Random Question

I love the internet. Have a question you don't know the answer to? Type it into the Google toolbar and usually you'll find your answer (some things are easier to find than others).

I think I'm having a really, more-than-usual, random day. I have had the chorus of "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" stuck in my head all day...last and only time I saw "Evita" was 12 years ago (that boyfriend deserved a metal...I had no idea what I was about to put him through). Anyway, this is the question that just popped into my head a little bit ago..."how did the term 'going commando' get started". Yeah, that one is out there. Surprisingly, there are lots of theories on the internet, but this one made the most sense to me.

Wish You Could Have Been There

Today is my birthday and for my birthday, I got an ice storm! Of course Ice Storm = Close Shop Early, so I’m not complaining too much. My heater on my car also decided to quit working…but we won’t go into that.

Anyway, I come home from work and burn some rubber trying to get into the garage (which I succeeded at on attempt 2). But I’m a prepared homeowner…I have rock salt! So I get a cup full and step partway out onto the driveway to a dry patch that turned out not to be dry, slipped, and slid from the top of my driveway all the way to the street. Miraculously didn’t hurt myself, did though end up with a cold, wet, butt and put on quite a show for the mail man.

How Old is Your Brain

Sarah sent this to me and it seemed post worthy. My brain was 29...not bad I guess.

The site instructions are in Japanese, so read below!

1. Touch 'start'
2. Wait for the countdown 3, 2, 1.
3. Memorize the number's position on the screen, then click the circle from the smallest number to the biggest number.
4. At the end of game, computer will tell you the age of your brain.
5. Forward the message and type your age in the subject line.

Click Here to Start

Bus-O-Fun

My friend’s mom has been posting all kinds of old pictures on Facebook lately…most of which are a reminder of exactly how little fashion sense we had.

Yesterday she posted a picture of our old church bus. Some of the best times in my life were spent on that bus. It was old, smelly, no A/C and we LOVED every minute of it. Lots of stories...most you had to be there, some probably shouldn't be shared. But it doesn't matter, just looking at it makes me laugh!

So here’s to you old church bus! Thanks for the memories!

My Personal Opinion

I think one should be rewarded for being healthy and never taking sick days unless their ailment is contagious or legitimately debilitating. I only took one and a half sick days last year, and its been 4 years since I took more than 3. I think I'm getting a bum rap. I'll deal with some discomfort if it means a break from this place. Would someone please come cough on me?

Ouch!

This won’t surprise anyone who knows me well too much, but I hurt myself…again. Don’t ask me how, but I closed the door from the garage to the house on my foot and seriously bruised the back of my heel/bottom of my Achilles tendon. I couldn’t walk on it when I first did it, but by the next morning I thought I was fine…until I put on shoes yesterday. When I got up this morning to work out, my tennis shoes didn’t bother it any so I thought I was fine…until I put on shoes for work. It was evident that was NOT going to happen. Thankfully after digging through shoe boxes I found a pair of open back shoes that I had intended to get rid of because the lining had come loose and was all bunched up inside. Annoying is much more tolerable than uncomfortable right now.

It really was just the cherry on top of everything right now, but at least I can laugh at this. It’s been getting harder to see that light at the end of the tunnel lately. Getting up and going through the motions each day is becoming tedious. The chorus to the song on my cell phone pretty much sum it up…

There's gotta be something more
gotta be more than this
I need a little less hard time
I need a little more bliss
I'm gonna take my chances
taking a chance I might
find what I'm looking for
there's gotta be something more.

My Favorite Thing About Winter

I'm not a big fan of winter, but this is my favorite thing about this season...I can wear orange and black knee socks from Halloween with boots, jeans, and a red sweater and nobody knows (unless I tell them like I am now.)

The Dog House

Does someone you know need to be put in the dog house? Click Here

Just Stuff

I have been too busy to post much lately…which is sad because there has been some semi-humorous events I’ve witnessed lately, but they loose something if when you wait too long. But here are a few bits and pieces:

It’s officially Christmas. I heard the Hippopotamus song today on the radio. It was the highlight of the morning during the Christmas season for my college roommate and me.

My holiday Pet-Peeve made it’s first appearance today…vehicles decorated for Christmas. Why?

Every time I have to put the Christmas lights on the tree by myself, I get motion sickness from walking around in circles. I usually have to stop half way through each strand and sit down for a minute. I shouldn’t admit this, but I can laugh at myself.

I got a 6 qt. Crock Pot for $8.31 the day after Thanksgiving. That’s what I call bargain shopping!

Pie-making is one of my favorite things…especially the crust. This year for Thanksgiving, the plan was to make homemade pumpkin, apple-cranberry (this one was new and really good) and Aunt Jackie’s Chocolate Pies. I made the crust for all three, but was busy finishing up the apple-cranberry and asked my mom to make the filling for the chocolate. My mom can cook, but something went wrong this time around. It was chocolate soup instead of chocolate pie. It didn’t even come close to setting up. So sad…but we ate it anyway.

Today when I was leaving for lunch I saw a man that I did not know get out of his car in our parking lot which is not at all odd, but then he got in the car of a woman that I also did not know and they were looking at me funny. They pulled out ahead of me onto the street and then turned into the neighborhood across the street. It was probably innocent, but it sure didn’t look that way.

For Christmas this year, I have already given myself and really expensive present…a new gas valve for my furnace. Seriously, hoping the new roommate decides to stick around a while so I can finish saving up money to replace that stupid thing (but don’t tell the furnace its days are numbered. I don’t want it quitting before I give it a pink slip).

Here's To You Kid At Sonic

This shout out is for the kid working at Sonic today. Bless your heart...your pants are too short, and this may just be your first job, but you were giving it your best. It was obvious that because you are the newbie, you got stuck carrying the condiment tray on a windy day and despite your efforts could not keep the straws and salt packets from blowing away. Don't give up! It will get better. And hey, your still cooler than your fellow employee who showed up to work in his new used purple corvette with the glass packs and stood by his car during his break looking like a tool and telling everyone this was his new "baby" while he smoked a cigarette. You are definitely cooler than him!

Tip of the Day

If you open all the drawers on a filing cabinet at once, it tips over. Death by filing cabinet would not be a pleasant way to go.

What Is A Girl To Do?

I have 10,241 Mypoints, but I can't decide how I want to cash them in. There are a variety of $50 gift cards I could use them on (with points to spare)...but I want to use them wisely. Decisions, decisions.

I want to know why…

A package of chicken breasts now only includes 3 breasts (one of them being really small) instead of 4. Actually I think I know the answer, but I’m annoyed.

Pictures on people praying on stock photography sites are so posed and corny looking.

Eleven years later, I still have dreams on occasion about an ex-boyfriend that still throw my days off kilter.

They don’t put alleys in new neighborhoods.

I have never won a sweepstakes? Does anyone ever win the sweepstakes that go along with the surveys you get on your store receipts. You know, the “take this survey and you will be entered to win a (submit amount here) gift card. I fill those out most of the time thinking the more I fill out, the better my chances and I have yet to win squat! Sure it’s Wal-Mart most of the time, but I’d be happy with $1000 from Wal-Mart.

Someone thought it was necessary to post a “No Hunting” sign on their property in the middle of Edmond. Is it really a problem?

Pandora had to go and shorten the amount of time I can listen without stopping and asking if I’m still listening. I technically know WHY, but really, why?

My neighbor’s daughter jogs around the little “island” in front of our house. (This one you almost have to see to get the full extent of the humor.)

Someone would put their phone number on their vanity car tag. I’m sure she was trying to promote her business, but really all she was doing was opening herself up to people calling her personally with their road rage issues (and trust me, the way she drove, I’m sure she gets lots of calls).

Are You Kidding Me?

One of my neighbors is already putting up her outdoor Christmas decorations. Lights, yard decorations, the whole bit! I guess she figured if the retail industry can do it, so can she. I'll have to remember to have camera on hand just in case she has the lights on when I get home this evening.

Kitty Litter

I'm sure this is good, but I have not brought myself to try it yet...

Mainly because it's in a litter box. I know it's new and clean, but it's a litter box (which is another reason why I'm not a cat fan...litter boxes). But I'm going to try it, I just need to build up the courage.

Another Finished Project...Finally

This weekend I turned this...

and this...

into this...

Actually, this was one of the easier projects I've had (the painting the walls green part. The painting the wood work white this summer took a while).

All I have left downstairs is replacing the rest of the flooring (that might be a while), replacing the hinges in the kitchen (don't ever try to paint over hinges...it doesn't work well), and replacing the electrical outlets and light switches (which I actually know how to do now). The downstairs is almost done.

Now for the upstairs...

Stop It!!!

Something/someone is messing with my flower beds in the front of my house.

A few weeks ago, someone pulled up both sets of my perennials. Yes, they were starting to die, but I was waiting for them to die off a little more before I cut them back so they could come back next year. Instead someone took it upon themselves to just pull them out...roots and all. I was soooooo not happy. I planted perennials so that I wouldn't have to replant the flowers every year. Ugh!

Anyway, I recently planted another mum plant in one of the front flower beds (I like mums because again, they come back up every year). A few days later I go out there and something had been digging in said flower bed. This has never been an issue before. While I was outside, I also noticed that my drain from the gutter had been knocked loose, so I went to fix it and noticed something has also been digging in that flower bed. THERE'S NOTHING LEFT TO DIG UP! So I level out the dirt and call it a day.

TODAY I got home at lunch and notice something had created a little dirt mound in my flower bed again. What in the world. Why are my flower beds so attractive all of a sudden. They've forced my hand. I'm pulling out the Critter Rid (the stuff I got to keep animals out of the back flower beds...which ended up being a waste of time because I'm convinced the guys who mow the lawns in my addition had been peeing on my flowers).

To replant to not to replant...that is the question?

Sums it Up

A co-worker gave this to me years ago and it's been on my desk ever since. It pretty much says it all.

Welcome to My World

So this is what you see right now when you walk into my office. Actually you normally see something similar just about any time you walk into my office. It's not totally my fault. My office is often a dumping ground for stuff other people don't know what to do with. Right now it's better than it has been in a while. You could barely walk into it a month ago because of all of the boxes. I've been working on finding a home for some of this stuff, so maybe there will be "after" pictures later this week.

The lovely credenza behind me was the decorating ladies answer to my "work space problem. This was not desiged to be a desk to work at. my legs don't fit under it and the drawers are difficult to organize. I probably should get baskets to put in the cubby holes so it looks neater, but I don't have a decorating budget, and I'm not spending my own money for something at work that I need at home.

This space will always look this way. I sometimes stick some of the files on top in that "file organizer" on the right, but then I forget about them. Actually I tend to forget about everything on the "desk" behind me because I don't face that direction very often.

This is leftover supplies from a reception I organized. Technically the stuff now belongs to our Bible class. Lemonade anyone?

No I do not have a serious coffee addiction. I don't even touch the stuff. This belongs to my Bible class and doesn't fit in our cabinet. Until recently I had THREE coffee pots, plus some other goodies.

I have no idea why I have an extra monitor in my office. It supposedly has a home...I think it's lost.

Empty boxes/containers are a staple in my office. I seem to be a box/container magnet. I was told NOT to throw away the long skinny one, the plastic one...belongs to my Bible class. I think I can throw the bubble wrap away.

Ahh, the fun stuff. No, I don't collect cell phones. These are phones that got turned in. But I don't remember anymore which ones work and which ones need to be disposed of. They are sitting there so I can find chargers for them (I have a box of those in my closet) and answer this eternal question. The package of hearing aid batteries I'm trying to find a home for. Just a note, when you send and email to your co-workers looking for a home for hearing aid batteries, be prepared for the responses.

Now this mess is mine, all mine! 90% of my work takes place in this space. Other than the bulletin notebook, most of it probably should be tossed, but I'm afraid to toss some of it (especially all the little notes) because there might be something on it I need. I'll try to get on that.

Last but not least...my morning hot tea, my water bottle that I usually end up getting water on myself when I'm drinking from it but I like the color so I keep it, my candy dish that holds the cinnamon candy which is the only reason most people stop by my office, and the phone that I pull off the desk at least once a week.

So that kids is a tour of where I spend all of my time. You know, I've been working here for 10 years, 8 months, and 12 days and have been sitting in the same chair for just about 10 years and 8 months of that time. I would be curious to know how many hours my buttock has been glued to that chair. I bet more than any other piece of furniture I have ever own.

This has officially been one of my most RANDOM posts ever!

Road Block

I’ve been working at something for quite a while. I gain really good momentum. I’ll be really motivated and have a really positive outlook. And then it’s like I find myself surrounded by brick walls. I feel beat up and tired and loose the ambition I need to reach this goal. So I take a step back until I have what it takes emotionally to face it again.

But here is my dilemma lately…I feel a real sense of urgency to complete the task at hand. It has gone far beyond “want” and is definitely in the “need” category now. But those brick walls are beyond intimidating. I thought I had a plan, but lately I’m rethinking that plan. I’m not sure which route I want to go (actually I don't think I have a route anymore).

If there was ever a time where I needed something to fall into my lap, it’s now. Problem is, I have been relying too much on things falling into my lap. That plan isn’t working anymore. I need a new plan. I’m just having a hard time coming up with what that plan will be. Prayers for a new plan would be greatly appreciated (and the courage to follow through wouldn’t hurt either).