yesterday I spent my entire afternoon looking at wedding rings. Normally, when a single person says something like this, it's supposed to be an exciting thing. Instead, I was looking at wedding rings for a billboard I'm working on for a marriage seminar. There is something very dangerous about asking a single person to design a billboard for a marriage seminar. I'm actually taking a break from said marriage seminar billboard because I still don't like it and I'm hoping taking a break from it will inspire me somehow. I'm not holding my breath.

I Bet You Never Thought You Would Hear Me Say This

To anyone who knows me WELL, you will find the true humor in all of this. On Saturday I made a purchase that I honestly never thought I would make in my entire lifetime…I bought a gun. A Remington 870 20 gauge Youth Series to be exact. My cousin called me on Saturday to see if I could do them a favor. McKensi wants her own gun for Christmas and since her little brother has two they decided it was only fair. Problem was, the one they wanted was on sale this past weekend at Academy and they don’t live near an Academy and couldn’t make it to the city to get it themselves. So it was “Aunt Stacey” to the rescue. =o) I think what is even funnier is that she’s getting this from Santa Claus.

We had some laughs at work because I said if the word got out that I’m now armed, this would probably put the nail in the coffin and confirm that I will be single forever. Mark & Andy pointed out that if I put an NRA bumper sticker on the back of my car and gun rack in the back window, it could possibly help my chances.

Have any of you ever purchased a gun? For obvious reasons, there is a lot of paperwork you have to fill out and a lot of procedures you have to go through. First of all, they asked if my address on my license was my current address – and it wasn’t because I never got it changed after I moved. So I resolved that by making a quick trip to the DMV to get it changed. I know that I did not have any ill intentions for my gun purchase, but still, it seemed a little too easy.

Then I had to fill out all of this paperwork and answer all of these questions asking me if I have a mental illness, or if I’m a stalker, etc. I almost started laughing while I was standing there because I just kept thinking, “If I did/am would I really admit it?” Now granted, they did do a background check on me so if I had incorrectly answered some of those questions, they would have discovered it then (I hope). I really liked the look on peoples’ faces when they saw ME trying to purchase this firearm. Actually, if they really knew me they might have been a little scared. =o) But worry not, I didn’t buy any ammo. I’ll leave that up to her daddy!

As big of a laugh as I’m getting out of this, I will be glad when it is out of my possession and I no longer have a gun registered in my name.

When Life Give You Lemons...

I had one true goal the day after Thanksgiving…purchase dishes at Kohl’s to add to the ones I already have. I was a little terrified of the crowds, but I thought since Kohl’s opened at 4 a.m., if I waited till a little later in the morning (7 a.m.) then it wouldn’t be AS bad. I’m not sure how accurate that really was, but my dishes were on sale AND I had an additional 15% off that, so I getting my dishes at a really great price. The only problem was that I couldn’t decide on a color. The ones I have already were cobalt blue. At one time I thought about eventually getting 3 different colors…cobalt blue, cranberry, and yellow. But close to Thanksgiving I had started rethinking that decision. So that morning at Kohl’s I was in a quandary which color to get. My mom was kind of pushing the cranberry on me and since there were less cranberry than blue, I decided to purchase the cranberry and think about it a few days and exchange them if I changed my mind.

After a week of indecision, a friend convinced me that if I really couldn’t decide, then I must be leaning towards the blue (she knows me well). So, last Thursday night, I took the sacks of dishes and put them on my kitchen cabinet so that I wouldn’t forget to take them with me on Friday to return them. Friday morning, I went downstairs to leave for work and much to my dismay, the sack with the bowls in it were lying on my kitchen floor. I just stood there afraid that my fear of four broken bowls would be a reality. I finally reached down and felt the outside of the wrapping of each bowl and sure enough. All four bowls were in pieces.

I have no idea what happened. Since I live alone, it’s not like someone else could have knocked them off the counter (though a co-worker tried to convince me I have a critter in the house). I can only assume that one of the bowls wasn’t completely level and must have fallen over at some point (likely aided my by neighbors who slam their front door all the time). Regardless of how it happened, I now had four broken bowls that could no longer be returned.

I was about to throw them out that afternoon when I got home (and had finally come to terms with my loss) when I got the bright idea that I should turn them into some sort of broken dish mosaic like you see on all the design shows. Problem is, I know myself well enough to know that I would never actually get around to doing that. Then I got bright idea #2…sell them on eBay. Jay Leno is always showing random things that sell on eBay for crazy amounts of money. So today I listed my broken bowls on eBay. If they sell, great…maybe I’ll get enough money out of them to replace them. If they don’t, I’m only out $0.40. Wish me luck!

Too Tired!!!

Last night, when I went to bed I turned on my reading lamp with the intention of reading my bible before I went to sleep. It appears I fell asleep before I reached for my bible (yes, I was THAT tired). But that’s not the “I’m a dork” part. I kept waking up during the night because the light was on, BUT it took me till 4:30 a.m. to comprehend that if I would just reach up and flip the switch, the light would go off. What a concept!!!

Thanksgiving Highlight

Saturday my mom and I went to see my cousin and her family. Here are a few pictures of the weekend...

This is the newest addition to the family, Remington, with his "Aunt" Stacey. The kids have always called me Aunt Stacey, even though I'm actually their cousin. McKensi is finally old enough that she was trying to figure out how I fit into the picture.

Isn't he just the cutest? He was a month old on Saturday.

Bundled up for our car ride to go look at the river and the countryside (they live in a small town in Southwestern Oklahoma and that's about it for excitement). =o)

Colton in his hunting gear. He hasn't managed to get a deer yet, but was quite proud of the wild pig he shot.

McKensi getting ready to go out for an evening in the deer stand with her dad. She was insistent that she was going to shoot that buck they had all been trying to get all week. I somehow doubt that happened. =o) And yes, those are deer hanging on the wall and camouflage furniture. They are REALLY into hunting. ;o)

You would have to see the scene leading up to this to find the true humor in this picture. Colton was goofing off and just being the six-year-old boy that he is and tripped and fell and landed in the baby carrier. You had to be there, but I included the picture anyway.

You Might Want to Think Twice

You might want to think twice before drinking out of hotel glasses. Personally, I may start traveling with my own after seeing this. This gives me the heeby jeebys!

All I Want for Christmas Is...

Not really, but a friend sent these to me a LONG time ago and I had been saving them in my email folder because I thought they were funny and decided with the holidays approaching, it was a good time to share. ;o)

For the Record...

...I like eating at Mimi's because I like their muffins (but their pancakes are good too).

...I don't like the new outside doors at my place of employment. They're heavy and hit me in the elbow every time I try to come in. I also don't like that my key doesn't work in them yet and I had to call and have someone let me in the other day.

...I will like it when the handicapped button is installed on said doors because it will make getting in with my arms full so much easier!

...I like that the trees are starting to change colors.

...I need to get a flu shot.

...for some reason I'm itching to put up my Christmas decorations (hurry up Thanksgiving).

...Magic 104 (that's KMGL Krista) was playing a Christmas song Friday night and it's WAY too early for that!

The Golden Compass

This disturbs me, but the source is pretty reliable. I keep meaning to do some additional research of my own, but haven't had the time lately (hence the short posts).

This is a Sport?

Have you ever heard of cup stacking? Apparently, this is a "sport" and ESPN even covers it. Today we had a bunch of home schoolers (who don't follow directions very well) showing up at our building for a cup stacking tournament. I'm quite baffled by the interest in this particular "sport".

Best Joke Ever

This is my favorite joke in the whole wide world!!!

Two fish in a tank.
One fish says to the other fish,
"How do you drive this thing?"

This Could Be Addicting

A friend sent this to me yesterday and it seems the first place either of us went was to find out where Data from "Goonies" is. Have fun!

Weekend at a Glance

This weekend I was given the opportunity to attend the Highland Plains Leadership Summit for Relay for Life. Honestly, I went because I knew the information would probably be helpful, but I was not looking forward to it. Spending my entire weekend listening to people lecture was not my idea of fun. Thankfully, it was not near as bad as I thought it would be and the lectures were interesting enough that I didn’t find myself looking at the clock on my cell phone every five minutes. Here are the most notable things to come out of this past weekend…

The HOV Lane: I LOVE the HOV! Broadway Extension needs a HOV lane. It easily took 30 minutes off our trip on the way there. It’s the greatest thing ever!!!

The Executive Suite: Don’t know how (and no I didn’t flirt with the desk clerk) but Susan and I ended up with an executive suite. It was so great to have an extra room to watch TV in or to get ready in.

Extreme Stair Master: Twice on Saturday I decided (with others) to take the stairs to avoid the EXTREME elevator congestion to and from break out sessions on the 37th floor. The first time, our staff partner, Sara, and I decided we would just walk down the stairs. Down should be no problem, right. Problem with down was that we started getting dizzy going round and round the stairwell, so at the 22nd floor, we decided to try to jump onto an elevator…it worked. After lunch, Susan and I decided that we would go down to the lobby and jump on the elevator there (everyone else was on the 2nd floor.) Problem was, the elevator never made it down to the lobby. So we came up with bright idea #2 (along with a few other women). We decided to take the north tower elevators up to the 29th floor and then jump on to an elevator. That didn’t work either…elevators were too full. So, we then moved on to bright idea #3…take the stairs. It was only eight floors. It wouldn’t be that bad. We didn’t take into account that 1) we weren’t in THAT great of shape and 2) there is an altitude difference that high up. After the 3rd flight, I thought I was going to die. By time we got to the top, I was sure of it. We did let some people think we walked all the way up 37 flights of stairs…it impresses people more. =o)

Nanotechnology: I won’t even begin to try to explain this, but here is one of many websites that helps to explain its importance to cancer research. Definitely one of the most encouraging things I’ve heard in the stride to fight cancer.

Big THANKS to Susan for being a great co-pilot! I might still be stuck in Dallas if it weren’t for her help (and to anyone we might have cut off in our instantaneous lane switching…sorry, we couldn’t help it.)

Notables This Week So Far…

First of all, I was told yesterday that (and I quote) “…you’re much less pathetic in real life than you make yourself out to be on your blog.” So my goal is to do my best to make myself sound less pathetic, but there is only so much this girl can do. ;o)

Second, my toilet exploded last night…sort of. I flushed it, it made a weird noise (the kind that makes you think that what ever is supposed to go down is about to explode out). Then water started spewing out the top of the tank. I quickly took the top off, but couldn’t exactly figure out why. So what did I do…I flushed it again. Seems the hose that fills the tank with water came loose and when I flushed the toilet the hose shot around and started spraying me in the face (it’s okay to laugh, I’m sure it would have been funny to observe as a bystander). There is a little hook on the side of the hose and it appears to have come loose, but I don’t know where it was originally attached, so I attached to the first thing I could find. It works…that’s all that matters, right?

Third…toe vs. door frame. Jury is still out on exactly who won. My choice of shoes today may be giving the door frame that upper hand. I don’t think I broke it, but it sure does hurt!

Finally, my chiropractor told me I looked like Couisn It today. Sadly, it was probably deserved (oops, did that sound pathetic?). I need a haircut REALLY REALLY REALLY bad, so I’m getting one tomorrow (the appointment was made before the Cousin It comment…only because I was having the same issues yesterday as today.) Don’t expect anything earth shattering. I still don’t have a new roommate, so I won’t be doing anything that requires regular upkeep.

Someone Thinks They Are SOOO Funny

I don’t know if I ever actually wrote about this, but approximately a year ago, I started getting Men’s Vogue in my mailbox. At first I thought it was a trial offer, but I kept getting it every month. Since I have a hard enough time reading the magazines I do get, I would just throw it away…mainly because I didn’t feel like spending the time trying to get off the list. The trash can was faster.

Well, today I check my hotmail and I have an email telling my by preferred member subscription is about to expire. Funny that I was a preferred member since I never signed up for it in the first place. And since there aren’t a lot of people out there who have my hotmail address, I’m curious who played such a prank (and thank you for not using my work address). I’m sure I had it coming because I helped a co-worker play similar prank on a college friend of ours (Jim, was this your doing?).

Now the question is, why Men’s Vogue? Maybe my mom did it during one of her sleep walking (or sleep web-surfing) episodes. Hmmm…

Random Stuff

Mystery Dinner
Earlier in the week, I noticed I had a container of frozen soup in my deep freeze, so I decided to heat it up for dinner last night. It was raining and it was a little chilly outside. Perfect soup weather. Thing was, I didn’t exactly know what kind of soup it was. I wasn’t sure if it was chili or beef stew…either way, it worked. So I proceeded to heat it up in the microwave. When I took it out, it looked more like chili, but it smelled funny (not bad funny, just not like chili funny). So I took a bite. It wasn’t chili. It was spaghetti sauce! Not really what I expected. So instead of chili for dinner, I had spaghetti. Good thing I had spaghetti noodles on hand.

The Less Likely Option
As some of you know, my roommate will be getting married very soon and I have yet to find a replacement for her. It probably wouldn’t be so bad, but I have a furnace that could go out at anytime, so any additional help with expenses is quite appreciated at this time. So, I’ve decided at this point that at least one of four possible scenarios needs to take place in the next 30 days (preferably less):
- Find a new roommate (ideal for more than just financial reasons).
- Find an enjoyable part-time job (if I’m going to be working that much, I want to not dread it).
- Be tonight’s Deal or No Deal’s lucky $1,000,000 play at home winner (not holding my breath).
- Get married.
Of all of these options, marriage is definitely the least likely to take place. My mom thinks ruling out marriage in less than 30 days is a pessimistic attitude, but I’m not exactly the type to jump into something like that, though I guess I could always change my mind. =o)

I Hate it When I Do That!
This weekend I decided to rent two movies to watch since I had no other plans. I rented You Me & Dupree which was better than I expected and Vacancy. I knew Vacancy would be scary, but with Luke Wilson in it, how scary could it really be? Well, I couldn't tell you the answer to that. I decided to watch it Saturday afternoon so that I would have time to watch something else and get my mind off of it before I went to bed. I got 30 minutes into it and started to psych myself out thinking "what if it's scarier than I think because I'm home alone this weekend." Needless to say, I turned it off and ended up having to return it before I found someone to watch it with me. That's the funny thing...I like scary movies, I have just discovered that I don't like watching them by myself. There was $4 wasted. =o(

On a Serious Note…
I’ve actually been thinking about this a lot this last year, but something I heard on TV this morning has me thinking about it more in-depth again. How is it that multiple people can hear the exact same conversation and pull totally different meanings out of it? I’m constantly amazed how people can get bent out of shape over something they really shouldn’t be that upset about? To me it seems that person or group (and let me clarify…I’m sure I’ve been guilty of this myself in the past) is already sensitive towards the person speaking or about the particular subject matter and reads into it what they want (or technically don’t want) to hear. What ever happened to taking things with a grain of salt or being quick to listen and slow to speak? I don’t know. Why can’t we just all get along or at the very least agree to disagree?

I Guess it's Time I Admit It

I've never really fessed up to it...maybe I didn't want to believe it, but there is no denying it anymore. I have become a TV Junkie. What can I say, it's a cheap form of entertainment. I never really thought I was that big of a TV Junkie until this summer when I had nothing to watch on TV in the evenings. To save money, I cut back my cable to the very basic, which doesn't leave you with a lot of channels to choose from. TV pick'ins were slim. But last night was the night I had been waiting for all summer long...the beginning of Premier Week!!! I'm disappointed that Crossing Jordan didn't return, but that's okay because I have added Dancing with the Stars to my viewing schedule. My VCR is primed and ready to pick up the slack if I'm not home or am interupted during a show. Yes, sad to say...I have become a TV Junkie, but I'm balancing it out by reading during the open time slots. =o)

What Does It Take for a Girl to Get Some Flowers?

Obviously, for me it requires the building manager to decide to take out some rose bushes. Some of our rose bushes at work had become overrun by a vine that was killing the bushes, so our building manager decided to rip out the bushes and start over. As a result they cut off all the existing roses and brought them into our office. So I currently have a vase of white roses on my desk.

Six Degrees of Separation

I intended to post this when it first occurred, but was really busy at the time and forgot, but I still think it’s interesting.

I’m sure most of you have heard of the Six Degrees of Separation theory which refers to the idea that, if a person is one "step" away from each person he or she knows and two "steps" away from each person who is known by one of the people he or she knows, then everyone is no more than six "steps" away from each person on Earth. Several studies, such as Milgram's small world experiment, have been conducted to empirically measure this connectedness. While the exact number of links between people differs depending on the population measured, it is generally found to be relatively small. Hence, six degrees of separation is somewhat synonymous with the idea of the "small world" phenomenon.

Well, it turns out I had less than six degrees of separation from the late Tammy Faye Bakker-Messner. No joke (though I’m sure there are more exciting people to have this kind of connection with, but oh well). Here is how I’m connected:

- Tammy Faye’s second husband was Roe Messner.
- Roe has an aunt named Julia.
- Julia is 1) a family friend that I attended church with as a child, 2) the great-aunt of a good friend/ex-boyfriend, and 3) the sister-in-law of my 3rd cousin.

Of course, I was not aware of this connection till after she died. The friend/ex-boyfriend’s grandmother made him aware of this connection. He had to call me right away to find out if I knew that we were inadvertently related to Tammy Faye (I did have to point out that it was less of a stretch to prove he was related to her than it was for me). I can’t believe she didn’t leave me anything in her will!!! :o)

Fortune Revisited

So, I have down time at work again. I don’t like down time at work because it makes the days so slow. Today, I ran out of stuff to do a good hour before I could leave, so I decided to contemplate the items attached to my bulletin board next to my desk. I found the following on my bulletin board:

- A staff phone extension list,
- A cell phone listing
- A cell phone account grouping list (I keep up with our office cell phone accounts which I think it is cruel and unusual punishment to make someone spend so much time on hold trying to make changes to a cell phone account that isn’t even theirs.)
- A paper weight conversion chart
- Bulletin distribution list (that is extremely out of date)
- The label from a ream of paper so I’ll remember what kind I need to purchase next time
- A post it note with a drawing by a co-worker’s daughter when she learned to write her name
- Memos about network connections that I don’t even remember what they go to
- Address and phone number from a paper supplier
- IP addresses for everything under the sun
- A list of people who have a particular program loaded on their computer that 1) we don’t use anymore and 2) half the people don’t even work here any more.
- Names and phone numbers for people that I have no idea who they are anymore or why I have those numbers
- An office birthday list (which is also very outdated)
- A very old “to do” list
- A machine ID cheat sheet so that I don’t have to go look up the number every time I call for service
- And two note cards that I don’t even know what they say on the back or why I still have them (maybe I should read them).

But the most interesting is a slip of paper from a fortune cookie. I look at it every day, but hadn’t paid a lick of attention to what it actually says in who knows how long. So, looking for something to occupy some more of my time, I decided to read what was so important that I saved it on my bulletin board. It read:

“Good things come to those who wait. Be patient.”

Wow. That was definitely something I needed to be reminded of right now.

My life has been increasingly more difficult and frustrating the last couple of years. I’ve definitely been through worse, but there are some elements of the present circumstances that make them more difficult to accept. I’m not going to get into all of that, but I guess I just needed that little reminder to be patient. This too shall pass and I’ll have a whole new batch of challenges to over come. ;o)

Hmmm

I have dreamed about babies three times this week. They are never mine though. I've had dreams I was pregnant (and always trying to explain to people that I didn't do anything and don't know how I got pregnant), but I have never had dreams that I recall where babies were the focus? I looked it up today in an online dream bank, but it wasn't helpful (didn't seem applicable). At first I thought it was because Suzy's sister just had a baby (sometimes events from a day will show up in some form in my dreams), but it happened again last night...twice. It's probably just because everybody and their dog is pregnant right now. =o)

There is a Very Good Reason for My Lack of Posting

I must apologize for not updating lately, but I have been Miss Cranky Pants lately and it wouldn’t make for conducive blogging. Here are the top 4 reasons I’ve been cranky…

#1 – Sick due to the current ragweed count. I just finished an allergy study today (which is part of the reason I’m sick due to lack of necessary preventative measures) so things should get better b/c I can start taking meds I know will work AND I’m $350 richer.

#2 – Major Burnout…I am in serious need of a job change (yes, I know I keep saying that, but nothing has panned out so far).

#3 – In serious need of some time off (I’ve finally found a way I can take the remainder of my vacation time, but I’m not scheduled for my first day off till the end of the month.)

#4 – Really tired of unsolicited advice/input from people lately on various circumstances that they know very little about. Trust me, if I want your advice, I’ll ask for it (and I don’t do that very often). Stop trying to fix something that ain’t broke, don't judge if you don't know the entire story, and don’t tell me to change something if you don’t have a PRACTICAL way for ME to do it. I would understand if I were doing something that might cause physical, emotional, or spiritual harm, but I'm not. Trust me, other than being annoyed, I'm good.

See, there is a reason why I haven’t posted in a while. =o)

Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?

The longer I live in my neighborhood, the more observations I make about the people that live in it.

There is the man that owns the maroon old lady car that used to sit in his driveway and now sits in the street across from his house. What is so weird about this is that 90% of the time, the hood is up. I never see him working on it, but the hood is always up. This has baffled me for a while and then this week, I had a thought. I bet something died in his engine and he’s trying to air it out. This happened to a friend of mine at the beginning of the summer and it’s the only logical explanation I can come up with.

Then there are my Asian neighbors (Chinese speaking but not from China). There are all kinds of funny stuff about them. They’re very nice, but run through the house all the time and the weirdest thing of all is that I often find them sitting on the curb reading the paper or something. Not sure why this is. Some might say it’s weird that they are always outside talking on the phone, but the truth is, cell reception in my neighborhood stinks. I always have to find strange places to talk on the phone.

THEN there is the couple who don’t actually live in my neighborhood, but live close by and I drive by them regularly. Their house backs up to the major street my neighborhood is off of. They appear to have a decent size yard, BUT for some reason, they have planted a vegetable garden on the other side of their fence (not in their actual yard). What is even stranger is that they have to walk half away around the block to get to it because their fence doesn’t have a gate and they’re house isn’t on the corner. This might be hard to follow without seeing it for yourself, but it really baffles me every time I drive past them.

Saga Continues

Now these people are just plain stupid.

And here is more on Tuesday's ordeal.

Excitement in my Home Town

What is this world coming too? Read this!

Blast From the Past

I was working on loading photos onto our SmugMug account at work today and ran across some pictures from my "College Days". There is on person on here a lot of you should recognize but probably don't (and it's not me!) Ah how time changes us all. ;o)

Bobby

Loving Shelleye & Jill's hair!

Shon, Mike, Darren & Ronny, Scott & Blake

This isn't actually from MY college days (shortly after) but I love this picture of Tyson.

Can you figure out who the guy is in the picture below?

Maybe this one will help.

Me, Jill & "A"

Jill, Denise, "A", Kelly, and I don't know who that person is w/ the "stylin" sun glasses is.

My Mom Rocks!

My mom called last night and she found a grocery store back home that carries Starburst Jelly Beans! She's sending me 3 bags. She may have just found a way to get me to come home more often!!! ;o)

Favorite Song Right Now

Casting Crowns - East To West
From the album The Altar And The Door

Here I am, Lord, and I'm drowning in your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where You found me
And it echoes in my mind, keeps me awake tonight
I know You've cast my sin as far as the east is from the west
And I stand before You now as though I've never sinned
But today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus can You show me just how far the east is from the west
'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'Cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other

I start the day, the war begins, endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again Your truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away from You leaving me this way

Jesus can You show me just how far the east is from the west
'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'Cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other

I know You've washed me white, turned my darkness into light
I need Your peace to get me through get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel, but by the truth Your word reveals
I'm not holding on to You, but You're holding on to me
You're holding on to me

Jesus can You show me just how far the east is from the west
'Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been come rising up in me again
In the arms of Your mercy I find rest
'Cause You know just how far the east is from the west
From one scarred hand to the other

Just how far, east is from the west
Just how far, one scarred hand to the other
You know just how far, just how far east is from west
Just how far, from one scarred hand to the other

Analyze This!

I’ve not really had time to post much lately, but I had this dream recently (either last week or the week before that…I don’t remember) and the dream is still sticking with me. I dreamed I was Ugly Betty and someone cut my feet off. And not in a hospital amputation kind of way, but in a hack saw no pain killer kind of way. And the whole dream was in a very flash back kind of way…where you see what happens and then you get snippets about how it all came about (which I couldn’t clearly tell you). But I can’t seem to get the fact that my feet were cut off out of my head. So all you Freud wannabes have at it!

Side note: How many times can one person use "kind of way" in on paragraph? Obviously at least 3...but I'm not changing it.

The Random Game

The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (if you don’t have a blog, email me)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

_________________________

1. I eat salad, but don’t like lettuce on my tacos, sandwiches or burgers. I will eat it in taco salad and occasional will eat it on a sub sandwhich…but only if I feel the need to be healthy. You should see the way waiters or waitresses look at me when I order a sandwich without lettuce and a side salad.

2. I like regular Reese’s cups, but not a fan of the mini ones. Also prefer orange Smarties, and white conversation hearts (the chalky kind). I will separate them out and eat them last.

3. Shirts in my closet are arranged as such…Winter shirts are kept separate from Summer shirts. Shirts are grouped by color and in order of shade (yellow, off-white, white, black, grey, dark blue, light blue, green, purple, pink, then red).

4. I’ve done the same thing as in #3 with my crayons/markers since I was a child. But those follow the color order of the rainbow (ROY G BIV) and by shade.

5. I’m terrified of Ferris Wheels. My knees get weak just looking at one.

6. I got a blood blister on my finger the other day by closing a re-sealable package of lunchmeat.

7. I almost got kicked out of kindergarten. The teacher didn’t think I was ready because I was always doing things my own way and not her way (well there was also the time I “colored” in a red headed classmates hair with a red crayon...like that was going to do any damage; and the time I crossed out the “-1” and drew a happy face on my paper). It took me till 6th Grade to figure out if I didn’t talk in class, I wouldn’t get in trouble.

8. I never saw any of the original Star Wars movies till last year and still have one more Indiana Jones movie to watch (don’t ask me which one…it’s the last one). I’m trying to remain a card carrying child of the 80’s.


Please don’t hate me, Luke started it! Suzy, Lindsy, Karen, Eric & Jeanie, Liz, Joy, and Krista…consider yourselves tagged!

Weekend Happenings

The lizard has not been seen since it’s original appearance. I am hoping it found it’s way out of my house…or at the very least out of my bedroom. I don’t know if this is true or not, but the roommate told me lizards are timid and it probably won’t come anywhere near me…awake or asleep. This tidbit of information is the only thing that is allowing me to get sleep at night (which I didn’t for 3 days.) If this is just a story she was telling me, please don’t tell me any differently.

The plus side is that this inspired me to clean my room…finally. I had Relay piles, I had camp piles, I had “I don’t know what to do with this” piles. The latter is still there, but the rest has been taken care of. I still need to clean off my desk, but I’m in no hurry to do that. Though, it’s amazing what I find when I clean off my desk.

Another area that needed some attention is my “to be shredded” pile. It is amazing how much stuff you accumulate that needs to be disposed of properly to avoid identity theft. What happened to the good old days when you could just throw away your junk mail and other stuff? Anyway, the “to be shredded” pile had gotten out of control and I really didn’t want to spend an entire day shredding stuff, so I got this BRIGHT idea. Since I was grilling dinner that night on my charcoal grill, I thought I would just go ahead and burn my bills instead of shredding them – thinking it would be faster. It might have been if I hadn’t put ALL of them in there at one time.

Before you say it, yes I know that it was probably illegal, but since I don’t personally know any fire fighters (sadly enough) I figure I’m safe telling this story. I was being VERY careful in my endeavor. I hosed down the yard, kept the hose on as I stood right by the grill. I even closed the lid on the grill at first to keep the ash from flying out (even though it was not windy). Closing the grill just made it smoke really bad. A few minutes into it, I started to hear fire trucks and feared that one of my neighbors called the fire department because they could smell the smoke. But when the fire department didn’t show up at my house, I figured I was safe.

Really, there was no major incident – but it was still smoking on Sunday afternoon and it didn’t cool off enough till last night for me to clean up the mess. I don’t recommend doing it, but I did manage to destroy all of my old bills and what not, so I guess I accomplished my mission.

Lizard - Day 2

Well, I never caught the lizard yesterday, so it is still somewhere loose in my house (hopefully not my bedroom...but chances are good it's still in there). There are definitely too many places for my newest, non-rent paying, resident to hide.

Last night I decided to bite the bullet and actually sleep in my bedroom. It took me for ever to get the courage to actually get in bed (after much investigation of my bed area). Needless to say, I didn't sleep much last night. I kept waking up thinking something was crawling on me. At around 2 a.m. when I awoke for about the 3rd or 4th time, there was a HUGE spider in the middle of my bedroom floor. I debated whether or not to sit and wait and see if the lizard would be baited by the spider, but then decided that could take hours and I didn't want that spider loose in my room too.

I have come up with a potential game plan to catch it, I just have to find something to bait it with that won't run loose in my home as well. I'll keep you posted.

Stow-Away

I ran home at lunch, went up to my bedroom and low and behold, there is a LIZARD in my bedroom! I will not be sleeping in that room until I catch it...then again it could move throughout the house. Anyone know how to catch a lizard? I don't want to kill it, but if I'm going to wake up to something on the pillow beside me in the morning, it WILL NOT be a lizard! I'll keep you posted.

Update: I was advised by our resident nature man to Google it. This wasn't much help...it was already my game plan!

Reflections on the Week:

Good Moments:
The book I had been waiting on from Amazon finally came in. Might just have to take it to camp.

Coupon came in the mail today for something I needed to buy before I left for camp.

Found a runner for my entry way on Pottery Barn clearance – very cheap. Just hope it’s the colors it appears to be. Not that I couldn’t sell it on eBay, but I really like this one, so I want it to be the right colors.

Murphy’s Law Moments:
Gas tank was on empty last night so I went to get gas. Since gas prices had been rising and it was predicted they would be $3.50 by next week, I opted to fill up completely then instead of waiting before I left town. Today, gas prices were down 10 cents!

Inevitably it will start pouring down rain the second I get ready to go outside and stop as soon as I am in some sort of shelter (office, car, or home)

Ugh! Moment:
My brakes have squealed ever since I got them replaced a couple of years ago. Recently it had gotten worse. Monday, I had them worked on…new pads. Tuesday, still squealing (though not as bad). Wednesday they worked on them again…replaced the pads (under warranty), turned rotors, and oiled “stuff”. Today, still squealing. After $200, I’m just going to learn to deal with the squeal (ooh, that rhymed).

“Are You Kidding Me?” Moment:
Followed a girl in a car on my way to the post office yesterday that seemed to be quite “impressed” with herself. She had her rear-view mirror turned in such a way that she could always see herself. No baby in the back seat. Not trying to put on make-up while she was driving (thankfully). Mirror didn’t seem to be broken. She did though appear to take every opportunity to admire herself in the mirror. Vain much? It made me laugh.

What Goes Around Comes Around

I got the results back on my MRI and everything looked “relatively normal,” so the doctor thinks it’s probably stress. But that’s not exactly what this post is about. The following are some excerpts from and email exchange with a friend today. For reasons not important, I decided it would be kind of funny to try to catch this person off guard. It sort of came back to bite me in the butt…in a funny way. Names have been omitted to protect the "not so innocent."

Me: I got the results back from my MRI. I have a tumor in my frontal lobe. Not really, and this probably would have been funnier if I could see your face. Actually, everything is fine.

Friend: Did they find anything in your frontal lobe??? =o)

Me: Well, they told me everything looked normal, so obviously they didn’t read it well enough. =o) Then again, the chiropractor told me it looked “relatively normal.” His account might be more accurate. =o) My “news” didn’t faze you at all, did it?

Friend: Well, I saw the “not really” part below the first sentence when I was reading it, so when I got to that part I already knew you were going to say “not really.” Other wise, I would have freaked out. I promise.

I forgot to tell you about [roommate] almost killing me. The ceiling in the kitchen has been leaking every time it rains. I have been to the maintenance people about it three different times already. They are getting tired of me. Anyhow, the kitchen floor was all wet yesterday morning when I got up. Why [roommate] didn’t dry it up, I don’t know. [Roommate] was in there ironing his pants. He keeps setting up the ironing board wrong and it falls down when he is ironing. I went in there to make some toast and while I was standing there putting some peanut butter on it, the ironing board fell down again. The iron landed in the water on the floor and shocked the you-know-what out of me. I let out an involuntary yelp that was kind of embarrassing while I was jumping up in the air. Every time I landed I got shocked again. Eventually I got up on the cabinet and saved myself. It was quite an experience. If you believe any of this story, you need to get a second opinion on that frontal lobe! =o)

I totally bought his story. I’m not talking to this person anymore (even if I did deserve it just a little)! =o)

In Search Of

I mentioned a while back that Hot Tamales are my new chocolate now that I have to watch my cholesterol intake. Well, I have sense found a problem with this new found addiction and it’s not weight gain. Seems if you eat too many Hot Tamales in one sitting or in one day, the ingredient that makes them hot, causes a negative side affect in the “mouthal” region. At first I couldn’t figure out why my lips were sore (especially since I hadn’t been doing anything “fun”) and I had what seemed to be cold sores in the creases of both sides of my mouth. I found myself doing a process of elimination…only to discover it was the Hot Tamales.

This doesn’t mean that I have to cut them out of my diet completely, but I did decide that I needed something new to snack on. Sweet Pickles were coming in a close second, but I knew too many of those would not be a good thing. So after much pondering, I decided that Starburst Jelly Beans would be a good replacement. Only problem…couldn’t find them anywhere anymore.

So today I got online to see if they still make Starburst Jelly Beans, and they do. Their website even had this great little Product Locator. I put in my zip code and would you know that no where within an 75 mile radius of my zip code carries Starburst Jelly Beans. I even tried putting in my mom’s zip code…no such luck. So, now I’m in search of Starburst Jelly Beans. Then again, do I really want to feed an addiction that requires so much effort? Hmmm…

It's Pretty Much Confirmed

I haven't gotten the results of today's MRI of my head yet, but I think it is safe to say that they won't be finding a thing. Twice as people were leaving work and said "good-bye" I responded with "hello". Hmmm...

My Vacation

Of course, after you read this, you’re going to think I have a warped way of “vacationing,” but when you don’t have much money, you got to do the best with what you got.

My First MRI
On Thursday, I went to the doctor because of some pains I had been having in my arms, shoulder blades and chest. Considering the blood pressure issues I had earlier, I thought it would be wise to FINALLY have this checked out (it’s had been going on for weeks). She said it wasn’t my heart, but thought that I had a pinched or damaged nerve in my neck, so she scheduled me for my first MRI ever! I’ve heard horror stories and was given some advice from previous MRI survivors. Much to my relief, it wasn’t the tube kind, but the open kind. This is where I have to tell on myself. The place was called Edmond Open MRI. This should have clued me in to the type of MRI machine they used, but I just thought that meant that anyone could come in to get an MRI. I didn’t clue in till last night when Suzy said “oh, so you had an open MRI.” I’m a little slow sometimes. As for results, well they didn’t find anything in the neck, so I get to go back in and have another one done of my head (and yes, I’ve already been told by several people that they won’t find anything.)

Painting Project
It has been a few months since I’ve taken on any major home improvement projects. On Friday/Saturday, I finally finished painting the downstairs hallway. I started the paneling last fall, and finally got to the walls. I even painted the door (thanks goes out to the roommate for prompting me to paint the door red.) Actually, this project isn’t completely done because I didn’t have anyway to paint the entire stairwell, so that will have to wait till I can hire someone to come finish it (hopefully by the end of the year). I have this great mirror I plan to hang on the wall, but I didn’t know how heavy it was and I needed to get drywall support screws that would handle the weight (since of course the studs don’t line up where I need them to.) I hope to have that hung this week. There is still some touch up work that needs to be done, but the major part is over. All I have left downstairs is to tile the hallway, kitchen, guest bath and laundry room (sounds like a lot, but it really isn’t). I also want to paint the downstairs bathroom eventually, but I don’t want to move the toilet twice, so that will get done when the tiling does (whenever that is).

White Tops
I spent some of my time off shopping for a white top to go with a pair of shorts that I bought. If I had paid close enough attention to the style of the shorts, I probably would have just returned them, but I didn’t and washed them…hence the need for the RIGHT shirt to go with them. My thought was that a baby doll top that was longer would probably work, but all the tops I bought made me look pregnant. I know the argument – those tops make most women look pregnant – but something about me seems to scream “soccer mom” (we’ll get to that in a minute) and people are always asking me how many children I have, so I would just prefer not to add to that line of questioning. Anyway, after buying (and returning) three different tops, I ended up settling on a combination that was totally unexpected, but works (and doesn’t make me look like I have a “bun in the oven”).

Haircut
So I got my hair cut again on Thursday. I liked the lady that cut it, but not thrilled about the cut. I don’t know why 1) almost every hair stylist I’ve gone to in the last two years insists on cutting my top layers too short and 2) cut my hair in such a way that I look like a soccer mom (I told you we’d get back to this discussion). It’s not bad really, just hard to style. I keep trying to find pictures of cuts I like, but everything is so weird or so ancient looking. I constantly see people that have cute hair, but I can’t seem to end up with that on my head. Maybe I just need a camera phone and start taking pictures of people I see on the street. Hopefully they won’t think I’m some stalker.

So, that was my vacation. I only got to sleep in twice, but I guess that’s better than not at all.

Laugh-ables for the Day

This morning, when I was getting out of my car, it was raining so hard that I was trying to get my umbrella open. Somehow in the process, I dropped my breakfast in a puddle. It was only toast, but still, it was my breakfast.

A woman came into our office this afternoon looking for help. When Wanda asked her how she could help her, the woman started crying and said she was lost. At first, Wanda thought she meant spiritually lost…they lady was only trying to find Quail Springs Mall.

Value of the Complaint Letter

For those of you who know me WELL, this is not going to surprise you one bit.

A while back, I purchased an edge roller at Lowe’s from Sure-Line to paint around the base boards and ceiling in Kim’s room. The concept was great. It had this edge on it that was supposed to help you paint clean edges (supposedly no tape needed). I started to use it and 1) I had to press so hard to get the roller pad to make contact with the wall that it caused my hand to cramp quickly and 2) the pressure needed was causing the guide to cut into the wall.

The booklet said if you weren’t satisfied, to return it to the company, and eventually I did. I sent them a very polite letter telling them that though the concept was great, the design itself was not. I explained my problems, enclosed a copy of my receipt, and mailed it back last Friday.

Today when I checked my mail, there was a package from them in my mailbox. My first thought was “great, they sent it back.” But I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the package. Inside was an edge painting kit, a replacement roller pad for a regular size paint roller, a 3 pack of Rubbermaid paint brushes (nice ones), and a letter apologizing for my unpleasant experience explaining there was defect with the product I had and that they would be sending me a check to cover the purchase price, taxes, and shipping charges. So I would like to give props to the Sure-Line company for their more than fair handling of my complaint.

I have to say, I’m finding lately that writing polite complaint letters to companies with products that do not live up to standard is not a bad thing. First of all it makes them aware that improvements need to be made, and they usually compensate you for your trouble. I also sent a letter to Neutrogena regarding a product of theirs that I was not pleased with suggesting they make some changes. They sent me a check refunding my money and thanked me for my suggestions.

So the next time you purchase a bad product…don’t assume its money lost. Contact the company and they might just make it worth your while.

Mmmmm!

I have one real weakness when it comes to men…a man that smells good. I guys attractiveness level goes up considerably in my book if he smells good. I don’t know what man was just outside my office (I promise you not one that is normally here because none of them ever smell like anything), but who ever he was, he smelled GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOODDDDDD!!! Gotta find me that man!!! (Actually, I kind of suspect it’s the one here to fix the fire detector…which coincidentally, went off this morning at work and stupid me told the fire department not to come!) =o)

Unbelievable

Actually there are two “unbelievable” events this week. The first on is that I wore new white pants to work and church on Wednesday and didn’t get a thing on them. That is unheard of for me!

The second I still can’t believe happened…yet I can. I was at Ulta on my lunch hour buying shampoo. An older woman (70’s probably) was looking for hairspray. She find a bottle, reads it for a bit and then I kid you not…proceeded to spray it on her hair (and me thank you very much!) She then sits the bottle down and picks up the one BEHIND it and puts it in her basket! Yes, that’s correct…she didn’t even buy the one she used!!! And employee was stocking shelves when all of this was taking place and she looked as stunned as I did. About a minute later I see the employee talking to a manager about what just happened and the manager seemed to be somewhat stunned too (though I doubt this is the first time she’s seen someone do that). They didn’t appear to confront the woman, which is probably store policy. But seriously…she shouldn’t have been testing it out in the first place, but the least she could have done is taken the one she tested from!

Dating

Yeah, don't get excited...I'm not announcing anything.

I found this article on a link that Vicki sent me. I think there is some good information here, but it goes both ways. Not that I have ever been the type to ask a guy out, but I have gotten this speech during a break up. And to her comment "But you don't honor him (her) by using affirming language that conveys a message different than what you actually mean" I say "Amen". I will spare you my feelings on the "it's not you, it's me" speech.

The Food War

I had opted not to post this, but in light of many of the posts I have read today, I changed my mind.

Today, it's all about trans fats. I have had to start watching my cholesterol intake, which also means watching my saturated fat and trans fat intake. Here is what I have learned thus far...

- You have to read ALL the nutrition facts. They have ways of sneaking things in.

- There is both good and bad cholesterol. You might have known this, I kind of think I did, but never paid much attention till now. The trick is figuring out what has what.

- Trans fat and Partially Hydrogenated Oils are basically the same thing. Just because your label says "No Trans fats" keep reading. If there Partially Hydrogenated Oils are listed in the ingredients list, you're getting trans fats...it just means there is less than 0.5 grams in it. But if you eat enough items thinking you're not eating Trans fats, it will add up and then you defeated your purpose.

- Trans fats are BAD!

- KFC's "No Trans fat Chicken" still isn't good for you.

- Having to constantly think about what you're eating takes the fun out of eating.

- Hot Tamales have no fat and no cholesterol. They've become my new chocolate!

- I don't like skim milk. I was a 1% drinker and liked it, so I didn't think the switch would be that big of a deal. I can't drink it. It works on cereal though.

We Need to Have a Chat

My man Grant and I need to have a chat because this is not going to do...


He's about to get demoted from his Random "Celebrity" Crush status. (There is a post about this somewhere, but I don't feel like looking for it to link to it. You can search if you're curious enough).

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Rain, rain, go away. Come again some other day. Saturday afternoon would be fine. Relay for Life is this weekend and the forecast is questionable. I REALLY need it to stop raining today and not start again till after the event wraps up on Saturday. We have a back up plan…but I don’t want to use it. I’ve put a lot of work into the way things are this year and I REALLY want to change things. I mean, seriously. We’ve had plenty of rain. Everyone agrees they would like a rain-free weekend, so I don’t feel that my request is selfish. So if everyone would just pray for no rain for a few days, I would really appreciate it.

Not One of My “Brighter” Weekends

I do some dumb stuff sometimes. Mainly because I just get it too big of a hurry and don’t take time to think things completely through. This weekend I had three of those moments (normally they don’t happen so frequently).

First…I needed to go to the bank Saturday morning. It was a busy morning and I was trying to get a lot done. As the teller was sending my receipts back, I got a phone call so I took the receipts out of the tub and left (still on the phone and trying to quickly not be one of those people who annoy me…the ones who talk on the phone while driving.) I get about a mile from the bank when I look at my passenger seat and realize that I drove off with the bank tube. I starting laughing because I felt like such a moron. I turn around, go back to the bank and opt to go inside instead of wait in line again. I’m laughing the entire way into the bank lobby (which was FULL of people). I looked at the teller, she holds out her hand to take the tube, I tell her “I’m such a moron” and she tells me “that’s okay, lots of people do it.” But her face said “you are a moron!” She probably wanted to tell me that, but it probably wasn’t worth the trouble she might get into.

Second…I decided Saturday that my bang were getting too long and I didn’t want to take the time to go get them cut since I’m trying to grow my hair out a little since it was cut too short the last time. It’s just bangs, so I could do it myself. Now, those who know me WELL are probably thinking I cut them too short again. Oh no, wrong you are. I didn’t cut them too short at all. I did though cut myself. I cut right into my hand. I have a nice little “V” shaped cut below my middle finger. It still hurts.

Finally…Sunday morning I was in a hurry to leave for church and had a ton of things going on in my head because of everything that I had going on Sunday afternoon/evening. I grabbed some earrings, put them in and left. Sunday night when I was getting ready for bed, I looked in the mirror and realized I had two different earrings in all day. Both approximately the same size and both required the same kind of posts, but very different earrings. Luckily my hair disguised it most of the day because to my knowledge, no one noticed.

There is a ton of dumber (dumber?) stuff I could have done, but these were the things that made me stop and think…man I’m an idiot.

Lizard People

Last night I didn’t sleep too well. I kept having dreams that I was being chased by Lizard People. They were trying to turn me into one of them. The only way I could hide was to hide under beds (they didn’t seem to be smart enough to look under there.) At one point they caught me and were going to try to turn me into one of them by cutting a small hole in my arm, but I out smarted them and showed them the scar where I had a mole removed and told them they had already gotten to me (I just hadn’t morphed yet).

I kept waking up thinking if I laid there long enough and went back to sleep, I would dream something new…but no luck. Just more Lizard People. I was so tired when I got up this morning from a night full of interrupted sleep. And no, I did not eat anything weird and haven’t watched anything that would inspire this dream.

One friend said he’d pay to see the movie and a co-worker found this after my telling him about my dream last night.

I Need Something New to Post

Nothing that has been going on lately is worth writing about. Here have been the highlights:

1) Visit from my cousin and her kids. A lot of fun for me, boring to read about for anyone who doesn't know them. An audio recording of them talking would be entertaining. Very hick. I'll have to work on that.

2) I need new genes. My blood pressure went up all of a sudden two weeks ago, so I'm temporarily on blood pressure meds to get it back down. The doctor thinks a lot of it is stress but ran labs. I got them back last week and my cholesterol is high. It's quite frustrating b/c 95% of what they suggest I do to lower it I already do b/c of my family history. I was hoping I would have a few more years before this would be an issue. Guess I'm going to have to be stricter about it than I've been.

3) I hate buying clothes. This used to be something I loved, but it's just getting more and more frustrating for several reasons A) very limited financial resources; B) can't find pants that fit b/c I'm built weird; and C) can't find skirts that aren't either too short, that fit, or that don't look like hideous on me. Shopping for clothes is just overall frustrating. So for those of you that question my fashion sense lately...get used to it because I've given up.

4) I planted flowers recently and something is trying to dig them up and has killed over half. The same thing happened last year. I tried sprinkling "Critter Rid" but I think I was a little too late...the damage had been done. I've planted these flowers before when I lived in the condo and they were so easy to take care of, but ever since I moved into my house, something keeps killing them. With all the things living out behind my house, it could be anything.

5) Relay for Life is only about 2 1/2 weeks away. Funny how it sneaks up on you. I'm just praying it doesn't rain. We're suppose to have a back up plan (though I'm having difficulty getting that confirmed at the moment), but I don't want to go to the back up plan. Things have actually been going fairly smooth on my end, which has me nervous that it's about to all blow up. Things would go a lot smoother if people would return my phone calls/emails...of course, it might not be them. For some reason this year, UCO keeps marking me as Spam and so I never know if they're aren't getting my message or just ignoring me.

So, that's it for the day (likely for the rest of the week.) Have a good one!

Just Wondering

What does a girl have to do to go to the bathroom around here? I had to go to three different parts of the building before I could find one that wasn't "closed." Sheesh! =o)

Seriously...

If you're going to talk badly about someone via instant messenger, make sure you're not sending it to the person you're talking about. Yes, it's happened again, and the same person. You would think she'd learn.

Add "Electrician" to the List

Cheryl, if you’re reading this…I’m still alive.

Last night, I decided to play electrician. It all started when I went to clean all the paint off of my hands before church last night. I walked into my bathroom and the lights wouldn’t come on. You could tell they would get brief momentary electricity, but nothing permanent. Because I have been trying to get so many other things done in my house, the bedroom has been neglected, so I didn’t want to call anyone for help. This has happened before in another room in the house and I watched Jay fix it, so I decided I could do this myself.

I went to Lowe’s, bought a new switch and cover, went home and proceeded to replace it myself (and yes, I turned off the power in the bathroom). I was doing okay until it came time to take the wires out of the existing switch. I couldn’t get them out and couldn’t figure out how…so once again I made a call and it was Roger to the rescue (at least over the phone). I was going about it the right way, I just needed to put a little more UMPH into it. Of course the old switch was nothing like the new one, but we got that figured out too. Thirty minutes later, I had light!

I’ve been wanting (in some cases “needing”) to replace all the switches and outlets in the house. Now I have the confidence I need to do it (that could be dangerous).

The Fun Never Ends

A comment from Tams made me realize I need to write an update to the dryer and the painting.

First the dryer…

I guess the fact that I was brave enough to attempt to take the dryer apart counts for something, but I wasn’t too successful. First I managed to get the top off with a little bit of effort. Getting the front off proved to be a little more difficult. There were these two sets of wires plugged into each other and I had to unplug them before I could remove the front panel. They were not made to unplug easily. This would count for the first phone call for help. Eventually, I figured out how to get them apart and got the front panel off without incident.

Now comes the fun part. I had to figure out exactly what I had to oil. Hence the second and third phone calls for help. I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to motors, so I wasn’t sure what the shaft was. After doing some entertaining descriptions of what I was looking at, my brother managed to help me figure out what to oil (even gave me some helpful tips to make sure I didn’t get any oil in the motor.)

I then proceeded to put the front cover back on. Problem was, I didn’t pay close enough attention to how the drum fit around the door, so I made the fifth phone call for help to my Uncle Roger. Though quite mechanical, he had never taken a dryer apart before, so he wasn’t sure how the drum was supposed to attach either. I decided to do what looked logical and put the dryer back together and turned it on. The squeak was gone, but there were now two new sounds that sounded worse than the squeak! This resulted in call for help number six. I held the phone up to the dryer so that Roger could hear it. Thankfully, he offered to come over later in the week and look at it.

On Thursday when Roger came over, I began to take the dryer apart (showing off my VAST new knowledge). I took the first screw out, laid it in the cabinet above the dryer and then proceeded to take the next screw out. Not sure how, but some how I dropped it and it went down the lint trap (to which Mgam & Randy both later suggested I turn it upside down and shake it. Thanks guys.) I looked at Roger and said, “I did NOT just do that.” To which he replied (laughing), “yes, you did.”

So we got the rest of the dryer apart. The belt had slipped out of place when I was putting it back together. Roger fixed that and we also discovered that I had put the cover back on wrong…but it did take two of us to get it back on correctly – so I didn’t feel to bad about that.

So far, the dryer seems to be working – even though I’m a little paranoid about every noise I hear now, not knowing if it’s normal or not.

Now the painting…

This really didn’t go too badly. It was a fun bonding experience with the new roommate.
We got it done pretty quickly (probably would have gotten done faster if we hadn’t spent so much time talking). At first the color looked really good. It was supposed to be a warm yellow color…something neutral. By Monday night when the paint had a chance to dry good, it became evident that what is on the wall does not look like the sample or what is on top of the can. Part of the problem is you can still see shadows of the blue that was underneath (despite to layers of Kilz). The color now looks more like a flesh tone crayon than what I desired it to be. It definitely needs another coat, but there really isn’t time to do that before the new roommate moves in, so it will be fine for now (with furniture, you won’t even be able to tell). I’ll probably try a different color when I try painting it again.

For now, I’m just focused on getting the woodwork painted white in that room (half way there) and getting the cabinet doors and the door to the laundry room painted and put back up (also half way there). I feel like all I do is paint right now and I REALLY need to clean up my room. Maybe this weekend. =o)

Oh, and by the way, the edge paint roller from Shure Line is a big waste of money. Way too frustrating!

Strange Day

I am having the weirdest day so far. To start out with, my clock on my computer is on warp speed. It is currently 1:54 p.m., my clock says its 3:38. It is basically adding a minute about every 20-30 seconds. VERY bizarre, but my theory is when my clock says 5:00, I get to go home!

Then I ran home at lunch and when I got ready to leave, there was fire truck blocking my driveway! In my world, that’s better than winning a million dollars on Deal or No Deal (well maybe tie)! I’m not exactly sure why they were there, and they were just getting ready to leave when I opened my garage door. Not sure what was going on, but there was also a paramedic and a police car (oh, and a Channel 5 news truck). No one seemed to be in a hurry to leave, so I think it was a false alarm.

And if it couldn’t get any weirder, I’ve been on the phone off and on all day with Jayna who is a procrastinator and needed my assistance with her taxes =o)

I have a feeling there is still more strangeness to come before the day is over.

My Kind of Humor

I got this in an email today from a friend. You have to take time to do it. I'm even giving you a short cut to Google to help you out...

Follow these directions exactly:

--Go to Google.com

--Click on Maps.

--Click on get Directions.

--From New York, New York

--To Paris, France.

--And read line # 23.

Me vs. Power Roller (And I Think It Won)

Sometimes you just can’t win! This weekend I had all these things I needed to get done at home and only partially accomplished one of them. This coming weekend, the new roommate and I are supposed to get together and re-paint her room. This was going to require putting Kilz on the walls to cover up the previous color. So on Saturday, I pulled out the power roller and started priming.

The process started out well, but two walls into it the paint started dripping terribly which slowed down the process considerably. Three-Fourths of the way through, I stopped getting any primer on the roller and since the can was now considerably light, I decided it was time to purchase another can of Kilz. So I cleaned up, changed clothes, and went to Lowe’s (my home away from home). When I got home, I was tired and sore, so decided to put off finishing till the next day.

Sunday afternoon, the last thing I wanted to do was finish, but I knew I needed to. So after a brief nap, I put on my painting clothes and got ready to start working again. When I went and pushed the button on the power roller, it wouldn’t work. Since it runs on batteries, I figured they were dead (this was the 2nd room I had painted since I put the batteries in). I put the roller back in the Ziploc bag (to keep it from drying out), changed clothes, and ran to Walgreen’s to get some batteries.

When I got home 15 minutes later, I heard this strange noise. I ran upstairs and the power roller had started working on its own and the bag was full of primer (at least it wasn’t all over the carpet.) So I took a break to call my mom and whine (and cry a little because I’m just sick of everything that has been going on), and took the roller apart and cleaned it up a little so that I could actually use it.

I would like to say this is where our story ends, but it doesn’t. Once I finished with the big stuff (I still have trim work to do), I took the power roller downstairs to clean it up (this is the down side to the power roller…the clean up). This didn’t go as planned either. First, some part came loose and started dripping water from the base. So I fixed that, but I couldn’t get it to work properly after that. I finally decided to forget it and opted to throw away the attachment hose and just buy a replacement hose the next time I go to use it. This meant that the clean up process was a lot more difficult and took longer than normal.

I learned today from someone who is a lot more experienced with repainting over darker colors that I’m going to have to do yet another coat of primer if I don’t want the new color to come out with a blue tint. Yeah! I think I’m going to be taking off on Thursday just to get some stuff (including this) done at home.

Stay tuned for our next episode when I try to repair my dryer myself…

Just Info

Annoyed

First and foremost, I am SOOO annoyed right now with the girl that cut my hair. I wanted some of the length taken off, but still long enough that I could pull most of it up. I can barely pull any of it back. I guess it’s not bad and it will grow, but I really didn’t want it this short and with as humid as it is today, it looks…well, not good.

Frankly what it came down to was that she was in too big of a hurry to get started and really didn’t take that time to listen to what I wanted. By time she took her first snip with the scissors, I knew I needed to start preparing myself for a shorter than desired hair cut. At first I just thought it was because it was a change and it wasn’t as short as I thought it was. By time I did it myself on Saturday, I realized it WAS as short as I thought it was.

I have decided that has been my frustration with hair stylists since Leslie (the lady that cut my hair for about 10 years) left. None of them listen. I’ve done okay if I just want a trim, but if I want any change what so ever, I never get what I went it wanting and then 1) spend the next few months trying to get it to grow FASTER and 2) dreading getting it cut again for fear of what I will come home with. It would be so much better if they would cut less and then cut more if I want it shorter than to cut it too short. That was the funny thing this stylist said when she was done “do you want me to cut it shorter?” Uh, no.


Home Improvement Update

Yesterday I took the day off work (because I had to work most of the weekend) and put up the base boards in my living room. I still need to put up the quarter round around the fireplace and one other location (I would have done it yesterday, but changed my mind about what I wanted to do and didn’t have enough stuff to complete the job and didn’t want to spend any more money till I get paid again). I also have a little quandary about what do with both entry ways. I bought a riser to put between the living room and dining room, but I haven’t decided how to attach it. The ideal way would be pretty permanent and since I still plan on putting tile in there and the riser was pretty expensive, I don’t want to have to purchase another one later on. I also have the same problem with the entry way into the living room. It will require purchasing two risers and splicing them together and I don’t want to spend the money at this point. I’m thinking about just getting a long carpet runner and putting that in the entry way to cover up the space between the laminate and the carpet till I have the money to purchase the tile. Decisions, decisions!

I also had my first major home improvement physical injury yesterday. No, I didn’t cut anything off with a saw (though the land lord for the place next door came walking around the corner of my house and scared me to death as I was using the miter saw). I actually injured myself with a hammer. I was nailing the base board to the wall in an awkward corner and I guess my middle finger got in the way and I hit it hard. Really hard. So hard I split my finger open on the side. I debated about whether or not I should go get stitches (especially since it was gushing blood), but didn’t want to get there and find out that stitches wouldn’t do much good and be out the co-pay. So I cleaned it really good and have been keeping a band aid on it tightly. I’d take a picture, but it’s pretty gross and it is my middle finger, so I’ll spare you. Can I say it’s hard to type or wash your hair with a band aid on the tip of your finger.

Can I Just Say...

I hate shoes that fart! If you've ever owned a pair, you know what I'm talking about. We have a volunteer receptionist that is up there in years that "passes gas" when she walks and the shoes I'm wearing today make me feel like her. The easy answer would be to stop wearing the shoes, but the are really comfortable. That's really all I have this topic.