Encore

Brad Paisley - Rainin' You

Marilyn Monroe - Santa Baby

Happy Wednesday!

A First

I almost didn't make it to my knit group tonight. I had and still have company meetings this week. And with the ice storm on Tuesday that meeting got canceled until tonight. Thank goodness we had clock watchers or else I'd still be there. It was an informative meeting, but honestly, they should just give me the points of interest and let me present the information. I can do it in 5 sentences. No, I can name that tune in 4 sentences.... :) And then there are also those, that when asking a question beat around the bush and end up not asking a question but making it a statement. But to hide the fact that it is no longer a question, they raise their voice at the end to mask the statement, in turn confusing everyone around. There are things in this world that drive me nuts to the point where I can't sit still and get tempted to leave the room (which I've done once), and that is one of them! Get to the point!!! Aghh!!

With that said I was able to make it to the last hour of the knit group and as promised I learned how to knit. I think going to this group for several months now, and watching them closely, mostly out of curiosity cause I like to see how things work, I picked it up fairly quickly. Or maybe it is just a simple thing and I'm giving my "watching skills" too much credit. So there it is, my first knit attempt at a scarf. So far so good, but as it gets longer I'm sure there are bound to be holes.

A side note: I'm turning in my resume for the new supervisor position tomorrow. Wish me luck. I'm not sure I want the job, but I am going to see if I can get it anyway and if I decide it's not for me than nothing lost.

Music anyone?

As promised:

Lifehouse - Hanging by a Moment

A pic for you

Ice on the oak tree

Once

Church was canceled today due to our ice storm, so I spent the day lounging and surfing the internet. One of the sites I hit was Summit Entertainment, a motion picture studio company. It was one of those sites you find through other sites. So anyway, I was looking at all the movies they've been involved with and I came across one that interested me. It's called Once.




Here's the synopsis:
"One fateful night on a quiet Dublin street, two lost souls cross paths. A broken-hearted street musician, lamenting his lost love, catches the attention of a vibrant, yet struggling single mother and immigrant, who yearns for something more in her lonely existence. A casual conversation leads to a life changing moment for both, when the two sit down at a piano in the back of a music shop and find the perfect harmony their voices naturally make. Over the course of just a few days, the pair finds new hope, creative passion and a little bit of romance, as they attempt to put their lives back together.

Starring Glen Hansard, lead singer of the well-known Irish band the Frames, and his real-life collaborator Marketa Irglova, a Czech singer and songwriter, ONCE is a nod to the classic musicals of the past, but with a singularly modern outlook that is at once delightfully effortless and heartbreakingly realistic."

I watched it this afternoon and fell in love. I loved the music especially. You can get a taste of the music at Amazon.
The only thing I want to complain about is their use of the F word over and over like any British movie will. I wish I knew how to edit out sound from a movie... I'll have to do some research. Anyway, for those reading this, check out the music at amazon and then leave a comment, I'm interested to see what you all think of the songs.

Happy December

Today was my 26th birthday and the first thing I thought when I woke up was, "thank goodness this isn't hitting me hard" Last year was a hard number to accept.

My main gift this year was a massage. I'm not talking chair massage or someone rubbing my shoulders, I'm talking 1 hour body massage!! It was great. Apparently my body was screaming at me to get straighten out, my muscles were twisted in knots and my arms, well let's just say, I won't be surprised it I get carpel tunnel before too long.

I also got a puzzle (which I love) and just got money for clothes this year, which I'm going to have to force myself to go out and get. I hate to shop for clothes. And yes, I know hate is a strong word. I would rather drive the length of the country in a small cramped vehicle than shop for clothes. I will post what I end up getting as I get them.

My family also went to the Cheesecake Factory for desert. I think if they weren't so expensive I'd go there all the time! Plus I thought it was very classy the way they helped celebrate my birthday. Some restaurants sing to you some embarrassing song, others make you wear ridiculous hats or just do whatever to make you turn red. They just took my plate and with chocolate wrote "Happy Birthday Rachael". No singing, no hats, no nothing!! I was saying a silent prayer of thanks for that one. It was really nice, too bad I'm not made of money and they are. I think if I were I'd buy a franchise. Oh well. I did however get a gift card for them from Rachel. I think I will use it for a lunch and drag someone along. Yummy!!

So in other news, I got a raise, a $1.50 one at that!!! It won't take effect until the 11th of January, but I'm very excited about it. Plus they told me I'm still eligible for what they called a merit. I had to have them explain that one to me. It's what should be called your yearly review and if you've done a good job you usually get a raise. I also am now eligible for bonuses. Before with my position I wasn't, but now if my projects get 97% done each week I get a bonus. Did I ever say I love my job?!? I love what I do, I love that my company is constantly looking for ways to keep morale as high as it can be. I also will be applying for a new position this next week. My direct supervisor got promoted over to HR. She is still acting in her old capacity until her position gets filled so they are looking to fill it quickly and wanting to promote within the company. They encouraged me to apply, so we'll see what happens. I would love to take on a new challenge, but I don't know if I have what it will take to excel in the position. Mostly because it is a job over people, and those who know me, I'd rather have people tell me what to do rather than the other way around.

For I don't know how long now, I've been going to a knitting group and still have not knitted a single stitch. Well I finally gave in and told my friend who organized our little group that I was finally ready to try. Wednesday's the day I will put my fingers to the test. I'm going to make myself a scarf, not sure about the colors yet. I'd like to do black, but I've been told I wear too much black. So I don't know, maybe gray. I just want something that will go with a bunch of stuff instead of one or two things. I think that's what I'll do. Again I'll post pictures as I work on it. Wish me luck cause I think I'm going to need it for this project.

I've been Tagged

The rules:
A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I once went a whole working day with only saying "Have a good evening" to a co-worker only because she said it to me first (I couldn't be rude). For awhile it was a goal of mine to go a whole day without saying anything, never quite made it though. Beth and I were talking about that recently and we decided to make a t-shirt that says "I've taken a vow of silence today" in honor of my goal. (If anyone is interested I'd be willing to make them one as well, just let me know)

2. I don't like holidays... bah hum bug! Say what you will in their defense, but I don't enjoy them.

3. Going along with number 2, I'm eloping when the time comes. And I'm sending out postcards to let people know that I finally did get married.

4. I love music. I think if I had to pick just one passion in life it would have to be music.

5. Always and Forever!!!!


6. I can count to five in Japanese.

People I've tagged: Teri & Aaron, Carrie & Tony, Rachel, The Hennefers, Sarah, & Mom

Just keeping tabs

I've never been a morning person and sometimes I need that extra boost in the morning to help me get going. I don't drink coffee so the next best thing is Mountain Dew. With that said, yesterday I was really struggling to just keep my eyes open so I went to the soda machine and pushed the button for MD and the bells and whistles went off, I hit the jackpot... I got two MDs for the price of one! It made my day. That is all. Happy warm November!!

Here's to you Mrs. Robinson

So I thought it high time I updated this thing seeing as October is almost done. I'm actually looking forward to November, I am getting a five day weekend and I can't tell you how excited I am for it!!

Tonight after a frustrating drive home from work (there was an accident, construction a bicyclist in the middle of the road thinking he could peddle as fast as traffic, someone reading while driving, you name it it all happened to me today. AHHHH!) So back to what I was saying. I took off on a little adventure to the capital. One of my mission companions now lives in Topeka and is six months pregnant. I drove about 150 miles round trip to attend a baby shower. It was fun and I'm really glad we didn't play those stupid games that always seem to be at things like that. It was good to get out, but I'm looking forward to going to bed and getting a little R&R. The world is still turning in my neck of the woods, hope everyone's is doing the same.

This is me being a slacker

I promised playlists each month and have not yet delivered, I'm sorry. Moving on. First and foremost, the requests...

Lifehouse - First Time

Matchbox 20 - How Far We've Come

Boston - More Than a Feeling


What wasn't requested, but thought it note worthy...

Adele - Hometown Glory
Adele is from England and first heard her while I was at work listening to BBC radio. At first I wasn't sure of the song, but then it has become one that I love. If you don't like it, that's fine with me, I don't care. All I ask is that you give it a try.

Kate Nash - Mouthwash
Same thing goes for this one.

There are times where I just need to hear someone sing with passion and yell a bit while drums are beat and guitars strummed and 30 Seconds to Mars has done that for me as of late. They are alternative so some of you that read this probably will not be interested, but I thought I'd give them a shout out. I don't know if I am explaining it well enough, but there are songs that you can tell the person who is singing is giving it their all and you just connect. I suppose since I don't really share my feelings with others I express myself through music and this song was a stress reliever, not in a bad way like I'm over-worked or what have you, but in a liberating way. If you're interested in hearing the song they are on myspace and the song is called "The Kill". 30 Seconds to Mars myspace page. I didn't go to the trouble of putting the song up here due to the fact that no one would be interested, but if you are, that can be easily remedied.

A forewarning for those who care

Apparently putting music on the web takes up space among other things. So for those who haven't taken advantage of all this lovely music just waiting to be downloaded your clock is ticking. In order to fulfill a request, I need to "disable", for lack of a better word, the first several songs. Consider yourselves warned.

Chiefs!!

I went to my first ever pro football game last night, even if it was pre-season. The Chief's played the Miami Dolphins and unfortunately we sat by some of their fans. The Dolphins won by a point and to be honest I really don't think they should have won. There was a challenge on their 2 point conversion where they made it into the end zone, but the player's knee went down before the line. The ref called the conversion good and so the Chief's lost by a stupid point. Sigh. Oh well, it was still fun and exciting. We got rained on for about half the game which was really nice cause it was in the 90s and humid!! I don't know that I'll be going to another Chiefs game anytime soon, but I'd defiantly do it again!

Michelin Man

Since last writing, I have joined a knitting group, picked cross-stitching back up, accomplished several goals I set for myself and lost my calling as primary chorister. I'm not complaining about that last one too much, but I will miss it, it was starting to grow on me.
One of the goals I am very excited about was to buy a projector which I did Monday and since have turned my bedroom into a home theatre. It's rather fun lying in bed while watching movies on a big screen. Oh and I've acquired a Michelin man bobble head from work. I think it's rather funny to be honest. What am I going to do with an ugly bobble head?

This last weekend for my Dad's birthday, we went up to Iowa for a family reunion. I have been conveniently busy the past 6 or 7 years whenever we had a family reunion and decided that I should make an appearance after all this time. I really only went cause my Dad delayed the departure day to Saturday morning instead of Friday cause I wasn't willing to get the time off. (I'm still making up for NerdFest's time) Now that I've assured everyone that I am still alive and somewhat sane, I should be good for another 7 years before I have to go again.

It is Finished... well almost

The place that hosts my website went down as I was uploading the last few songs, hopefully it won't be down for too long. I was so excited to be done with this project too. It's been a week in the making and I was staying up until it was finished tonight, 3am and it's still not done. Oh well, I'll check it again in the morning. At least you can get most of the season. Thanks for the comments.

Update:
It's done, the website came back up.

Here's to Grey's Music

A taste of Grey's third season of music

Adam Merrin - Still Alright
Butterfly Boucher - Bitter Song
Ingrid Michaelson - Keep Breathing

To download a song and bask in it's greatness, just click on the song and click the save button.

I may start a new section on my blog called Mix of the Month and let all of you that read my blog, I think there's two of you, download songs as a thank you. Let me know if you're interested.

A bit early for the 4th, I know

I sought for the greatness
and genius of America
in her commodious harbors
and it was not there.

in the fertile fields
and boundless prairies,
and it was not there;

in her rich mines
and her vast world commerce,
and it was not there.

Not until I went
into the churches of America
and heard her pulpits,
aflame with righteousness,
did I understand the secret
of her genius and power.

America is great
because she is good,
and if America ever ceases to be good,
America will cease to be great.

- Alexis de Tocqueville

NerdFest2007

NerdFest2007 has come and gone and I don't know that I can truly find the words to do it justice.

It didn't start out great to begin with, both Rachel's and Julie's flights were delayed due to weather issues in the Windy City. Thursday I basically spent my evening at the airport. I was able to take Rachel to Salty Iguana restaurant while we waited for Jules to fly in, and I was not impressed with the food. By the time we had everyone in KC it was time for bed.

I took Rachel and Julie to Atchison, KS where our tour began. We were able to see her childhood home and a part of a museum about her. A couple hours later and we were back in KC for a Royals game against the Phillies. The Royals were able to pull off a win, yea for them.

Saturday was a fun filled day. We started out the day in Independence, MO at the LDS visitor center. I think the sister missionaries were a bit excited to see us. They had remodeled the center since last I was there, so that was nice to see something new. We wondered the future temple grounds and also the RLDS or Community of Christ as they are now called, temple. I like ours better by far. Also in Independence we toured Harry Truman's Library. That turned out to be more interesting than I thought it would be. Not that I thought it wouldn't be interesting, it just had more stuff than I thought it would. After an afternoon with Truman we headed toward Liberty. There we visited the Liberty Jail and got the tour and history. Joseph and Hyrum were imprisoned there from December 1838 to April 1839. From there we headed toward Adam-Ondi-Aham. I've always liked it there, it so peaceful. For those who haven't been, it's basically just a large field. Next we hit the road and drove across Missouri into Iowa and Illinois. We spent the night in Keokuk, Iowa across the river from Nauvoo, IL.

Nauvoo was great, we hit about half the town getting the bonus tour ala Rachel from her previous trip there. That was great let me tell you. The place shut down at 6 so we went looking for food. We ended up at this buffet that cost us $17 a piece, my jaw almost fell off on that one. It was good food, but dang. We visited the old Nauvoo cemetery where Edward Partridge is buried. I also saw a headstone that someone was born in 1777, I thought that was cool. We took some more pictures and then called it an early night. Which I was grateful for, cause driving and the heat wore me out. I fell asleep faster and earlier than I had in a long time.

Monday morning we decided to drive to Carthage first and then finish Nauvoo after. Carthage I would have to say is my favorite from the Nauvoo area. Not that I like what happened there, there is just a different feeling to it all. The tour consists of a short video and then the Sister missionary takes you through the old home and jail.
After Carthage we hit Subway and each got a foot-long sub to spread it over two meals. We ate lunch in the Grove in the middle of Nauvoo. We finished up the Nauvoo tour just in time for it to shut down again at 6. All the senior missionaries were asking us if we were going to the many different shows that night, but we only had plans for the the Sunset by the Mississippi. So while the many other shows were going on we finished off our Subway sandwiches with another picnic. The show was fun, some of those missionaries really got into it. They were a sight to see. Before we left Nauvoo we took some pictures of the temple lit up and talked to a family from Idaho who drove all the way to New York in an RV. Kudos for them for all still being alive and in good spirits.

Tuesday was another long day on the road. It took us, I think, 3 hours to get from Nauvoo to Springfield. Springfield I think was my least favorite city, but St. Louis is almost equal to it.
We found Lincoln's tomb fairly easily and I must say that I was very impressed with his tomb. The same cemetary had war memorials from the Korean, Vietnam and WW II wars. Next we got directions to Lincoln's home and took the grand almost free tour with a large group. I wish we could have been in a smaller group so that I could have see what was being pointed out, but instead the three of us lost interest and goofed off. We also decided that we had had enough of old homes. Then it was back on the road for St Louis. That took another 2-3 hours. We found our hotel, checked in and then decided to see the temple and then the arch on our way back to the hotel for the night. Well we only got to see the temple cause I got us lost on the way there. I don't care to remember it. The temple was pretty, and I was tired.

Wednesday was another stressful day for me in terms of driving. By this time I found out that I had been making Rachel car sick, and the sad part was that I was really trying not to. For future reference, I'm not driving for NerdFest2008.
In the morning we hit up the St Louis zoo mostly because it was free and we really didn't have a big list of things we wanted to see in St Louis. I got burned, big surprise. After the zoo we went to the History museum where they had an exhibit on the World's Trade Fair from 1904 and an exhibit on Charles Lindberg, both of which were very well done. We then visited the Catholic basilica downtown. I was impressed with the size and the amount of work that went into building it. After the basilica we went to the old Union Station that was converted into a shopping center where I bought a St Louis hoodie. We also saw some Elders out doing some contacting and getting their dinner. After doing a brief tour of the station we went back to our hotel and vegged for a couple of hours before we went for our tram ride up the arch. I didn't realize how tall it was until we were standing under it and I got butterflies in my stomach. I almost didn't go up. I'm just glad there are not windows the whole ride up the arch. The view from the top of the arch was impressive. $10 poorer and we were back on the firm ground of crime riddled St Louis. A lady joined us in our tram on the our way back down. She said she was from Sacramento and boy did she have the blonde from California part down pat. I felt sorry for her. She couldn't remember where she parked her car. After helping her find her car we called it a night and headed back to the hotel.

We left for KC in the morning on Thursday and got to my house between 2 and 3 in the afternoon. We had Dad's bbq of chicken, hotdogs and hamburgers. The rest of the night was low key. Friday morning we got up at 4 to be at the airport at 5:45 for Rachel's flight at almost 7. Julie decided to go along and just hang out at the airport until her flight at noon. I would have fallen asleep at the airport. I did come home and went back to sleep from 6 to about 11. Overall, I had a blast, NerdFest2007 was a success for me, but I am just now getting over being tired from the long trip. The sad thing from it all we were on a constant move that after I took Julie and Rachel to the airport, I was at a lose for things to do. I am officially back to being bored. :)

"Meredith"

You would think with the amount this lady walks by my desk it would be easy to get a picture of her. I did manage to get a backside picture though. That should count for something. "Meredith" is the one on the right blending into the wall. She certainly keeps me entertained. A tick here and a tick there on my notepad, what more could I ask for in a days work? Or rather, what more could our employer ask for in a days work?

Watched Next for FHE tonight. Took forever and a day, but I'm not complaining. It's better than some other things I can think of. I didn't like the ending the first time I watched it (last night), but today or rather tonight, I actually thought it ended well. Overall, I give it 1 1/2 thumbs up. A movie that is bound to enter my collection. But then that's not saying much. It had Jessica Biel in it and watching that, made me want to watch the Prestige.

I am half way through the Half-Blood Prince. I'd forgotten a lot that happens in the book. Good thing I'm listening to it while I type away and make tick marks. I'm at the point that I could stand in line for the movie and the book now. If only I didn't have to work.... Long live Harry Potter!

Got a better picture of Meredith. I actually caught her at the mini bar this time!

The Mini Bar

This is a picture of what I call the "mini bar" of the office. It really is just a sink, and a place for coffee. Since moving to my new desk, I have come across an opportunity to keep my days full of fun. A lady who I originally dubbed "Lady Walk-by", was recently hired. I don't know what she does, I think it has to do with accounts or accounting or something like that. But anyway, in looking at this picture this is what I see when I turn to the left. It is in plain sight of my desk. "Lady Walk-by" who is now being known as Meredith occupies her work day by visiting the mini bar and other places of the office constantly. When I say constantly, I mean almost or more than being at her desk. On my desk I have this pad of paper that every time she walks by I put a tick mark on it. Her high so far was 50 times (and that's just walking by my desk) I bet it would be higher if I followed her around. Just for curiosity's sake, I think that would be fun, but I'd feel guilty for not getting anything done. I think she is being paid way too much for whatever she does, cause she's obviously not doing it. I think she and I need to have a little talk. :)

My new Workspace not Office

I apologize for the poor quality of the picture. I took this with my phone. I will take my camera to work this next week and get a better one. But at least this gives you a rough idea of my new desk. I love it!!! What's cool is there is a light under that self on the right. I have yet to turn it on... but it's still cool! I don't know if you can tell but the computer tower is under the desk and I have been using it as foot rest. It's kind of nice to put your feet up for awhile.
All I have is my calender on the wall next to the monitor. But there is soon to be more stuff. In talking with Rachel, I have taken on a new project for the weekend. I'm going to hunt the internet for a picture of some random guy, let me rephrase. A picture of some random decent looking guy and photoshop myself in the picture with him, or maybe not, not sure yet. But I'm going to frame the picture and let people think that I have a boyfriend. I also liked the idea of a little plant. Anyone else got any ideas of stuff I should put on or around my new penthouse desk? Leave a comment and let me know.

A Year in Review

As I've been sitting here for oh about 5 minutes or so trying to come up with a topic about which to write, I decided I would just write about the one year anniversary of my blog. Has it been a Happy year? I don't know. Thinking that it has only been a year tells me it's been a long year, a very long year. That much I know for sure. I would say for the most part it has been a good year.

I did a lot of traveling. Went to Boise about four times. Drove to Utah several times, too many I care to count. Utah just isn't my favorite state. And I drove home from Idaho, a long journey in of itself. I turned the big 25. That one was hard for me. I don't care to think of myself as an adult, I tend to think when times were simpler and how I wish I could go back sometimes.

I learned that it is possible to keep a fairly updated blog. (I'm counting writing this blog as writing in my journal.) I also learned that you can be best friends with people who share your name. For some reason, I always tended to run from those people in the past. I also learned that keeping in contact is hard, but when you put your mind to it, it pays off. I'm a nerd, but that's a given. That spring and fall are my favorite seasons... I think. That I NEED alone time a majority of the time.

There have been other things that weren't the best of times as well. But for those things I am grateful, somehow, at least I should be. That's what we're supposed to do anyway, right?

Here's to a new year in recording my life how I see it. Cheers

Bored to Death

"Pam: Every so often, Jim dies of boredom. I think today, it was the expense reports that did him in. And uh, our deal is, that it’s up to me to revive him."

Thursday nights have become one of my favorite times of the week, besides "alone-time" of course! The evening starts out with The Office. Whoever is responsible for all the "one-liners" needs an award of some kind. And if the guilds won't award them with one, I'll mail them a gold star or something. They are just plain brilliant! So anyway, I was talking to Rachel last week about how it would be funny since I work in an office environment that it would be funny if I just all of a sudden died of boredom like Jim does every once in a while on the show "The Office". I loved the idea and knew I could do it without anyone see me do it. I took my camera to work on Monday, but didn't have much luck. People didn't go to lunch at their normal times. Tuesday rolls around and I was able to accomplish "mission: bored to death" while everyone was at lunch and I was supposedly working. :) Check it out. It's not all that exciting. I need to put some music to it or something, a project I can do down the road. But enjoy anyway until then.

The Office

It's the end of the week as we know it, and I feel fine! I love the weekends. It is what I live for each week. It is what I patiently and not so patiently work toward. I have been at my current job for about a month now. I can honestly say that I like my job. I work in downtown Kansas City on the second floor of an office building which means I can either take a fun ride on the elevator and oh how I love elevators, or I can be kind to my heart and use the stairs. Stairs it is. No, I really like my job because, let's be honest, who wants to deal with mean people? I don't. I've had my fair share. I don't have to talk to anyone. That phone on my desk actually belongs to the person the the right. I do however have my own cubical, I have my own desk which came pre-equipped with office stuff. Not only do I wear jeans everyday, but I wear my earphones too, all day! It's nothing fancy, but it's my space. The other picture is just showing you more cubicles. If you noticed in the first picture, there is nothing that says that it is mine, but starting tomorrow, I will have put in something that claims someone might just work here. I found an extra calendar!! How exciting is that!? I may just have to take another picture to help me remember the big event! Happy March everyone. Good night and good luck.

The Abject sails

It's about time that I update this thing, but I have no idea what to write. I do have a headache for the third week in a row from church. I don't know if it has anything to do with my new calling as primary chorister. At least this week I took some medicine before I went into the lion's den, I was able to walk away with a smaller headache. This is turning out to be an interesting calling to say the least. I do enjoy it, but today, I really didn't want to go. I just wanted to sleep. Oh well, I guess it's good for me at least that's what they say. I've been teaching them a new song the past two weeks and today we played a game of boys against girls. I made them sing the song without me holding up the words. The boys went first and did horribly. (I guess we will have to work on this song some more) and then the girls. They didn't do much better. I will have to come up with another way to help them learn the song better I guess. I've also been trying to learn their names. It has been a real challenge, and I think they get tired of me asking. I don't blame them, I'd get tired of it too, but there isn't much I can do to fix it.

I think I may try to squeeze in a nap and hopefully catch a dream with the abject and sail off to some distant land.

I claim this rock in the name of Rachael

I don't know if you can tell from this picture, but that pile of clothes is about 2 1/2 feet tall. I moved back home back in January and have been living out of my suitcases ever since this past weekend. Really what's been keeping me from doing anything about it is my sister's stuff is still in this room including the closet and dresser. So I finally cleaned out the dresser (still need to tackle the closet) and did all my laundry. The one think I hate about laundry is folding it and putting it away, so I just piled it on the one side of the bed. I have a king, it's not like I need the other side. So it is going to be my project this week to find a home for half of this stuff and get rid of the other half. And just for your information, that is my dog, Bandit in the foreground. He and I are buds, he likes to hang out with me and follow me around the house.
I don't know if you can tell from the picture, but the wall color is a light pink and I got the ok to paint from the parental units. So I'm shooting for either this weekend or the next to have it ready to go (probably be next weekend).
So much for going to bed early, I think I'm going to forgo the movie tonight and just do some sudoku instead. I don't want to fall asleep in my chair again at work. What a waste of a break when all you do is sleep. :) Anyway, I am happy to report that my dvd list is up to date. I am now at 321 and counting.
Happy jean Tuesday everyone! Happy "2 more days til Grey's" day as well! I can't wait.

Last thing before I go do my sudoku for the night, I need to change my poll, but I want some ideas, leave me a comment or two on what you'd like to see a poll on. And if your idea gets picked, a special prize may be coming your way.

Salud

Before I retire for the evening I wanted to mark this day (or evening) as a new chapter in my life. Tonight while playing on the computer, like what I do every night, I (dare I say it...) got bored. I have never in all my life been able to get bored while on the computer. Because of this, and my body's desire to wake early in the morn, I have decided to go to bed. I believe this is the earliest I've gone to bed in a very long time, too far for me to even remember. Here's to getting bored on the computer, well, actually, I'm not ready for that. So, here's to going to bed early... hmmm not ready for that either. I've got it, here's to a new entry in my blog. Here, here!

Now without looking back through, how many times did I use the word "here"?

I know this picture has nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with this entry, but I wanted a picture. And all the toasting pictures I found were of weddings and of old people. Seeing how I am in neither situation and wanting a picture, I decided to put a picture of where I'd rather be right now.

Church was cancelled for this...

This past weekend brought snowfall to our little neck of the woods and I decided along with my sister Jenny, to take some pictures of it. So I got out my handy dandy tripod and whipped out my camera and took some night shots. Here is my favorite ---> This is a picture of the street next to our house with Jenny standing on the side taking a picture of her own. The other picture I am posting is of Jenny and me in our backyard just messing around. I also ended up making a snow angel. We had fun, and we got some cool pictures out of it too. This was around 7 or 8 at night and not very many people were out, but those that were, looked at us like we were insane for standing out in the street taking pictures. One car even stopped just beyond our street, opened the door, got out and looked at us then got back in and went up another block. There they stopped again and a boy jumped out and gathered some snow and made a snowball. This is where Jenny and I went down our street away from the major street so they couldn't see us anymore. I did not want to have a snowball thrown at me let alone my camera. I would have had some heads. :) Luckily they never turned around. But they did make me nervous. Stupid boys, they never grow up.

Safe and Sound

My holiday travels have been a memorable one this past Christmas. As we all know from my previous posts, that my travel plans had not gone so well. I was stuck in Salt Lake City due to Denver's snow storm. I then flew back to Salt Lake City for my return trip to Idaho to pick my stuff up and visit Beth. No problems with the trip and I couldn't have been happier. I do have one complaint though, the shuttle I used had no heat directed toward the floor and by the time I got back to Rexburg and got my luggage I lost feeling in some of my toes. Never again! I arrived back in Idaho on the 2nd of January, a Tuesday. I stayed with Beth and her family until Saturday evening. Mostly just chilling and enjoying each other's company. I will miss Beth and her kids. I actually had a hard time leaving. So anyway, I left Saturday evening and headed toward Utah to visit Cassandra Cae, an old roommate. I was just planning on spending the night with her, but ended up staying until Monday morning due to weather conditions on I-80 which goes through Wyoming and Nebraska. So I took I-70. I was nervous about that because Denver still had tons of snow and I wasn't sure about driving through the mountains. So I left Utah around 9:30 or so in the morning and headed toward Denver. I would have to say that that was the best part of my trip. Not only did I not get tired, but I got to travel through not just one, but several tunnels that went through the mountains! I was tempted to turn around and go through them again, but I restrained myself. So I got to Denver a little before 6 that night and waited around until my other old roommate, Jordan, got off of work so that we could go out to dinner. I waited around for about 40 minutes and finally gave up and headed toward home. By the time I got to the other side of Denver, Jordan called and we were able to hook up. We had fun, we went to Chili's with her parents and we mostly just talked about the pranks I pulled on Jordan and how she thought they were hilarious. They really loved the story of when I stole Jordan's blades that go to her fan. I thought it was pretty funny myself. Oh boy Rachel, do you have something to look forward to when we are roommates! Anyway, Jordan's family didn't want me driving through the night so they made me stay the night with them. Which I was more than happy to do. Jordan has turned into quite the grandma, she now goes to bed around 10 every night. Sometimes I wish I could do that. I now have two grandma friends. You know who you are. :) The next stop I had was home, in good ole Overland Park about 9 hours away. I didn't leave Jordan's until around noon I think. Eh, I wasn't in a hurry. The trip through Kansas was pretty uneventful. I did however find some runners. Runners are what my family call people who speed quite a bit over the speed limit and we put some distance between us then match their speed. This way, if there were a speed trap up ahead, the runners would be caught and we could sail right on by. I should note, that I didn't speed unless I had a runner. I was very careful in that regard. I really didn't want a speeding ticket. Mostly cause I couldn't afford it and plus, that just meant more alone time for me! But the runners I found in Kansas were the best. The speed limit was 70 and I had three trucks in front of me going around 90-95 mph! I loved it. I shaved so much time off my trip. I even surprised my family by getting home so quickly. I think I saved around an hour. It was great. I'd do that more often, but sometimes runners are just hard to come by. All in all, the trip was a blast. I loved every minute of it. I even loved the fact that I was by myself. Not that I don't enjoy company, it was just nice to spend quality time with myself. It was beautiful! :) Anyway, I didn't take many pictures. But here is one of me driving while I'm in Kansas. I was bored, well not really bored, just doing something other than looking at the road. :) Oh and I've decided to name my future yacht, if I ever get one, The Abject. That's just an fyi for anyone who cares.