Lost In Transition

Swap Gift

2011-08-20T11:52:00.001-05:00

25 Weeks

2011-07-11T14:57:00.002-05:00

2011-05-25T15:23:00.001-05:00

TWITTERING

2009-06-24T13:09:00.003-05:00

So, I've pretty much given up on this blog and have switched to updating on Twitter instead. It's just easier, and I'm lazy like that. If you want to know my username leave a comment, and I'll get back to you.

F IS FOR FOENIX

2009-01-11T01:01:00.002-06:00

I'm in Phoenix for a few days. My Grandma used to live in a suburb of Phoenix before she died 5 years ago, and when we landed I got really emotional about being here.

This brings up a question: Do you think that people leave a part of them behind in the places where they once lived - not a "ghost" exactly but some sort of energy? I am starting to think that we do. What do you think?

THIS WEEK IN UBERCONSERATIVILLE

2008-11-18T09:35:00.002-06:00

Observations/Ponderings from the last week:

The only way to get me to drink tea is if you buy the peppermint kind, put milk in it, and serve it with homemade snickerdoodles.

I will drink just about anything in order to have an excuse to eat homemade snickerdoodles.

Justice Scalia taught me that the Constitution should not be living. He says it's not illegal to burn the American flag. He also says it's ok to feel personally one way about an issue but to vote the opposite way on the issue as a judge. I'm surprised he wasn't crucified on the stage.

Why do even the shittiest of bars still have HD flat screen televisions in them? You can contract an STD from the toilet seats, but at least you get to see the game in HD!!!

Watching a big game is much more exciting in a group (even in a group of complete strangers -- say, at On the Border in the bar where you eat dinner by yourself, just hypothetically) than watching a big game by yourself.

The best time to go shopping for anything is during the big game.

If someone tells you that you're strong believe them. Even if you don't feel strong at the time, you will discover that they are right. People are always searching for weakness, so if they see strength it must be there.

I have been obsessing over the kid issue. Do we have kids here? Do I have a choice about where I have kids? If I try to hold out on having kids until we move will it be too late? What if we never move? Have we already waited too long to have kids? Do we even want to have kids? Kids, kids, kids.

How do you talk your family into going to family therapy? Do you just surprise them with a visit from Dr. Phil? Do you conspire to trick them all into going to the same therapist at the same time by telling them they're going somewhere else and taking them to therapy instead?

Is it really possible to give up on part of your family and forget about them and not care anymore? Truly?

Does family really mean so much, or can you make your own family by surrounding yourself with people you love?

Can the local newscasters get any worse? Please, let the answer be "no".

Does advertising that your company answers the phone with a West Texas accent REALLY help sell your products? Seriously?

DISCOURAGED

2008-11-13T09:47:00.002-06:00

I'm working from bed today. If only I could figure out how to train Squeaky to bring me lunch...

TO BE FAIR, MY GENE POOL IS NOT A WALK IN THE PARK EITHER

2008-11-06T17:49:00.002-06:00

After posting the last post, I began reflecting on my own gene pool. It consists of:

a Dad who refuses to travel outside of a one-county radius from his house;

a Grandma who declared to me last month that she doesn't 'belong here anymore', and by 'here' she meant ALIVE;

a Mom who is so on edge that she has lost the ability to find humor in everyday life

among others.

I think it's fair to say that I make Chris want to bang his head against a wall about as often as he makes me want to do the same. It's probably also fair to say that our genes would combine to make the most stubborn children the world has ever seen. Just another reason not to have kids!

THESE ARE THE GENES THAT I MARRIED

2008-11-06T16:04:00.002-06:00

In the middle of the night last night, Chris' paternal grandma fell and broke her hip. She managed to drag herself across the room to the telephone. Then she decided that she would rather not worry anyone at that time of the night, so she lay on the floor for a couple of hours until the clock read 5 AM before calling anyone for help.

See the gene pool I'm dealing with here?

She had surgery today and is doing well. Thankfully, the break was actually below the ball and socket region, and the surgeon was able to put a pin in her leg. The recovery will still be difficult, but we are hopeful that her stubbornness will be directed toward getting better and work for her favor.

ELECTION EVE

2008-11-03T10:00:00.003-06:00

Tomorrow is Election Day, and I wish that meant that tomorrow is the last day that we have to hear about Presidential politics for four years. Unfortunately, it doesn't ever seem to stop.

Since I live in such a strongly Republican state, I feel that my vote does not count. I hate our political system, and I especially hate that our country has become a two-party system. Our country was never meant to run on a two-party system. I have decided to vote for a third-party candidate again this year, since that is about the only way I can make a statement. It also gives me the chance to vote for a person who I completely agree with on the issues. Imagine that! You don't have to vote for the "lesser of two evils"! You, too, can vote for someone you actually believe in! No, really!

Check out votesmart.org to find out more about ALL of the candidates on the ballot in your state.

FAMILY WEDDING, ETC.

2008-10-27T08:43:00.008-05:00

I'm sitting in a hotel room on my final of three trips in this month, and I am thinking about how I'm dreading next month when I have no where to go.

A weekend or two ago, I was home in MI for a family wedding; and I truly enjoyed every moment of my visit with maybe one or two exceptions. Family drama is the worst type of stress, but having the chance to see J & J (hi, guys!) and play with their daughters and also the chance to play with numerous other kids, including our 5 first-cousins-once-removed and our niece and nephew, made all of the other stresses melt away. Here are a few pictures, some of which feature me with not only a new haircut but also with STRAIGHTENED hair. My own husband did not recognize me at first, which led to a lot of "stranger in my bed" jokes. :)

The happy couple say their vows to one another. I was moved by the vows because I'd never heard my cousin vocalize his emotions so clearly before that moment.

Here are my aunt, uncle, and cousins. My cousin's husband is missing in this picture because he is currently serving in Iraq. He was very much missed, but we are proud of him.

Chris and I love to do self-portraits.

This little guy was my buddy at the reception. We played and danced together most of the night.

Chris and I played the piano with our niece and nephew the morning after the wedding. As my mom put it, "Good thing no one in this house has a hangover."

THINGS YOU NEVER THOUGHT YOU WOULD HEAR YOUR MOTHER SAY

2008-10-12T15:19:00.000-05:00

"pin the junk on the hunk"

PARTY LIKE IT'S 1925

2008-10-02T13:21:00.005-05:00

I live in a partially dry county. This means that the sale of alcohol is restricted. In the case of this county, it means that alcohol can be sold in certain parts of the county but not in other parts. The city in which I live does not allow the sale of packaged alcohol within the city limits; however, alcohol can be sold immediately outside the city limits. Every few years, a petition circulates to put the question of whether or not alcohol should be sold within the city limits on the ballot. This is one of those years, and it's the first time it's happened since I moved here.

My understanding of how these votes have gone in the past is as follows:

1) Those who want to legalize the sale of alcohol in the city manage to get enough signatures on the petition to get the question put on the ballot.

2) Certain religious leaders of the city (who are against drinking in general) team up with the liquor store owners (who don't want to lose their monopoly of liquor sales just outside the city limit) to fight the legalization of alcohol in the city.

3) The legalization of liquor sales in the city is voted down.

Once again, the opposing teams are being formed. The side opposing alcohol sales in the city is known as the Truth About Alcohol Sales Political Action Committee. I am always open to letting people have their own opinions; however, I disagree with this committee on one major point. This committee is against the alcohol sales question even making it onto the ballot. They are asking citizens to refuse to sign the petition that would bring the question to a vote.

I don't care on which side of the alcohol debate a person falls; refusing to allow people to vote on an issue (ANY issue) is unAmerican. It goes against all of the values of America and the American system. The people that live here pride themselves in their patriotic displays yet oppose basic patriotic freedoms. This is what I cannot tolerate. If you don't want the people to have a voice, move to a country with a dictatorship. I, for one, will stay in America, where I'm supposed to have a choice.

VERY FRUSTRATING WORK WEEK: OVER

2008-09-26T15:30:00.002-05:00

There's been a ton going on around here the last couple of weeks, and yet I do not post. Posts that I've written in my head only:

My Feet: The half-dollar-sized blisters that linger 3 weeks after the fact, but at least I can wear shoes now.

The Flood: 8 inches of rain (half our normal annual total) in 24 hours wreaks havoc on our city. As we watched the water steadily rise toward our backyard, we pondered the question, "Should we buy flood insurance?"

Free Concerts: Expect about what you paid for them.

Mystery Illness OR Why We're Currently Re-Caulking Our Shower: 4 times in 5 months Chris and I have had a fever hit us at the exact same time; chills at the same time followed by TOOOOO HOOOOOTTT at the same time. Doctor stumped. Yay for being medical mysteries.

---------------------------

In other mysteries: The program I use to plot radar and lightning together onto the same grid suddenly decided the the 2008 radar data should be plotted 150 km due west of where it actually belongs. I've schmoozed some poor guy in Norman into going into work on the weekend to help me figure out what's going on. Poor guy.

On top of that ongoing mystery, my program crashed 5 times IN A ROW on me today. And I lost my favorite pen, even though I've been sitting in the same chair all day. Therefore, I am done for the week. Where's the nearest bar?

MOSAIC

2008-09-09T10:59:00.004-05:00

Brad had his mosaic posted on his site, and I thought I would do one today because I don't feel like talking about IT.

Photo credits:

1. stephanie hart, 2. Sweet Corn, 3. Lutheran High North, 4. __IR_Cachoeira__, 5. ...se hace camino al andar, 6. homemade peppermint marshmallows in hot chocolate, 7. Evening in Haines, 8. Raspberry - Swirl Cheesecake, 9. Noah's Ark, 10. Watching the fireworks, 11. Montmartre, 12. Plan Your Escape

YAY, RAMBLING POST!

2008-09-02T09:38:00.002-05:00

Here are some thoughts:

I've discovered that Sarah Palin may be the only politician in the history of the world that shares the same views as me. I'm not sure if I feel good or bad about this. I tend to view all politicians as complete scumbags, but if one actually aligns this well with my political views, then I might have to reconsider that policy. Bummer.

The Lakeline family now has a set of drums in their basement. This reminded me of how in grade school we had to take a test to see whether or not we should be in band. My friend J and I both passed with flying colors and were encouraged to be in band. Neither one of us was. For my part, it was because the only instrument I wanted to learn was the drums, but in order to become a drummer, they first made you play the xylophone. I did not want to play the xylophone. The xylophone is the dorkiest instrument ever.

Never call a girl a cow, even if you're just using the word in an expression. Just don't do it.

It's taken me a good month to get over being back in town after our trip. I'm not sure that I'm completely over my funk, actually. It's just getting a little better because we're making plans to leave town again.

I'm too old for sleepovers. There was one a few weekends ago, and I did not enjoy it. In fact, I sent Chris a text message asking him to call and bail me out if I wasn't home in 2 hours. I wasn't home in 2 hours. Is it bad that I needed a bail out to get out of spending time with supposed friends? It was really obvious that I had done it, so I feel a little guilty. I just was not having fun. It's been really hard for me to make new friends lately, and this puzzles me because it has never been so hard before.

For the third time in the last couple of months, I could not find something I was looking for in the craft stores in town. If I ask my mom to look in the stores around her back home, she can find what I need in an instant. Yeah, we might have all of the same stores as everyone else in the country, but the stores are so small that they don't carry the same selection. It's really freaking annoying.

Sometimes the only way I can put myself to sleep is by pretending that I live somewhere else and live a different life.

I'm starting a knitting/crocheting group at church. I don't know what I'm doing. I just want to not sit in the house every night. Does anyone know of any good knitting/crocheting service projects?

The hurricanes, they are insane. Something I find interesting about hurricanes is that you never actually see a wind observation that is as strong as the wind that the National Hurricane Center (NHC) claims is the peak wind. I don't believe that the sustained wind ever is actually that high. I think that the extrapolation of flight-level winds to the ground is completely bogus. I'll be interested to see what kind of data our hurricane hunting friends collected in Gustav because I do not think the winds were ever sustained over 100mph. I know that they winds they recorded in Katrina were not as strong as the NHC claimed they were. I'm not saying that these hurricanes aren't dangerous, I just think the wind speeds are being exaggerated. Kind of funny to think that 100 years ago the federal government wasn't allowed to use the words "tornado" or "hurricane" in the weather forecasts because they thought it would cause too much panic, and now they have to scream and yell the words to get anyone to take any action at all.

I have several friends that read this blog who are doing or have done hurricane research, but none of you know each other. How can this be?

SQUEAKY IS

2008-08-28T11:28:00.003-05:00

Several of you have asked how Squeaky reacted to the cuckoo clock; and we just happen to have video of the first time the clock chimed, complete with Squeaky's reaction:

Overall, I love my clock; and I'm really happy that we were able to buy it, even if it means that now my sister is inheriting the one from our great grandma's house. It will be a nice heirloom of its own one day, if it survives that long.

ONE OF THOSE DAYS

2008-08-22T12:59:00.002-05:00

I'm having one of those days. You know the kind. The kind where you show up at the rec center, and there is a sign saying it's closed until 11:30. The kind where you continue on with your day without brushing your hair or wearing deodorant, let alone having a shower. The kind where when you get to work, you realize that you didn't save any of your work from the day before, so you have to redo it all. The kind where you go to lunch and your hamburger is completely undercooked, but you don't realize it until you've eaten half of the burger. The kind where you say something to your husband thinking it's a compliment, but he takes it as an insult and won't talk to you for the rest of the day. The kind where you're supposed to go to a girls' night, but all you want to do is curl up in bed with the covers over your head.

Yeah, one of those days...

IT'S HERE

2008-08-21T10:47:00.002-05:00

Look what came in the mail from Germany!

(Some assembly still required.)

We'll see how the cat reacts to this one. It may be a toy that I never actually get to use.

MORE EUROPE PICTURES

2008-08-18T10:58:00.004-05:00

I worked hard this weekend to upload some of the pictures and videos from our trip to Europe to our flickr site. The pictures are all of people who were on the tour with us or pictures that I thought some of the group might want. Because of that, there aren't too many of the spectacular scenery, but they do give a general idea of some of the things we saw and did while we were there. The people who were on the tour with us were a lot of fun, and I don't think we could have asked for a better group. Click on the caption below to go to the flickr site:

Grand Alpine Tour: The Characters

SENTIMENTAL

2008-08-16T15:24:00.002-05:00

I'm feeling a little less restless today. Last night we got nearly two inches of rain, and at one point the lightning was literally non-stop. I love falling asleep to the sound of rain and rolling thunder, even if it is in the middle of the night. Today is just a lazy, cool, cloudy Saturday; and it's kind of nice.

Chris is taking another trip soon, and I'm a little sad about it. We've spent nearly every minute of the last 3 weeks together, and I feel closer to him than ever. We've now been married for five years, and I can't remember life without him; it seems like he's been a part of me from the beginning. Neither one of us is perfect, but it's nice to have someone you can count on through thick and thin.

On another note, I just have to say that I love the Olympics. I'm sentimental about them; I see them as the epitome of honor and glory. I know there is money wrapped up in everything nowadays, but the Olympics still seem to me to be about the honor and glory of just being and doing your best. It's so wonderful to see so many different countries come together, even if they are competing against one another. I love seeing all of the different flags and hearing the different national anthems and seeing that they draw the same reaction of pride and sentiment from each person.

JUST CAN'T QUITE MAKE IT WORK

2008-08-15T10:09:00.002-05:00

I have come to the conclusion that I really just don't like my life right now. I'm trying to dive in to activities to distract myself, but when it comes down to it I'm really just not very happy. I started realizing this when, at the end of our two week vacation, everyone else on the tour started talking about being ready to go home. I could stay on the road forever and be much happier than I am here. I like the adventure of being away, and I hate the mundane of sitting still. I used to say, "Home is where my pillow is." Those were the days when I was happy. I don't like owning and caring for a home. I hate having to figure out meals every day. I am not designed to be a homemaker; I need an adventure.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

2008-08-13T09:01:00.004-05:00

Fidel Castro.

Oh yeah, and ME.

ME ME ME ME ME

ALL I CAN SAY IS 'WOW'

2008-08-12T10:24:00.018-05:00

I don't even know how to begin recapping our trip to Europe, so I'm just going to post a few pictures of some of my favorite things.

Favorite "sausage": Rindswurst found in Frankfurt, Germany

Favorite Morning Drinking Experience: 10AM Schnapp's buffet on the bus, Austria

Favorite picture I took (as opposed to Chris, who took most of the photos): Danube River at sunrise, Vienna, Austria

Favorite dessert: Apricot jelly in vanilla ice cream rolled in crushed nuts, Vienna Woods, Austria

Best Italian Meal: Spaghetti with meat sauce and house red wine, Stressa, Italy

Best Excursion: Trip to the Klein Matterhorn, Zermatt, Switzerland

Best Celebration: Swiss Independence Day celebration, Zermatt, Switzerland

Best Tour Guide EVER: Uli Hagen

Favorite street sign: Engelburg, Switzerland

Best Bus Driver: Willi Baus

Best birthday present: Cuckoo clock from Black Forest region of Germany

Favorite beer: Hefeweissen found in Heidelburg, Germany

Favorite Traveling Companion

AT NERVE'S END

2008-07-25T19:53:00.002-05:00

I'm getting really nervous/excited for our big trip. I keep having images of the plane crash from Lost and picture Chris and I falling into the Atlantic. Fortunately, my sleep has been more restful than my waking hours (for the last couple of days anyway), so I feel somewhat ready.

I'll catch you guys on the other side!

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP IN TWO MONTHS

2008-07-21T15:51:00.002-05:00

This morning Chris and I were leaving the rec center after our morning workout, and when we got to the truck I said, "Oh, no! I left my water in my locker!"

Chris replied, "You mean the water bottle that you're holding in your hand?"

INSERT COOL PICTURE HERE

2008-07-18T16:31:00.002-05:00

I've been waiting to post until I could get my hands on a picture from our trip to New Mexico or even our trip to Norman. I strategically waited until today when Chris would not be needing his computer so I could steal the pictures I wanted off his laptop. Alas, I was thwarted by the fact that he has not yet downloaded the pictures onto his laptop AND the fact that he took the camera with him, so even though I have access to the downloading cord (which he keeps in his laptop case), I still have no access to the pictures. *Sigh*

In the last two weeks we have entertained my parents and sister, driven to Albuquerque and Santa Fe and back, driven to Norman and back, and participated in Vacation Bible School 2008: "God's Army" a.k.a. "Bible Boot Camp" a.k.a. "Everybody Scream 'OORAH' at the Top of Their Lungs Over and Over Again for Three Hours Every Night (and By the Way, We Love Jesus)". Have I mentioned that I'm exhausted?

I also haven't had a sound night of sleep in weeks, and I think it's because I'm internally freaking out about being so far behind with everything in my life (work, housework, bill paying, etc.) and the fact that I do not feel at all prepared for our next trip, which is a big one. Apparently I'm too exhausted to have a conscious freak-out, so instead the stress has been internalized in my subconscious, where it is prohibiting me from getting restful sleep. Makes sense, right?

Tonight is actually activity free, so I can commence my conscious freak-out in 3, 2, 1....

PIZZA CHICKEN ROLL-UPS

2008-07-01T18:36:00.003-05:00

This is for Becca, who seems interested in trying this recipe:

Pizza Chicken Roll-Ups

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

12 pepperoni slices

8 mozzarella cheese slices, divided

1 can (15 oz.) pizza sauce

Minced fresh parsley, optional

Directions:

Flatten chicken to 1/4 in. thickness. Place three slices of pepperoni and one slice of cheese on each. Roll up tightly; secure with toothpicks. Place in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. x 2-in. baking dish (a square pyrex dish works for me). Spoon pizza sauce over roll-ups. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. Uncover; top with the remaining cheese. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with parsley if desired.

This recipe is courtesy of "Taste of Home's 5-Ingredient Cookbook".

MY FORWARD; YOUR BACKWARD

2008-07-01T10:52:00.002-05:00

Chris and I worked out yesterday morning, which is something we try to do twice a week. I'm very ADHD when it comes to working out, so every few months I try something new. Lately, I've been hiking upstairs to the indoor track to run a little. I set off running on the track, which was empty. On my second to last lap, a woman came in and started walking in the direction opposite to mine. In my experience with indoor tracks you usually go in the same direction as the other people, so I was a little put off. I was going in the direction opposite to the way that people usually run on the track, but all of the signs ("Don't spit on the track!") are posted in both directions, so it's not like there's a designated direction that you are supposed to use at all times. I took a break to do some sit-ups and then did my final lap. By that point other people had joined this woman in her direction on the track. I don't know what the point of this story is; just that I was really annoyed that this lady went the other way. I mean, isn't it common courtesy to go the same way as the other person who is already on the track?

Rudeness should not surprise me anymore, I guess. The other night Chris and I took a walk in our neighborhood, and there was a couple standing outside in their front yard, and even though we were in the middle of a conversation we took the time to do a little wave and say "hi", and the couple just GLARED at us as we walked past. How Texas got the reputation of being friendly is beyond me. I once had a friend (who is a native Texan) apologize to me after I told her all of these instances of people being unfriendly (and at times downright rude) to us. I appreciated that a lot; if more Texans were like her I wouldn't feel quite so alienated.

In positive news Chris and I are finally starting to really get to know some people and do more activities with these new friends. It only took four years, but I'm finally starting to feel like we're on the brink of finding our place here. It will never be home, but at least it will be more tolerable.

My crazy nightmares have also subsided somewhat. I had one last week about various family members committing suicide, but since then I've only had mildly bad dreams like the one where it's finals week and you realize there's a class you were enrolled in that you never actually attended. You don't know how laughable that dream is until you've had the other really bad ones.

My stomach problems have also subsided quite a bit. We're not sure why, which is frustrating. Several factors changed all at once: we bought a new dishwasher with a "sanitize" feature, our water filters were changed, and I stopped eating lettuce. My new GI suggested the lettuce thing because he said that lettuce is very hard for the colon to digest and its nutritional value is basically nothing. (Chris disagrees and is upset that 50% of my vegetable intake is now eliminated from my diet, but oh well!) Then the GI wrote a prescription for me that is still sitting on the kitchen counter because the symptom that the prescription was supposed to help has completely gone away. I'm still not 100%, but after 4 years of suffering I'm so happy to be feeling even 75% that the problems that are left are nothing to me.

My family is coming tomorrow, and hopefully I'll have some fun pictures to post from our trip to NM. Happy 4th of July, everyone!

INSERT STRING OF OBSCENITIES HERE

2008-06-27T17:24:00.001-05:00

Don't you just love when you decide to just do one more little thing before saving, and then YOUR PROGRAM CRASHES, and you lose an hour and a half of work?

Yeah, me too.

SINCE I HAVEN'T MENTIONED IT ON HERE YET...

2008-06-26T16:54:00.003-05:00

... Stephanie's Crockpot 365 is the best recipe site ever.

I love my crockpot, but I don't think even I could use it every day for a year.

DEEP THOUGHTS

2008-06-25T12:22:00.001-05:00

Would it be so bad if I ate only Sonic tater tots for lunch? What is it about those things? Is it the grease or the salt or the crack?

QUOTE OF THE DAY

2008-06-24T18:14:00.000-05:00

"You're going to make me lose my nugget in the sauce."

HAPPENINGS

2008-06-23T14:16:00.002-05:00

It is very hot here. Two weeks ago it was record-tying, painfully hot. Now it's just annoyingly hot with an occasional thunderstorm. It will soon return to painfully hot; I have no doubt.

I haven't been sleeping well (see previous reference to heat), and I've been having very strange, stressful dreams when I do sleep (e.g., eating a salad with live baby alligators on it, huge tornadoes coming at me, and something involving Hannibal Lector that I've blocked from conscious memory).

Trying to figure out whether L's fiance is a lying, wife-cheating bastard or just has very poor communication skills.

We've actually been finding more social things to do lately, which has helped with the "I HATE IT HERE" mentality a little bit.

We're preparing for my family's visit, which will include a side trip into New Mexico. New Mexico is a seriously cool place to visit, if you know where to look.

We're also preparing for our very big trip to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland; but we're completely clueless on what we even need to do to prepare. I think it's time for a trip back to the travel agent.

I've started working on a new, secret project that has something to do with a certain little girl's Christmas present, and I'm pretty excited about it.

My cousin J's little boy was baptized this past weekend, which is just one more thing to add to the list of family events I've missed because I live so freakishly far away from home.

I've been using my blog space as a list of links more than anything lately, and I decided it's because I hate the computer. I hate being on it all day; I hate that it remains on after I'm done working; and I hate that my husband can't seem to tear himself away from his computer. I really do believe that the more we become attached to technology, the less attached we become to each other. Sure, we can have an entire community of online friends, but do we know who our neighbors are?

With that thought, I'm back to work!

GATOR

2008-05-09T16:12:00.005-05:00

Gator, working on his tan

This is Gator. Gator is a very important member of the family, as he is Squeaky's favorite toy. When Squeaky was just a wee kitten (well, as wee as Squeaky ever was), we moved him from his home in the garage of my parent's house in Michigan to our apartment in Oklahoma. This was just after we were married, and we had moved into the apartment rather quickly before we left for our wedding. As a result there was a pile of stuffed alligators lying on the living room floor. (I am something of an alligator collector, as most of you know.) Squeaky pulled this particular stuffed animal out of the pile and made it his bitch (for lack of a better word). The bald patch on his head is a particular spot of interest for Squeaky. There is a similar spot on his butt. Dr. C has observed Squeaky bite Gator's head, put his front paws on Gator's shoulders and nuzzle up to him from behind. (Up until that point referring to Gator as Squeaky's bitch was just a figure of speech but now we're not so sure.) Every night after we go to bed we can hear Squeaky in the living room making very strange growling-type noises. If we peak out to see what's going on, we see Squeaky with his fangs embedded in Gator, moving him around the living room.

Today there was an incident involving Gator. Dr. C and I have been touching up the wall around our new doors (pretty!), and Dr. C accidentally dumped paint all over Gator and the tile (thank goodness!) floor. I immediately grabbed Gator and ran him to the nearest sink.

Me, frantically scrubbing Gator: "I'll get Gator; you get the floor!"

Chris: Stands there and does nothing.

Me: "Honey! The floor! Fast!"

Chris, frantic: "There's paint on my hand!"

Me: "Well, come wash it!"

Chris, even more frantic: "The paint is dripping off of my hand!"

Me, calmly: "Put the dry hand under the hand dripping paint, walk over to the sink, and wash your hands. Then get the floor! I'm trying to save Gator because God forbid our cat not have his Gator!!!!"

Me, to myself: "You have a PhD! CAN YOU NOT FIGURE THIS OUT?!"

(In Dr. C's defense he was so mad at himself for spilling the paint that he was frozen with anger. It's been a little stressful around here lately; can you tell?)

I find it interesting that my instinct when faced with a paint-splotched floor or a ruined cat toy was to save the cat toy. Screw you, house; Gator must live!

LOOKING BACK

2008-04-20T14:48:00.003-05:00

Developing supercell as seen from my sideview mirror while driving between Seymour and Wichita Falls, TX on March 2, 2008

It's been a long time since I've posted anything, so let's recap the last few months:

End of October: Traveled to MI for Gram's heart valve repair surgery. Ended up calling 9-1-1 on Halloween because Gram had a bad spell while I was with her. Got to see beautiful fall colors in MI, go to an apple orchard, see cousin E dressed up for Halloween, and spend a lot of time with Mom. Gram's surgery was completely successful, and she's doing great.
Christmas Holidays: Did the normal cross-country trek from TX to IL to MI. Overall, had one of the best Christmas's in a long time. Got to see just about every member of the family, and especially enjoyed the nieces/nephews/cousins.
End of January: Trip to New Orleans for a conference. Caught up with a lot of friends, drank too many Hurricanes, had job interview. Our camera was stolen at the very end of the trip, which meant we lost about 200 photos but got to buy a new camera.
Beginning of February: Traveled to Northern MI for Dad's heart valve replacement surgery. It was a very hard trip, but I got to enjoy below-freezing temperatures and plenty of snow. I went snow-shoeing with my aunt on her birthday and tried to take in all of the beautiful scenery while I had the chance.
End of February: Hosted the Lakeline family. Enjoyed spending time with my Goddaughter and her parents. Took them to Palo Duro Canyon, the Science Spectrum Museum, and lots of good restaurants. Fed the ducks.
Beginning of March: Traveled to Norman, OK, to start new job. (YAY!)
Middle of March: Traveled to Colorado to go skiing with friends. Had really bad attack of ongoing stomach problems and thought I would never get off the top of the mountain. Managed to get in a little skiing and actually feel like I almost knew what I was doing.
March to April: Collapsed.

That's what I've been up to. My new job is great, and I love it. Working from home is lonely, though, and I've been feeling very homesick. The funny thing about being alone in the house so often is that the longer it goes on, the more reclusive I become. I don't want to go anywhere or do anything or see anyone. That's part of why I haven't been posting; I just want to be alone. Except that I don't. I'm sad and lonely and hate the reclusive creature I've become.

Somewhere in that crazy mess of time, Dr. C and I managed to book a trip to Europe this summer. I'm really, really excited about it. We're going to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. That trip is months away, and with Dr. C heading out for the storms of the Plains soon, I'm thinking about taking a trip home just for a change of scenery. I can't sit here for any length of time, so maybe the key is to just keep moving.

LUKE 2:19

2008-02-28T13:24:00.004-06:00

How to win over your Goddaughter, who you haven't seen in 9 months* (5 easy steps):

1. Give her a gift.

2. Help her feed the ducks.

3. Let her play in water.

4. Push her on the swings.

5. Make her feel like one of the big girls.

*WARNING: Winning over a 19-month-old may result in her/him winning YOU over. This could result in a hole in your heart when she/he returns home.

SLIGHTLY LESS GRUMPY

2008-02-19T12:07:00.002-06:00

I'm back in Texas and am slightly less grumpy. I was sick with a stomach thing all day on Sunday, which was either food poisoning or my reaction to my mother-in-law going on and on about how this is such a wonderful place. Maybe I can offer her a trade.

TO THE PLACE WHERE I BELONG

2008-02-10T08:06:00.000-06:00

I'm in northern Michigan for my Dad's heart surgery. Everything went really well with the surgery itself, but it's still been a very trying trip. My step-mom is not handling anything well, even though there is nothing wrong. Dad has been showing symptoms of alcohol and tobacco withdrawal, including getting pretty nasty with my step-mom and being downright irrational and paranoid at times. Things I've learned through this trip:

1. Nothing is more beautiful than northern Michigan in the winter. Texas can keep its 70+ degrees and shove it up its ass.

2. The more time I am around my dad, the more I channel his "grumpy old man" syndrome. Example: While driving home from the hospital yesterday, we encountered a Hummer that had missed the road it was trying to turn onto and landed in the ditch. I yelled to it from the car, "Serves you right for driving a big-ass vehicle that guzzles so much gas!" See what I mean?

3. My step-mom is a basket-case, and when my dad's health finally does fail, I don't want to be around.

4. My aunts are the best.

5. My mom is the best.

6. My husband is the best.

7. Prayer works.

8. Nurses are saints.

9. I've made more friends in the hospital in the last 3 days than I have in Texas in the last 3 years. These are my people.

10. Bird-watching is better than TV.

I'll try to post some pictures at some point, but dial-up sucks, so it might not be until I get back. As it is, I have to keep my posting on the down-low. I miss communicating with all of you!

AMERICAN

2008-01-29T11:46:00.000-06:00

I've been traveling a lot lately, hence the non-posting. I would put up pictures of our fun adventures for you, but our camera was stolen on the last trip, along with nearly 200 pictures from the last 4 weeks of our lives.

I have been flying on American Airlines so much lately and spending so much money to do so (aka two flight changes to my itinerary for flying home for Gram's surgery, which cost $100 apiece plus the initial flight cost plus the difference in price from the original flights to the new ones) that I have been joking that I'm single-handedly keeping AA out of bankruptcy. I may be closer to the truth than I know because yesterday I received in the mail a card that looks something like this:

Admirals Club

This card is presented, for one complimentary vist, to

Stephanie [Lastname]

AAdvantage # *******

Expires April 30, 2008

{Fancy Signature}

American Airlines

In other words, "You've spent a crapload of money on flights in the last six months, so come have a free soft drink!"

Thank you, American Airlines; I think I shall.

GET A ROOM, ALREADY!

2008-01-17T11:08:00.000-06:00

There has been this mysterious noise at work all week that comes and goes throughout the day. It is a rhythmic banging kind of noise that is driving me absolutely crazy. On Monday I compared the noise to tennis shoes in a dryer, but Tuesday it sounded a little different. It sounded like people having sex in a creaky bed on the second floor. I corrupted my co-workers with my dirty thoughts, and now everytime we hear the noise we all start giggling like little school girls.

Update: Today the noise sounds like a blow horn -- like the one they sound in Lord of the Rings when they're about to make you sit through a 2-hour-long war scene.

THIS COUNTS, RIGHT?

2008-01-16T15:05:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted in over a month. Maybe I should do something about that.

GET ME OUT OF HERE!

2007-12-11T11:36:00.000-06:00

Just one more example of the closed-mindedness that runs rampant in this city:

"Lubbock Censors Art for Display at City's Buddy Holly Center"

I REFUSE to raise children in this environment. I want out.

ALL ABOUT ME....BECAUSE I DON'T ACTUALLY WANT TO BE WORKING RIGHT NOW

2007-12-06T09:51:00.000-06:00

You Are a Blue Crayon

Your world is colored in calm, understated, deep colors.
You are a loyal person, and the truest friend anyone could hope to find.
On the inside, you tend to be emotional and even a bit moody.
However, you know that people depend on you. So you put on a strong front.

Your color wheel opposite is orange. Orange people may be opinionated, but you feel they lack the depth to truly understand what they're saying.

What Color Crayon Are You?

Your Observation Skills Get An A-

Hardly anything gets by you...
You have a great memory and eagle eyes

How Observant Are You?

Your Elf Name Is...

Happy Sweet Cheeks

What's Your Elf Name?

You Are a White Wine Woman

Breezy and casual, you know how to have fun when you're drinking.
And even though you can kick back with a few drinks, you never let things get out of hand.
Alcohol is not a social lubricant for you... it just enhances your already sparkling personality.
You prefer to date a man who is optimistic, friendly, and funny.

What Kind of Drinking Woman Are You?

You Are a German Shepherd Puppy

Intelligent, quick witted, and a bit aggressive.
You've got the jaw power to take a bite out of anyone you choose.

What Breed of Puppy Are You?

You Are 61% Feminine, 39% Masculine

You are in touch with your feminine side.
Sensitive, intuitive, and caring are all words that describe you.
And you're just masculine enough to relate to both men and women.

Are You Masculine or Feminine?

You Can Change Your Life, But It Won't Be Easy

You really, truly want to change. You're just not sure that you can do it.
You need a solid plan, supportive friends, and a strong will.
Think about times you've made hard changes, and what you did to get through them.
A change is in your future - you just need a little help getting started.

Can You Change Your Life?

HOUSE OF PAIN

2007-12-05T16:12:00.000-06:00

All of my stomach problems are back and in full force. They completely disappeared for the two+ weeks I was in Michigan, and I forgot how painful and annoying it all is. This has been going on for more than three years now, and I'm ready for it to be over. However, I currently have no doctor because my insurance company decided not to renew its contract with one of the two hospitals in town, so all physicians associated with that hospital are no longer covered. I don't mind so much with the PCP because I didn't really like him anyway, but I'm pissed that I have to give up my OB/GYN and the opportunity to have this kind of birthing experience at the off-limit hospital. Anyway, everyone we know has a PCP affiliated with the off-limit hospital, so we have no way of finding a decent doctor affiliated with the other hospital without picking random names out of the phone book. Some of our friends have switched insurance providers so that they don't have to give up their doctors, but the other insurance only covers you if you're in the city limits. Nice.

Anyway, as I lay in bed this morning wishing that I hadn't lost the last hour of precious sleep due to abdominal discomfort (yet again), I heard Dr. C get up and then start swearing and moaning and then lay back down. Apparently, he threw out his back while putting on his pants this morning. Seeing as it's the end of the semester (read: he has a shitload of work-related crap to deal with), we have 4 Christmas parties this weekend, and he still has a lot of Christmas shopping to do, he is not too thrilled with the timing on this one. We stuck the heating pad on him for an hour (Note to self: Add new, non-1970's heating pad to Christmas list), and he insisted on driving himself to work and working all day, even though he couldn't put his socks on by himself.

Maybe he should give up the dancing elf routine.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I HAVE TO DO CHARLIE WORK

2007-11-28T09:49:00.000-06:00

There is a small kitchen in the office suite where I work that contains a mini-fridge, a coffee maker, and a sink. This kitchen is free to be used by faculty, staff, and students. For the most part, everyone is good about cleaning up after themselves if they spill something in the kitchen, so there's never been much of a problem with cleanliness. For some reason, it has now been dictated that we will take turns cleaning the kitchen -- washing the coffee pot, wiping the counters and microwave, and cleaning leftovers out of the fridge. No big deal, except that ONLY THE WOMEN in the office are required to do this. I know the argument will be that it's not the women being asked to do it, it's the staff being asked to do it, and all of the staff just happen to be women. It still doesn't feel right to me, especially has someone who doesn't even drink coffee and never brings a lunch to work. Why should I have to clean up after these people who aren't contributing equally to the cleaning effort?

Am I making too much out of this?

I AM NOT GLOWING

2007-11-27T10:55:00.000-06:00

It was just Dr. C and I for Thanksgiving this year, which I normally find depressing, but after my extended trip to MI and three house guest the weekend after I got back, it was actually refreshing to have the house to ourselves for a day. Over the weekend we took a side trip to Carlsbad, NM, to meet up with my aunt and uncle. Why Carlsbad? Well, outside of the caverns, they have Christmas on the Pecos this time of year. It was the perfect evening for a Christmas-y boat ride: cold and calm. It was just the thing to put me into more of a Christmas mood than I've been in for many years. Maybe that's why everyone keeps saying I "look better than you have in a long time".

Do I look "better than [I] have in a long time" to you in this picture? Because all I can see is the dirty hair, chipmunk cheeks and developing double-chin. Next thing I know, people will think I'm pregnant.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

2007-11-22T12:37:00.000-06:00

It's snowing!!!!

Go Lions!!!!

Here's a turkey recipe for you:

CROCK POT TURKEY
1 bone-in turkey breast (big enough to feed the crew, but small enough
to fit in the crock pot!)
1 can cranberry sauce
1 package onion soup mix
1/2 cup water

Place turkey in a lined crock pot. (Reynolds makes a good liner.)
Mix together cranberry sauce, soup mix, and water; pour over turkey.
Cook on high for 2 hours and on low for another 4-6 hours.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

LET'S PLAY...

2007-11-21T11:38:00.001-06:00

...pick a new career for Steph!

1) Accountant (my friend Sandra's pick)
2) Environmental Scientist (no program here, unfortunately)
3) Flight Attendant
4) Computer Programmer
5) Other ________________

Votes?

DREAMS

2007-11-20T10:21:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I was reading Memoirs of a Geisha*, and this passage hit me in the face like a ton of bricks:

"I was only living half in Gion; the other half of me lived in my dreams of going home. This is why dreams are such dangerous things: they smolder on like a fire does, and sometimes consume us completely."

I am living this same half-life. Some days I can see past the dream, or at least ignore it. Other days I am consumed, and I cannot function in reality.

There is a very similar quote made by Dumbledore to Harry in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone^:

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

Harry was able to move past his dream, with assistance from his mentors and support from his friends.

The character in Memoirs of a Geisha*, was also able to move past her dreams:

"I'm not sure this will make sense to you, but I felt as though I'd turned around to look in a different direction, so that I no longer faced backward toward the past, but forward toward the future. And now the question confronting me was this: What would that future be?"

In the case of both of these characters their dreams involved their parents, who died. For me, I just want to move. I have no decisive ending like a death to take the dream away. Do I hold on to it? If not, how do I turn around? How do I turn away from the only dream I have left and look toward a future that seems to hold nothing for me?

How does one find new dreams? or do they find you?

*Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden, G.K. Hall & Co., Thorndike, Maine, 1997
^Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling, Scholastic, 1998

TRIP HOME, IN PICTURES

2007-11-13T10:46:00.000-06:00

I arrived in Michigan on October 25th. The first day was a bit rainy but the next couple were perfect -- 65 and sunny. Thanks to global warming, the trees are about a month behind in their leaf-shedding, so I got to see some gorgeous colors. I also managed to see a few tiny snowflakes a couple of times later in my trip, which made me very happy!

I was also able to spend some quality time with my niece and nephew (the one's whose house was hit by the tornado). Thankfully, their house is in the process of being repaired; and their insurance has been incredible.

On Halloween, we had a bit of a scare with Grandma. I had to call 911 for the first time in my life, which was surreal. I hope I never have to do it again. Thankfully, she was ok after a few days in the hospital. Despite the crisis, I was able to make it back to the house in time to pass out Halloween candy to the trick-or-treaters, including my cousin's daughter.

I was also able to see my friend Jenny and her daughters.

All of the kids I saw are so much fun; I hope my kids are that great!

The last picture I have is from a couple of days before Grandma's surgery, when we had her over to celebrate her 85th birthday.

Get well soon, Gram!

BACK

2007-11-12T15:33:00.000-06:00

I'm back in the land of too-hot-for-me. Grandma is doing very well. I initally thought that the surgery would be the hard part to get through, but now I realize that it's the recovery that's really the tough part. They told us she'd be in ICU for 24-48 hours after the surgery, and she's been there for 5 days. They keep saying that she's doing great, though, so I'm not too worried. She's starting to complain about random little things that don't really matter, so she must be getting better!

The hardest part about coming back was leaving my mom. She's kind of a wreck. I'm really more worried about her than anyone else. She needs lots of hugs; more than she's getting.

Otherwise, it's nice to be back with my husband. That's about it; I'd leave the rest behind in a heartbeat and move back North for good if I could.

Forty-two days until I'm back there.

Then, in February, I get to do this all over again with my Dad. Isn't life fun?

LION'S DEN

2007-11-06T10:52:00.000-06:00

Grandma is having open heart surgery tomorrow, on her 85th birthday. We are all scared for her, but we know that she's in good hands.

This morning I was trying to think of a Bible story that tells of someone facing something life-threatening and making it through the situation. I thought of Daniel and the lion's den. A few months ago I was telling a friend of mine, who is not extremely familiar with the Bible, about Daniel. Telling the story outloud to a non-Christian made me feel ridiculous. I mean, a guy gets thrown into a pit with hungry lions and survives? It sounds like a child's fairytale, right? But imagine taking someone from Biblical times and telling them a story. Imagine telling them that they are going to cut open my Grandma, use a machine to circulate her blood, stop her heart, replace the valve, then start her heart up again, sew her shut, and she'll be better than before they did it. Do you think they would believe me?

A guest pastor speaking at our church once gave a sermon about faith. He described all of the modern-day things that people have faith in, including medicine; and he questioned how we can have faith in all of these things but have so much trouble having faith in God. I thought he had a good point.

I will not have a chance to post again for awhile because I'll be at the hospital from now until when I fly back to Texas. Thanks for all of the encouragement, thoughts, and prayers that I know you've been sending our way!

THAT'S JUST THE WAY IT IS

2007-10-24T13:59:00.000-05:00

It figures that when you have the most interesting things going on in life, you have the least amount of time to write about them.

This past weekend was Grape Day weekend, which is always a blast. Grape Day is an annual festival held by one of the local wineries in celebration of the grape harvest. For us, it has turned into somewhat of a reunion of friends new and old. This year we had 16 people come in from out of town to join us, 13 of whom stayed with us. It was a blast, but we were exhausted afterward. I'm not sure I've recovered yet. I'll post some pictures and tell some more stories some other time.

Last week, in the midst of preparations for a house full of people, I found out two pieces of bad news:

1. My Grandma needs to have open heart surgery ASAP.
2. My brother's house was hit by a tornado.

Let's start with #2. My brother (C) and sister-in-law (K) and their two kids (T+G) are all fine. Fortunately, the system worked: the NWS put out a tornado warning, the town where they live turned on the tornado sirens, and they went to the basement. The major damage to their home came in the form of a tree falling on their roof and damaging G's bedroom ceiling enough that rain got into the house. They also have some damage to their cars, and their trees are practically de-limbed. The scariest part of the whole experience for them came when they tried to get K and the kids out of the neighborhood the night it happened. K related the experience to being in a horror film. The closest anyone could get to their house was six blocks away, so she and the kids had to run through the pouring down rain in the pitch black night to get to the car. K watched as T and G were lifted over downed trees and live power lines, and she and C had to jump over live power lines themselves in soaking wet clothing. Thank God they are all safe. The house and cars will be repaired, and they will all be just fine in the long run, except for a little storm-related trauma in the future.

As for Grandma, she is very optimistic about her surgery, and we're all trying to keep each other's spirits high. I'm flying to MI to be with the family; although, there is no guarantee yet that I'll be there for the actual surgery. Every time I make/change my flight, something gets messed up so the surgery date gets changed. Maybe I'm just not meant to be there for it. I wish we didn't live so far away; it complicates everything.

You'd think that with all of that going on, I'd have enough to be upset about; but what's really bothering me today is Christmas. Because we do live so far away and hardly ever get to see any of our family, a lot rides on Christmas. I get upset every year because it's all just too much. We try so hard to be where we need to be when we need to be there, and it feels like no one reciprocates that effort. On top of it, everyone just complains that they don't get enough time with us. I'm not sure that the fiasco is worth it anymore. Maybe I'll just lock myself in the closet for 2 weeks and come out when the season is over. I'm certainly never doing this with children, and that's the irony. Everyone wants us to have kids, but no one would ever get to meet them.

DONE

2007-10-04T16:50:00.000-05:00

Total number of proposals submitted: 1

Total number of pieces of paper on my desk: 1453980

Total number of extra hours worked in the last week: 11
Total amount of overtime I get paid: $0

Thanks for the supportive comments; I'm going to go hibernate now.

CRUNCH TIME

2007-09-19T11:41:00.000-05:00

Official Due Date of Proposal: October 5
Internal Due Date of Proposal: September 28
Self-Imposed Due Date of First Draft of Proposal: TODAY, 5:30PM
Personal Date with Many Bottles of Wine: TODAY, 5:31PM

SUNNY

2007-09-13T09:31:00.000-05:00

One of the only things making me happy this week is the season premiere of one of my new favorite TV shows. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" was introduced to me by Leah and her husband last year, and ever since then I've been anxiously awaiting a new season. Never heard of it? You can watch a special "pre-season" episode online.

It's weird; I know, but the more I watch it, the more hilarious it gets.

MAYBE THE SLOGAN SHOULD BE 'DON'T MESS WITH OKLAHOMA'

2007-09-12T13:06:00.000-05:00

You can tell it's football season again when...

"How rivalry became violent"

I'm not sure if this story makes me miss Oklahoma or glad I'm not there anymore...

CONTEMPLATIVE

2007-09-11T09:33:00.000-05:00

Today seems like an appropriate day for contemplation. It's cloudy and cool; it's 9/11; there is a poignant display of extra flags flying on campus.

On the way into work today I was thinking about 9/11 and how I felt six years ago today. I was remembering the words of Jesus during the crucifixion, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Those were the words that sprung to my mind six years ago as well. It is easy to pray for our friends and family, but it is harder to pray for our enemies. Yet, that is the example that Jesus set for us, and he didn't pray for vengeance on them but for forgiveness. It is not the way of the world, that's for sure.

I was also thinking about people this morning and how it is dangerous to stop thinking of people as individuals. We have to remember that every person is different. Not only is every person different from every other person, but each individual person can change from decade to decade, year to year, week to week, day to day or even hour to hour. What a wonderful but complex predicament! It is so easy to forget. I find myself lumping the people of ThisPlace into one big category all of the time. It's easy to generalize, but we must never forget, or we are no better than our enemies. To them, we are "America"; there is no distinction of individuals to them. It matters not if we're Muslim, Jewish, Christian, white, black, Hispanic, Asian, disabled, rich, poor, on crack, a virgin, with child....none of it matters to them. So, let us not forget that everyone in this world is an individual, and let's rejoice in that individuality.

As I was pondering these things, I tuned into the conversation of the two girls behind me who I would normally categorize as the "Nicole Richie wanna-be type" (but we're not generalizing anymore, right?) . They were talking about, of all things, hot dogs:

Girl #1: I totally didn't like hot dogs until like a year ago. Then all of the sudden I just had like this huge craving for a hot dog.

Girl #2: OMG! I'm TOTALLY about to throw up now.

Girl #1: Yeah, I totally didn't like, you know, eat them before because....

At that point I lost the conversation because I turned off the main path toward my building. As I watched them walk away on the separate path with the American flags flapping in the background, I thought it a little insensitive of them to be having such a flippant conversation on 9/11, but then I was glad. I am glad that we are healed enough that we can talk about hot dogs again.

STROKING OUT

2007-09-05T15:46:00.000-05:00

My patience where my job is concerned is wearing very thin these days. In fact, I'm pretty sure that shouting, "I want to be able to go to lunch now, but no one else in this office seems to know how to turn on a fucking computer!" loud enough for the rest of the Center to hear was not such a great idea. I really, really need a new job.

To alleviate stress and attempt to get back into some sort of "shape", I've started swimming again. I gave up on the idea over the summer because the morning pool hours ended an hour earlier, and I'm not dedicated enough to get up at 5:30AM to go swimming. (The morning pool hours being extended is the only perk of class being back in session.) Anyway, this morning I wandered out to the pool and was surprised to find that only two lanes were being used. Last week, I snagged the only open lane in the deep end at the same time of the morning. Then I looked up and realized that the uniform, gray sky above me was not the pool covering (which only gets put up in the winter) but indeed the actual sky and that it was a bit chilly for having nothing but a bathing suit on. I just looked up the temperature at that time, and it was 65 degrees F. That's not cold enough to bother me, but it must be cool enough to deter a good portion of the locals. Have I ever mentioned how as a child, our swimming lessons would only be cancelled if the temperature at the time of the lesson was less than 65 degrees F? or how I went swimming in Lake Michigan as a child when the water temperature was 55 degrees F? Somehow, I managed to not freeze to death, but I think I was a bit crazy.

I would really like to turn swimming into more than just a fitness phase, so I signed up to receive personalized swimming workouts. Unfortunately, the workouts are supposed to be 30-45 minutes in length, but I usually only swim for 20 minutes. I'm still contemplating whether I should split the workout in half or actually drag my but out of bed 30 minutes earlier. (Ugh.) If I ever do manage to find the time to swim for 45-60 minutes, 3 times a week, I'm going to start training for a team triathlon. Dr. C could train for the running portion, so we'd just have to find a biker (Kristin?). The only thing is, swimming in open water freaks me out a little. At the very least, I would have to find a triathlon back north because the lakes in the south especially freak me out. This fear may have something to do with the fact that the one and only time I swam in a southern lake, 1) our bathing suits were stained red from the water, 2) we watch a couple get into the water, have sex, get out of the water, smoke a cigarette, REPEAT (on Memorial Day weekend on a busy beach not 10 feet from playing children), and 3) I caught a yeast infection. Yup, could have something to do with those things -- just maybe.

WE HAVEN'T WON SINCE BO DIED

2007-09-04T13:07:00.000-05:00

The only other thing I have to say about football is BOOMER SOONER!

The "long" weekend was a waste for me thanks to an intense headache most of the day yesterday. Medicine did nothing to help, but sleeping the first 2/3 of the day did. I did manage to mop the laundry room floor. That counts, right?

People kept asking me last week if we were doing anything special for the long weekend, which is laughable. We have no family here; it costs $800 for us to fly to family; no, I don't think we have any plans for the weekend unless you mean cleaning the litterbox, continuing to fill the hole in the backyard, attempting to win Super Mario I (old-school), and appeasing my husband by pretending to play a round of golf. This is a lonely life.

We are hoping to go camping next weekend, but I think that the rain is going to get the better of us. I've never tent camped in the rain before, and our tent has never been out in the rain. Maybe we'll try it anyway.

Other than that, I'm just moving day to day. I'm trying to forget that the very few friends I have here have moved/are moving away in the next couple of months. Nothing like it taking three years to make friends and then having to start from scratch. The new professor's wife seems nice, so maybe there's hope...

SUCTION SPOT

2007-08-27T13:48:00.000-05:00

Here it is, the new love of my life:

Yes, I spent way too much money on a vacuum, but I LOVE it. I decided to go for it after I heard a friend refer to it as the new love of her life. Her husband then went on to tell us how the suction is so powerful that whenever he hears his wife start the vacuum, he immediately jumps up to start cleaning, too, so that she can't get mad that he isn't doing anything and come and suck his toes off with it.

Um, SOLD!

My favorite-ist thing is that it has a special little lever that can be flipped to "hard floors", which means that I never have to sweep ever again.

My next favorite-ist thing is that it gets the floors so clean. There was this spot on our bedroom floor where the dirt accumulated in a square shape, and I could not get it clean, even with Resolve. One time vacuuming with this vacuum, and the spot has disappeared. The bedroom carpet was so clean that even Dr. C exclaimed over how good it looked, "Wow! It hasn't been that clean since we moved in!" [We're talking about the guy who lived in an apartment for four years and NEVER mopped the kitchen/bathroom floors. It is crazy impressive that he noticed a difference.]

So, the two little things that annoy me:

1) You can't use the extension without unwrapping all of the electrical cord.

2) The extension hose has a solid piece inside the first 12 inches of it, which is good for reaching high places (like the corners of the living room where spiders live) but bad for reaching nearby places that require some bending of the hose.

So far, the good things (many of which go unmentioned here) far outweigh the two little annoying things. If it lasts at least 5 years, it may even have been worth the price.

BOOK WORM

2007-08-22T16:36:00.001-05:00

I've been doing a lot of reading lately. Reading seems to be one of my methods of escape from reality, which maybe isn't the best thing; but it is better than turning to alcohol or meth, right? It's a great way to forget about the fact that two more of my co-workers quit, leaving just me and one other woman to run the office or about how our air conditioner is broken and no one actually shows up for the appointments to have it fixed or about how I had such a great time in Disney World last week and now am feeling so lonely.

So, here's some of what I've been reading:

"Smart Women" by Judy Blume: I really enjoyed this book quite a bit. It was like having friends. It was the type of book that was interesting enough to keep you going, light enough to not make you think too much, and good enough that you were just a little sad when it ended.

"The Jane Asten Book Club" by Karen Joy Fowler: This book was just ok for me. I spotted it on a shelf in the library, and since I'm a Jane Austen FREAK, I decided to see what it was about. Maybe I missed the symbolism, but I just didn't think it was that deep. It was interesting, but I was not disappointed when it ended.

"California Gold" by John Jakes: This is the book I'm currently reading. I've read a lot of John Jakes novels, and this one follows a similar line: boy sets out on adventure, meets girl that makes him wild but seems unattainable, etc. I think it will be a good one in the end, but I like all of John Jakes' novels, so I'm biased.

"Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife" by Linda Berdoll: This book was recommended to me by my sister because I'm a Jane Austen freak, and I especially love "Pride and Prejudice", to which this book is supposedly a sequel. People, this is a trashy, trashy romance novel. I cannot even think of the characters in this book as being the same characters that are in "Pride and Prejudice". It was entertaining, to say the least. I think my husband appreciated that my mind was on sex the entire time I was reading this book because that is all the book was about: sex, affairs, and illegitimate children. There is a sequel to this "sequel" that I will probably read, but I still say that Jane Austen is rolling in her grave over this scandalous book.

Harry Potter Books 1-7 by J.K. Rowling: I've read every book in this series at least twice now, and I have to say that Rowling has made me believe in literary symbolism like no high school or college English teacher ever could. I love mysteries and adventures and stories of friendship, and this series has it all. Whether debating the deep questions (Is Harry a horcrux? Is Snape good or evil?) within my own brain or just enjoying a relaxing afternoon at Hogwarts, I cannot get enough of these books. I wasn't so sure about the seventh book upon the first reading, but the more I thought it out and heard Rowling's side of things, the more I came to like it.

"Prodigal Summer" by Barbara Kingsolver: I read this book because I had read and liked "Poisonwood Bible" by Kingsolver so much. I really enjoyed this book as well, but I'm not sure that I "got" it. I found it entertaining, but I didn't come away with a lesson or moral the way I felt I had with "Poinsonwood Bible". The best part about this book is the characters; they are realistic and relatable. It was another book that I was sad to see end because I wanted to know more about what happened to the characters later in their lives.

"Ya-yas in Bloom" by Rebecca Wells: I have also read the other two books in Wells' "Ya-yas" series, and I liked this one the least of the three. It was entertaining and well-written, but I didn't find myself as invested with the characters this time. I appreciate Wells' humor and her sense of religion being taken too far, and it is worth the read if you've read the rest of the series.

Next time: The newest (inanimate object) love of my life.

DONE

2007-07-22T20:49:00.000-05:00

There are no spoilers here; I just want to say:

What a ride!
I can't believe it's over.
Right or wrong, I will leave my pre-book 7 predictions posted.
They will never be able to make a movie that will even come close to the enormity of what all is in the book.
To J.K. Rowling: You are a literary genius. Thank you for your contribution; it has made us all a little more wise in many different ways.

ANXIOUS STEPHANIE AND THE THEORIES OF BOOK 7

2007-07-21T19:49:00.000-05:00

(SPOILERS TO BOOKS 1 THROUGH 6 AHEAD)

Note to self: When you work for a BAPTIST university and someone there asks you what your plans are for the weekend, you should not say that you plan on locking yourself away after church on Sunday to read a Harry Potter book. It's like admitting you're the devil.

I have not started reading Harry Potter 7 yet. The book is shut away in another room. Before I start reading it tomorrow morning, I want to get my theories down on paper.

Dumbledore:

He is really and truly and forever dead.
One of the reasons that he completely trusts Snape is because he (Dumbledore) was once on the side of bad (Grindewald?) himself and turned to the side of good -- possibly, he was even a spy for the good guys then like he believes Snape to be now.

Snape:

He is against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I will not go so far as to say he is on the side of Dumbledore, though.
He will die.

Harry:

Harry will have to go through some sort of Star-Wars-like internal struggle where he has to overcome the hatred he has inside of himself.
Harry (and/or his scar) is not a horcrux.

Who lives/dies:

Luna and Hagrid will die.
He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named will suffer a "fate worse than death" rather than outright death.

That is all. Whoever has already read the book can laugh and point now.

NONCOMMUNICATIVE

2007-07-19T15:40:00.000-05:00

"So, Steph, what's been going on in your life for the past month and a half?"

Nothing much, just...

co-worker taking a month of medical leave with no notice, leaving us hanging on a complicated budget for a $1.5 M proposal
boss asking me to work over a weekend, in the exact style of Office Space (which I refused to do -- although I did rearrange my schedule a bit)
the only 2 married but no children couple friends of ours that live here announced they were pregnant, leaving us to be the only pathetic, loser married couple with no children
my sister started an internship in Chicago working for a church in an all-minority community, where she is purposely secluded away from the rest of the world (1 hour of phone a week!) in a very cult-like fashion, but my mom thinks it's only to make it more like a "commune", but it still is a little freaky to me
I decided that I really don't like teaching, but it is still way better than my other job and the only opportunity I have to be using my degree
at least two major breakdowns on my part where I just cry for hours without being able to stop
Vacation Bible School, where we were asked to lead the music, which I really didn't enjoy doing as much as I enjoy being a group leader, but now I fear I'm stuck doing the music thing forever just because I agreed to do it once and everyone was all "you did such a great job"
realization that I'm always good at the things I like to do the least but never as good as I want to be at the things I like to do the most
went to Bible Study where we had a lengthy discussion about Science and religion, which I found to be a great place to vent some frustrations concerning the topic
went golfing for the first time since I was 9, with about the same results -- not much of a fan because I SUCK but can't not suck without doing it (UGH!)
played volleyball with a church league; realized any talent I once had was lost but attempted to find it again; also realized that I can't remember how to underhand serve but my shoulder gives out in a very painful way whenever I attempt to overhand serve
realized my joints already hate me and that I have a very painful journey into old age ahead of me
realized that I give very, very hard tests and am one of "those" professors, which is weird
pre-ordered Harry Potter 7
went and saw 5th Harry Potter movie, and, as always, was a little disappointed because the book just is so much better but not as disappointed as with some of the other movies, so kudos to the writers/director
realized that I write at least one blog entry a day in my head but never actually manage to really write it and post it
gave up at getting mad at the drivers around here and now just repeat "Please don't kill me" aloud as I drive
pre-proposal submitted a few months ago was approved meaning we now have to write a full proposal, which isn't due until October but I'm already dreading and hating it because odds are even that I'll be asked to re-arrange my work schedule or come in on my day off to accommodate boss
connection between well pump and house stopped working such that anytime we want the water tank to re-fill we have to go outside to the magic box and mess with it to get the water to kick back on (husband, thankfully, came up with at least a temporary fix)
still have big hole in back yard due to failed attempt to hook up to city water line; decided to call out some lawn/sprinkler system people to fix sprinklers (further tearing up the lawn) and then fix the lawn, but haven't actually managed to call said people
realized that the decision to abort the plan to hook up to city water means that I have to brush my teeth out of a cup of filtered water for the rest of the time we live here
was asked by husband to participate in storm-chasing field project in 2009 and possibly 2010, then realized that this mean that there is no chance of any children happening until at least 2011, which puts me well past 30
realized that we could very well never have children because of combination of never being able to move the hell away from here and husband's insane career ambitions that leave no place for children
got letter in the mail from my GYN saying that the insurance company is refusing to re-sign contract with the hospital she works for, so I'll have to find a new doctor or pay more out of pocket expenses
realized there's no way I'm giving up my GYN and that I hate insurance companies
tried to book trip to Europe but decided against it since passport hadn't shown up yet and all of the best trips were already booked anyway
booked trip to Disney World with my husband, parents and sister for the week of my birthday instead; decided that Epcot's version of Europe might be better than the real thing anyway
attempted to call passport services office to find out where the HELL my passport was, since I'd applied for it 13+ weeks beforehand; and phone line was so busy that I wasn't even allowed to wait on hold, I was just told to try back later with no further options
decided to e-mail passport services office instead, since an answer was guaranteed in 2 business days; 3 weeks later I have not received a response
got my passport in the mail after 15+ weeks of waiting for it even though the government's website still claims it will only take 10 weeks for passport to be processed, which just further proves that the government 1) sucks and 2) lies to us BLATANTLY as if we're idiots
discovered Ron Paul, presidential candidate, thanks to this survey
took a trip to Norman to visit with some good friends
realized that WAY more people than I would like know about this website

That's all I can remember. How are everyone else's summers going?

YOU KNOW YOU HAD A BAD DAY AT WORK WHEN

2007-06-01T11:46:00.000-05:00

...your boss suggests to you that maybe you should start seeing a psychologist.

...your co-worker invites you out after work for drinks.

...people who you don't even know start asking if your day has gotten any better.

...your main accomplishment for the day was putting some books away.

...some of your co-workers send you flowers the next day to "cheer you up".

THE GREAT DIVIDES -- HIPPIE, EMOTIONAL, MARITIAL

2007-05-23T09:36:00.000-05:00

I recently came to the realization that all of my child-having friends and family that I've known since before high school use disposable diapers, while all of my child-having friends that I've met in college or after use cloth diapers. Apparently, sometime in high school/college I became a hippie. I was telling my friend Lynn (pregnant, met her in high school) about this, and she just laughed. She went on to tell me that she is planning on using cloth diapers. This about knocked me off my feet because 1) she is a very stubborn Republican who usually wants nothing to do with environmentalism and 2) she is a very career-oriented person who I cannot even imagine (at this point) being a mother, let alone doing cloth diaper laundry. She went on to say that she is not doing it for environmental reasons; she is just concerned about the chemicals used in diapers and what they must do to a baby's skin. Since both she and her husband have very sensitive skin, she thinks cloth diapers are the better choice. Then she laughed at the idea that she was (as a unplanned side effect) being somewhat environmental with this choice.

I have to admit that I love how different all of my friends are, and I really love how open-minded almost all of them are. I have a hard time living in Texas not because of the conservative nature of the state, but because of the stubborn close-mindedness. You don't have to be a tree hugging liberal to use cloth diapers; you just have to care about what works best for you and your child. Maybe that's cloth diapers and breastfeeding and baby-wearing, and maybe it's not. At least be open to the idea that the options you personally don't choose may be the better options for other people. This applies to many societal issues in my mind, but apparently this thinking is too liberal or outside the box for where I live. Living here requires a lot of patience and deep breathing (when the air isn't filled with dust).

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I stuck, too, Taylor!

I want to say that my trip to Chicago/Michigan was amazing. I got to play with my goddaughter, help my brother (and family) move, meet my nephew, play with my niece, see many family members I haven't seen since Christmas, and take my mom and grandma to brunch on Mothers' Day. That's about as good of a trip as I can get, really. I had a very difficult time returning back to reality. In fact, I drove to work the day after getting back into town, parked in the parking lot, and proceeded to sit in my car and cry for an hour before calling my boss to say I wouldn't be coming in.

Transitioning between a wonderful, carefree week with family in a beautiful setting and a stress-filled, negative work environment takes some time. When I was in the midwest with kids and family, I started to build some dreams for what I want when it comes time to start my own family, but when I came back here (so far from the dream of what I want) I had to take time to grieve over the loss of those dreams. I had to kill them. I literally had to sit and imagine my internal dreams catching fire and burning away. I had to burn them up until they were gone. It is too hard to have those dreams and know that there is no possible way they can come true.

-----------------------------------------------------------

In other news, I begin teaching an introductory meteorology class at a small university in town next week. My emotions keep fluctuating between excited and completely scared out of my mind. I scaled back my hours at Job I Hate starting this week so that I would have some extra time to prep my course. I feel better now that I've gone through the material a little bit, but I know I'm still going to be really nervous. Dr. C thinks that if I could just find a job I enjoy, I would love living here, so he is very excited about this new job. I don't know how to tell him that just because his job is what fulfills him, does not mean that any job will ever be enough to fulfill me. He just doesn't get it.

Speaking of Dr. C, he is off stormchasing in Kansas right now. What's funny is that when he's not here, I go into one of two opposite modes:

1. Emotional Unstable: Crying, getting nothing accomplished, barely able to get out of bed

2. Stable & Productive: Getting work done around the house, going out with friends, exercising

With mode 1, I get very angry at Dr. C for making me move here and then deserting me for whatever he is doing. With mode 2, I function at a much higher efficiency than normal such that when Dr. C returns I get angry that he has come back and messed up my system.

Poor Dr. C; he can't win.

I'd put myself in Mode 2 on this particular occasion; let's just hope Dr. C doesn't dare to create any extra havoc in the house when he returns.

WEEKEND REVIEW

2007-05-07T13:31:00.000-05:00

This was a very busy weekend, and the rest of the week promises to be just as busy. Work is CRAZY, and there is just no rest in sight until I'm in Chicago. Yay, Chicago!

We had a party for our church choir this weekend, so the first half of the weekend was spent in party preparation mode and the second half was spent in party recovery mode. Part of that process meant that I finally got around to planting some flowers. Since I'm not sure when I'll have time to post next, I thought I would at least leave you with some pretty flower pictures to look at:

These flowers had better take and look good because I spent WAY too much money on them. Note the broken basketball pole/hoop that has been laying in our yard for almost a year. We felt the neighborhood needed a little white trash element added to it.

This part of the garden has the worst soil ever. If these flowers are not dead in 2 weeks, it will be a miracle.

The little white flowers in front looked half-dead when I bought them, but I was desperate.

We planted these flowers last year, and they came back this year as big as bushes! Have you ever heard me mention that I feel trapped here? Maybe the back fence has something to do with that? Also, the search for the allusive "blocked off water pipe" continues.

NEW NEPHEW

2007-04-30T10:23:00.000-05:00

We have a new nephew! Garrett Walter was born in the wee hours of yesterday morning, and he is a BIG boy at 11 lbs., 3 oz. and 22 in. (No, it was not a c-section birth.) Mom is doing fine; Dad is very proud; sister Taylor has dubbed him "brother-sister"; and all of the nurses in the hospital have stopped by the room to "see the 11 pound baby". I can't wait to meet him in a few weeks. For now, I have to live with just pictures:

KEEPING ME DOWN

2007-04-26T14:03:00.000-05:00

I've been busy, really!

It's been awhile since I've posted, and I have no real excuse. I'll try to fill you in on what's been going on around here.

Weekend before last, a bunch of my in-laws were in town. The pre-weekend time was spent in a cleaning frenzy. They were supposed to come in Friday evening, but thanks to a tornado that passed within 3 miles of the Dallas airport and American Airlines' inability to get their flight off the ground even though the were on the tarmac ready to go more than an hour before the storms hit, they didn't make it here until Saturday morning. My mother-in-law, who does not do well with changes in plans, called it a "nightmare". The rest of the group called it "an adventure". Anyhow, we made the best of it and had a good time shopping, showing the group around, and touring the winery. One afternoon the guys went golfing, and I took the women on a surprise trip to do ceramics (see above picture). We had a lot of fun. After ceramics, we went back to the hotel where they were staying and indulged in 2 complementary margaritas apiece and then stumbled back to our place to wait for the boys. I knew we were all a little toasted when my mother-in-law gave my father-in-law a huge kiss as he walked through the door. Nothing says family bonding like margaritas before dinner.

As soon as the in-laws left, I got sick. I mean really, really sick -- fever over 100 for five days sick. I lived in my pajamas all last week. It was not fun.

Even more not fun was returning to work this week. It's pretty sad when it takes you 4 days to wish your fever would go away but only 4 hours of work to wish that it'd come back again.

And now it's Thursday, and my work week is just about over. I've been kind of down this week. It's the whole hating my job/hating my life/how did I get to this point thing that is always bothering me. I have no answer for getting myself into a situation that I will like better.

The good news is, I get to go North and see a bunch of people that I love very soon. I scored some incredibly cheap plane tickets to Chicago (thank you SW airline DING! specials!), and I will get to see Mr. & Mrs. Lakeline and my favorite Goddaughter, Dorrie. I will also get to see my sister who has been studying in Mexico all semester, as well as my mom, dad, brother, sister-in-law, niece, soon-to-be-born nephew, and hopefully my grandma. (Side note to my future nephew: I know it's comfy where you are, but please for the love of your mother's sanity and girl parts come out and meet us all very soon!) I will get to help my brother and his family move, which I am WAY excited about because I have been so useless to my family since I've moved to Texas. I can finally be around to help with something! Yay!

That's all the news here, other than one very unexpected and very sad funeral. Life is very, very short, folks. To all of my friends and family out there: I love you all very much.

STICKING WITH THE LISTS OF THINGS IDEA...

2007-04-09T17:36:00.000-05:00

Five ways to know you went to too many Easter church services:

1. You hold a competition with your friends to see whose church bulletin has the word "Alleluia" in it most often.
2. You begin believing that the only hymn in the hymnal is "Jesus Christ is Risen Today, Alleluia!"
3. You can't get Handel's Alleluia Chorus out of your head.
4. You and your husband sing the choir's Easter songs to one another before falling asleep at night.
5. When shaking someone's hand, you say, "He is risen. He is risen indeed!"

10 WAYS TO KNOW SPRING HAS COME TO WEST TEXAS

2007-04-03T10:06:00.000-05:00

I've been working on taking pictures for this post for the last week or so. I hope you enjoy!

Ten Signs That Spring Has Come to West Texas

1. The trees have leaves.

2. The flowers are blooming.

3. The ants come marching one by one.

4. The grubs are taking over our yard.

5. The dust is taking over our house.

6. There are actually clouds in the sky.

7. It actually rains enough to fill the pond.

8. Hail litters the ground.

9. Funnel clouds are seen in the sky.

10. Our quest to find the blocked water pipe has begun.

OUR OFFICE BATHROOM: WHEN FLUSHING BECOMES PUBLIC

2007-03-26T16:40:00.000-05:00

Our bathroom.

Note how the toilet paper is such that you have to reach a maximum distance to be able to grab ahold of it. That's just one of this room's many charms.

The women's restroom at my office is less than ideal. The four walls must be hollow because you can hear through every single one of them. This is a bit uncomfortable as two of the walls are shared with the public hallway, one is shared with the men's bathroom (that's right, I can hear you peeing Mr. Professor), and the final wall is shared with the conference room. I have actually used the bathroom as a means of spying on meetings that were happening in the conference room, including Becca's oral exam. (You were doing great, Becca!)

A month or so ago I had two separate incidents in which I was on my way to the bathroom when I realized that news crews were taping interviews in the conference room. Going with the "if I can hear them, they can hear me" theory, I opted to just hold it for a little bit. I'm not normally shy about public bathroom use, but the thought of the sound of me peeing being in the background of an interview that would be on the local news that evening really made me think twice.

Shortly after the "I'll just hold it" incidents, the bathroom began to fall apart. First, the soap dispenser stopped dispensing soap when you actually needed it and started dispensing soap on the countertop when no one was looking. Then, the faucet started spewing water everywhere at a very high rate, even if you just barely turned it on. Next, the soap dispenser began to fall off of the wall. Then, I walked past the bathroom one day and noticed that the carpet outside the door was soaking wet. Apparently, the faucet was leaking all over the floor. Thankfully, that little incident scored us a pretty new faucet. I was hoping that in the process of cleaning the wet floors, the floor might actually get mopped, but, alas, my favorite dirt spot (the one that I've been staring at as I pee for the last two years) is still alive and well:

"Hi, my name is Bob the Dirt Blob."

Finally, my absolute favorite thing about our bathroom:

Sanitary napkin disposal bags in your choice of 80's blue or 70's funky deco.

Nothing says, "We live 3 decades behind the rest of the country" like the sanitary napkin disposal bags.

LOVELY DAY, ISN'T IT?

2007-03-22T10:00:00.000-05:00

While I was swimming this morning, I started thinking about the crawl stroke that I was doing. Who ever thought that extending your arms and using a rotary motion to propel yourself forward would actually work and not make you drown? I can understand being in the water and instinctually doing a doggie-paddle, but I can't imagine figuring out that doing the crawl stroke would get you somewhere. So, I looked it up. Ancient people were a lot smarter than we give them credit for.

This has been a very crazy week at work. Two weeks ago, knowing that my colleague and I would be out of town last week, my boss held a meeting about a big proposal that's due next week. At the conclusion of the meeting, we outlined what needed to be done, and I e-mailed the initial outline of the proposal to the boss, with notes on all that he needed to be working on last week while we were gone. When I got back this week, it turns out that HE HADN'T TOUCHED IT. This is sort of a big deal because this proposal is asking for $3 Million, which the department desperately needs to survive now that Congress has axed all earmarks including the one that runs this place (bye-bye $2 million of money we'd already been promised and had made our budget based on having). This proposal also requires letters from higher-ups in the university stating their support for our program, which we now have to try to pull together in a week. (Very professional, right?) All of this also means that I have to work on my day off. GRRR. So much for being able to storm chase with Dr. C. This is the second time that I've had to re-arrange my work schedule simply because the boss didn't do his job, and I'm really getting fed up. Unfortunately, my options are very limited; otherwise, I would quit. Oh, I almost forgot! I also had to write to the Co-PI's of this proposal and tell them that they would need to review what the boss had written on their own time over the weekend. My e-mail went something like this:

Dear Drs. So-and-So

The boss won't have the ten pages of self-promoting bullshit ready for you to review until the end of the day on Friday, and I need it back first thing Monday morning with your comments, so I hope you weren't planning on having a life this weekend! I'm sure you didn't really want to see little Johnny's soccer match, anyway.

Oh, and don't forget that 2-page bio and other information that I need from you ASAP!

Love,
S

P.S. Don't shoot the messenger.

On a happier note, the journal article that I have been working so hard on the last couple of months has officially been accepted for publication! YAY! It only took 2.5 years after graduation to finally get it out the door, but I guess that's not too bad considering I wasn't being paid to work on it.

I also had the pleasure this week of hearing from someone from my high school graduating class that I don't think I ever even spoke to in high school. Her e-mail began, "How are you doing? Long time no talk! I hope that life has been treating you well!", which made me exclaim out loud, "More like long time NEVER talked!" because I'm still a little bitter over some things from high school. Anyway, she was looking for e-mail addresses of fellow graduates because she's trying to organize our 10-year reunion. Here was my response: "I've tried to completely repress all memories from high school, so I haven't stayed in touch with many people. I only have 4 e-mail addresses for you." Now, some people go to high school reunions despite having had horrible experiences in high school so that they can gloat and laugh at how loser-ish everyone has become, but I care so little that I am beyond that point. I just plain don't care at all. I should have told her to cross me off the list now. Maybe I'll go fork their lawns while they're at the reunion like I did during Prom. Hee hee.

JUST BECAUSE YOUR HUSBAND'S AN ALCOHOLIC DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN MAKE KIDS STAND IN THE STREET

2007-03-19T13:40:00.000-05:00

Coming back to work after vacation stinks.

Dr. C and I went on a ski trip over spring break, which was a ton of fun. It's only the second time I've ever been skiing, and the last time I was skiing was 2 years ago. I was surprised how quickly what I had learned 2 years ago came back to me. I took a half-day lesson this time around and learned a ton. All of the sudden, I was SKIING! I don't know how that happened. I had a couple of rough falls, and I have some bruises, sunburn on my nose, and a jammed thumb still; but overall we made it back in one piece. I was very disappointed in the lack of winter weather on our trip; it was over 50 degrees on the mountain every day that we skiied, which meant we were skiing on ice and slush rather than snow, and I was dripping in sweat the entire time. Overall, though, it was a lot of fun.

We also had a chance to swing by Dre's casa on the way back to Texas, which was a great treat. It was nice to just hang out and relax with Dre and Mr. Dre in their very cozy home and play with the infamous Torii and Oz. It was great to be around friends that know me a little better again, and it's always so easy to fall back into line with Dre and Mr. Dre. Once again, I had the sensation of feeling more at home somewhere else than in my own house. I don't know how to make my house feel like home; I don't think it ever will.

It seems that spring has sprung without us in Texas. We came back to budding and flowering trees and some lawns with green grass (not ours, of course). Feeling woefully behind, we dedicated several hours to lawn and garden care yesterday, which was great. I love working in the gardens, but usually it's 110 outside and you can't get me within 50 feet of a door, let alone outside. Thankfully, we have a lot of moisture in the air outside this week, so our temp's are keeping slightly below 100 so far.

Moisture in the air around here this time of year means one thing: STORMS. There is a chance for storms in the forecast every day this week, which has Dr. C excited. There is even talk of a storm chase on Friday, which would be great. Despite both being storm chasers, Dr. C and I have only been able to chase together once, and that was about 4 years ago. We just always seem to have our own field projects going on, or, in the case of the last couple of years, Dr. C has his field project and I have to work, so I end up watching all of the action from the live news reports. BUT Dr. C's field project hasn't started yet, and I have Friday off, so maybe just maybe we'll actually be able to chase together. I'll be sure to forget my camera and not be able to post any pictures of the tornadoes we see; don't worry.

Here's a little story from church yesterday for all of you moms and dads out there. There is a young couple in our church that has a 2-3ish-year-old daughter and also twin 1ish-year-old daughters. Yesterday they were seated in a back pew, and it was obvious that there was chaos going on back there throughout the service; although, it wasn't the obnoxious, we're-trying-to-worship-here kind of chaos, just the usual chaos that comes with 3 children under the age of 4. Just as communion was finally wrapping up, one of the twins took off down the aisle for about the 3rd time, and the mom says, "That's it. They win today; we just can't do it. They win this one.", and they packed up their things and left. Everyone around them just smiled and chuckled a little because how are you seriously supposed to be able to win battles with that kind of a handful? It is impossible. I gave them a lot of credit for being able to admit defeat and just kind of laugh it off because sometimes it's just not worth it. Dr. C leaned over and said, "That could be us!", and I replied, "That would be us, too! The kids would walk all over us!". Everyone can add 5 more years to the Steph and Dr. C having babies timetable.

POWER NAPPING

2007-03-06T10:20:00.000-06:00

I'm so bored at work today, and I'm so tired at the same time. I thought about pulling a George Castanza and sleeping under my desk, but then I discoverd the napmosphere. I'll have to add that one to my birthday wish list. I wonder if it will fit under my desk...

YOU HAVEN'T MISSED MUCH

2007-03-01T09:22:00.000-06:00

There has been a terrific posting draught on this website, and I apologize to anyone who might care.

Here's what's been going on in the last two weeks:

I managed to catch a horrific cold that started with so much mucus in my throat that I thought I was choking. In fact, I sat up for an entire night not able to sleep for fear of choking in the night.
We went out of town. I LOVE going out of town.
We came back again. I HATE coming back again.
Coming back again threw me into a two-day funk.
Two dust storms ravaged the city where I live. Thankfully, we were out of town for the first one which, apparently, was the worst dust storm the city's seen in decades. The pile of dirt on the floor in front of my back door can attest to that.

That's it, really. There's a lot more to tell with the whole trip out of town, but who really wants to listen to me complain about my mother-in-law? That's what I thought.

I went swimming this morning. I've been doing a lot of exercise in the pool lately. I regularly attend a water boxing class that never fails to kick my butt, and on Thursday mornings I go and swim laps at the pool. This morning it was very warm at the pool, and the water was warm, too. This is in great contrast to the morning a couple of weeks ago when it was 10 degrees outside, and the pool water was freezing. It took two laps for me to be able to regain feeling in my torso and another two to regain the feeling in my limbs. I absolutely love swimming, and I always have. I never had the opportunity as a kid to swim competitively, and I've always wondered what might have been if I had. Did I have the potential to be an Olympic swimmer? The world will never know. I will have to settle for my Thursday morning lap-swims instead. I love the feeling of being semi-weightless, having the water press on me from all sides. I love the time I have to contemplate life within my own head while I'm swimming. I love the feeling of being so exhausted that I can barely hoist myself out of the pool. The only disadvantage is smelling like chlorine for the next 24 hours, no matter how much I shower and scrub.

I have been at work for approximately an hour, and so far I have:

1. Checked my e-mail.

2. Written a blog entry.

3. Made one somewhat work-related phone call.

4. Made a Starbuck's run.

Good thing the boss refuses to come in before 11 on Thursdays.

Question of the day: If one of your co-worker's mother-in-law dies, do you go to the funeral?

HOW DOES STUFF LIKE THIS EVEN HAPPEN, AND WHY AM I ALWAYS THE ONE THAT HAS TO CLEAN IT UP?

2007-02-16T12:30:00.000-06:00

NO MORE THINKY -- HERE LOOK AT PICTURES

2007-02-15T16:19:00.000-06:00

In case you've had as bad a work day as I have, here are some pictures for your mental relief. Maybe I'll have enough brain power for an intelligible post tomorrow or this weekend.

My name is Ella, and I just can't believe how great holidays are! I mean just look at this blanket my parents gave me!

This purse that my great aunt made for me is awesome, too! She even put my name on it for me!

I'm Christian, and I got a pillow for Valentine's Day. It is very yummy and is great to hide behind!

IT'S MY VALENTINE'S DAY PRESENT FROM JESUS

2007-02-14T11:37:00.000-06:00

I woke up this morning to nearly an inch of snow on the ground and big, fluffy snowflakes drifting gently to the ground. It was magic.

And then I had to drive to work.

But I'm here! And white is so much more pretty than brown.

Now, all of you people in the Midwest go and tell Becca what the temperature is at your house and how much snow you have so that she gains some sort of perspective on winter weather. Thanks.

While you're at it, go and say hi to my friend Becky who recently shared her blog with me. Becky is an awesome friend and mom who has way more personality than most Oklahomans can handle, but she lives with them anyway -- at least until her husband finishes grad school. She has had some very enlightening posts containing quotes from books she is reading/has read. You will like her, I promise.

Update on the Thriller dance craze: I am not able to go to NYC to do the live re-inactment of the Thriller dance, but everyone else is going late next week! I will be in Michigan, where I will be able to watch the performance on TV -- unlike here, where we live apparently live in the zone of "not cool enough to get The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet". (Although Midland/Odessa does, so wtf?) I know that some of you know the bride and would like to see her in her wedding dress dancing to Thriller on TV, so I will update with details as I receive them.

Finally, we come to the request-filling section of the post. Two of my topics were requested, so I'll cover one today and one tomorrow. Up first is "The Queen: Out-of-touch Pretension or Play-it-by-the-books Sophistication?":

Last Saturday I went and saw the movie The Queen with a new friend from church and her mom. This friend's grandmother is an immigrant from England, so she and her mom were quite interested to see what the movie was all about, and I'm always curious about the movies nominated for Academy Awards so I went just to see what it was all about. The movie centers around the time of the death of Princess Diana, and it portrays a sort of conflict between the Queen and her people about how she should be handling the mourning/funeral for Diana. The Prime Minister (newly elected Tony Blair) is stuck in the middle.

The Queen believes that the mourning should be done in private and that no spectacle should be made, as is sort of the English custom. The people, however, are outraged that there is no public showing or statement made concerning Diana's death. The public personifies the new "modernization" of England that Tony Blair has promised, and The Queen is confused about her duty to the crown as opposed to the duty to her people. Should she give in to modern sentiments and mourn publicly, or should she stick to tradition and mourn in private? I will not tell you her decision, but I thought that it was an interesting conflict.

I find myself still torn over the conflict. I am a very open-feeling type of person. I do not hide my emotions well. That would make it seem that I would want for the Queen to mourn publicly, but for some reason it is not that simple. Maybe it is because I've read too much Jane Austen, but I found that I could also understand a need for keeping the mourning private; and therefore, for the Queen to act in a more traditional manner. This is one of the great things about the movie: I believe that it makes you able to relate to both sides of the conflict, no matter how you might perceive the Queen and the monarchy in general.

Like I said, I'm still torn over the conflict, but I like a movie that makes me think, and this one has for sure. There is, of course, much more to it than I have described. I would recommend it for sure!

Has anyone else seen any good movies lately?

ENOUGH ABOUT ME AND MY 15 MINUTES OF FAME ALREADY

2007-02-12T15:41:00.000-06:00

The need for the world to see us doing the Thriller dance continues. There is a very good possibility that those of us who are able to go will be flown to NYC to do a re-enactment of the dance on live television. Unfortunately (or fortunately? I can't decide...), I most likely will not be able to go. If they decide to do it this week, I'll be there; if they decide to do it next week, I will not. I'll keep you updated.

Poll: Is a free trip to NYC worth making a complete a$$ of yourself on live television?

There really is other stuff going on in my life, I promise. Here's a list of possible topics for the next post (please vote for your favorite!):

Musicals written in the 60's: The Bible on Weed
The Queen: Out-of-touch pretension or play-it-by-the-books sophistication?
My office bathroom: When flushing becomes public

THE FAME CONTINUES

2007-02-07T12:14:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone who wanted to was able to catch the Thriller dance video on Good Morning America this morning. Now, if only The Daily Show would catch wind of it so that my lifelong dream of being made fun of by Jon Stewart could come to fruition...

15 MINUTES OF FAME -- UPDATE

2007-01-31T11:52:00.000-06:00

Apparently, our video is now on MSN. This just in from the groom:

"Scroll down the page to 'video highlights' and there, right under 'Miss USA admits cocaine use' (yes, we have good company) you'll see 'Wedding Party does 'Thriller' Dance.'"

15 MINUTES OF FAME

2007-01-30T16:31:00.000-06:00

Last summer I was in a wedding. The bride and groom decided that it would be fun if the entire wedding party performed the dance from Michael Jackson's "Thriller" video at the reception, like they did in this movie. Not being a gifted dancer (AT ALL), I wasn't thrilled (no pun intended) at the prospect of doing an organized dance in front of 100+ people at a wedding reception; but I'm always up for making a fool out of myself, especially if it is in fun and for a friend. So, I started going to rehearsals. Unfortunately, I missed the last two rehearsals just before the wedding, but that just meant that I was placed in the back row, where hardly anyone could see me. When the time came for the big performance, I knocked back a couple of glasses of wine, took off my shoes and headed to the dance floor. What I thought was going to be an embarrassment, was actually a blast! The crowd was really into it, and we actually ended up doing an encore performance later in the night. A fun time was had by all, and that was that, right?

Um, no.

After the wedding, the groom posted the video online. My friends, this video has been discovered. Here is an e-mail I got from the groom today:

"Yes, your weeks of Thriller practice are suddenly turning you all into superstars. From August until a few days ago, the "Wedding Thriller Dance" on YouTube had gotten about 9,000 hits. Personally, I thought that was amazing. Little did I know.

On Sunday, the website Metafilter.com linked to it. That was followed on Monday by a bigger site, Fark.com. Today, the first link came from Clubben.com (which you have probably never heard of), and the second link came from the blog page of Andrew Sullivan, who writes for Time Magazine (you may have heard of them). I've also heard rumors it was on KTLA news in Los Angeles, but I haven't seen any confirmed proof of that.

Hitwise, that 9,000 hits on Saturday has been dwarfed. Today the count stands at 113,648 and counting fast. I wouldn't quit your day jobs, but you can revel in your brief moment of fame.

Oh, and one last thing. I just talked to a story coordinator for Inside Edition (you know, that Deborah Norville show) and they want to do a story on it. I'll let you know more on that as it progresses. In the meantime, go buy yourself some identity-concealing sunglasses and watch out for paparazzi!"

So, here it is. Watch around 2:00 for the person way in the back row that is late in scrunching to the floor. That's me -- the worst dancer ever.

GHETTO EUCHRE

2007-01-29T17:15:00.000-06:00

Remind me never to skip 5+ weeks of working out again. I went to water boxing on Wednesday night and swam laps Thursday morning, and I could barely walk for three days. It felt like my calf muscles were tearing every time I took a step. It's finely to the point where it only hurts if I go up or down stairs, but tomorrow morning's workout should be interesting.

Dr. C and I held a euchre tournament this weekend, which was a blast. The tournament was set up such that several tables had games going at the same time. We had so many tables that we had to set one up in the basement. This became the "low" table, which we dubbed the "Ghetto" table. Dr. C. even made up a CD mix of the song "In the Ghetto", which included the original by Elvis and six HORRIBLE covers. I think the worst was the "Elvis for Babies" version. We had the CD playing when people arrived, but it only took two tracks before the masses had revolted and turned it off.

It was good to have such a busy weekend, but I'm beat! Did anyone else do anything fun?

FILE THIS ONE UNDER MISCELLANEOUS

2007-01-25T17:20:00.000-06:00

I recently came back into contact with my best friend from high school, who I hadn't talked to since she was a bridesmaid in my wedding 3.5 years ago. In the course of our e-mail correspondence, she wrote something that really hit home with me:

"You know how sometimes when people settle down, they wonder if they should have done anything before they settled down? Not me. I know I lived it up when I could."

I realized that this is exactly how I feel. I feel like I'm missing out on life now that I've gotten married and moved here. I wish I had spent more time to myself to have a few more adventures on my own. I feel trapped now, and I don't know how to fix it.

As I was contemplating how to talk to my husband about all of this, I received the following e-mail from him:

***
Just to let you know how my afternoon is going...
-----Original Message-----
From: Dumbass, Student
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 3:23 PM
To: Dr. C.

Hey I was wondering if you could give me the number of the school Dean so that we could have a conference about this grading system.
***

Now, don't you think that a prerequisite for being allowed to file a grade complaint with the Dean should be the ability to find the Dean's phone number on your own? Also, "the school Dean"??? And, "grading system" = standard curve. This is the crap he has to deal with on a regular basis. You'd think it would be easy for me to convince him to give up this job and move away, wouldn't you?

In other news, my stomach problems are back, even though I haven't been using any of our water. I've even been brushing my teeth with bottled water. I give up!

And, to end on a good note:

My Gram has been named Michigan Parent of the Year by Michigan educators because of her volunteer work at the local middle school. It's an amazing honor, and I'm so proud of her. My family rocks!

BUST

2007-01-20T09:25:00.000-06:00

I was going to continue with the weather journal, but I am so disappointed that we're not actually getting snow that I can't even bring myself to do it. The precip just never changed over to snow. Normally, I would just be a little disappointed, but the fact that I haven't seen significant snow in over 2 years, just makes this even more heartbreaking.

So, I'm trying to talk Dr. C into going tubing next weekend. Anyone want to come?

WEEKEND WEATHER JOURNAL

2007-01-19T11:10:00.000-06:00

Since I'm once again trapped in my house for an entire weekend, I've decided to do a weather journal. I'll update with pictures and words every couple of hours, so check back to watch the winter weather unfold.

6:00PM Friday, January 19th:

Temperature: 29.5 degrees F

Precipitation: Freezing rain

Inside: Heading out to eat

Outside:

3:30PM Friday, January 19th:

Temperature: 30.6 degrees F

Precipitation: Wintry Mix

Inside:

Outside:

1:00PM Friday, January 19th:

Temperature: 31.1 degrees F

Precipitation: Light snow
Inside:

Outside:

10:00 AM Friday, January 19th:

Temperature: 30 degrees F

Precipitation: Freezing rain

Inside: Water filter man repairing leak in RO system under kitchen sink while I wipe up kitchen floor.

Outside:

ANOTHER WEATHER UPDATE

2007-01-18T17:13:00.000-06:00

It turns out that if you put up a Heavy Snow Warning for a city in Texas and make predictions such as "SNOWTOTALS OF 7 TO 13 INCHES ARE EXPECTED TO BE COMMON... WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF UP TO 18 INCHES POSSIBLE," the people in that city PANIC.

Dr. C. and I went grocery shopping at 10PM last night, and the store was PACKED. There was no water, bread, or soup to be had. Everyone was wide-eyed and terrified.

School (except for the university, of course) is already cancelled for tomorrow, and it hasn't snowed a single flake yet.

My husband is currently driving around, scouting for a hill on which to use our brand new sled.

We are also on a search for a shovel. So far, we've struck out at four places. There are only 2 more stores left to try.

I'm as giddy as a 5-year-old.

YAY! SNOW! YAY!

THIS THING HAD BETTER LAST FOR THE NEXT 25 YEARS

2007-01-17T11:10:00.000-06:00

I went shopping for a bathing suit after work yesterday. I needed a one-piece suit because I've been swimming as a means of working out, and one-pieces just work way better for swimming laps. Plus, no one should have to see my stomach. Ever.

Anyway, have you ever noticed how butt-ugly one-piece bathing suits are? I'm sorry, but a bathing suit should never be brown...with baby blue trim. I'm just saying. AND just because I'm buying a one-piece doesn't mean I'm a size 16. Other sized people need one-pieces, too. Really.

And don't even get me started on the prices. Thank goodness for Christmas gift cards.

After picking out the least hideous of hideous swimsuits, I realized that I needed some new bras. Then I quickly realized that I had already tortured myself by trying on swimsuits, and I can only take so much torture in one day. Sorry, Wilma and Betty, you're just going to have to go unsupported for a little bit longer.

LIST THIS

2007-01-16T16:49:00.000-06:00

After being trapped in my house for several days, you would think that I would want to get out and go to work today. No, really, I just wanted to stay at home.

Did you know that I have to set up a meeting to talk about lists?

WEATHER UPDATE

2007-01-12T15:36:00.000-06:00

30 degrees F and freezing fog

Finally, some type of winter weather! Where's my hot chocolate?

WATERING HOLE

2007-01-11T11:42:00.000-06:00

We have a major problem. Our house, although in the city, has a well. According to the previous owners, the house was at one time hooked up to city water, but they decided to dig a well so that they could water the grass with well water and have cheaper water bills. When the well was dug, they were asked if they wanted to put the house on the well also. They thought that was a great idea. IT. WAS. NOT.

After being sick (stomach problems, don't ask) for nearly 2 years, we've finally determined that our well water is contaminated with bacteria. We were faced with 2 options:

Dig down to the well (which is presumably somewhere under our backyard), open it up, pour bleach into it, flush the bleach through the system, let it sit there for a day or two, flush the bleach out of the system, have the water re-tested in 10 days.
Hook back up to city water.

Since option #1 was not guaranteed to work and meant tearing up our backyard, we went with option #2.

BUT

We had the city come out on Monday to hook us back up to city water, and somewhere between their line and our house, there is a blockage.

City worker: "That's your problem." Drives away.

So, we called a plumber to come out and try to check the lines. To make a long story short, the pipe was most likely blocked intentionally when the well was put in. The capped off pipe could be ANYWHERE in our backyard. The plumbers will dig up our backyard to try to find it for a fee of $82/hour.

You know, using bottled water isn't bad. The only problem is, we could never, ever sell our house.

PRISON BREAK, DIVORCE, DEATH, AND ILLNESS

2007-01-10T18:06:00.000-06:00

Christmas break was a whirlwind. We drove 3,789.8 miles through 6 states. We saw countless family members and friends. We gave out countless numbers of gifts and received even more (all undeserved, believe me). I don't even know where to begin with it all. It was an overwhelming experience in every way -- particularly emotionally. It spanned from joy to despair. While in the Midwest, my heart was free and light like a bird that's soaring high above the ground, but at the same time there was a sadness that this is not where I'm living. It's where I belong, but it's not where I am.

The absence of children in my husband's family also made me realize that any desire to have children of my own that I currently harbor is for the grandparents and parents and not out of any desire to have children myself. I want them to have a great-grandchild or grandchild, but independent of that, I don't want to have a child. Someday? Maybe. But not now; not like this.

Traveling with the cat was an adventure in and of itself, but we're VERY glad that we did it. His leg/hip has recovered remarkably well in the last couple of weeks. He is playful and energetic again, and he was the center of attention. He even made friends with a dog for the first time! He did very well considering all that we put him through, but I think he's already forgotten the whole thing in favor of sleeping on the couch all day.

The drive back south, although always traumatic for me, was extra hard because of bad news along the way. We found out that some of our friends will be divorcing, which was especially hard on Dr. C. He keeps saying, "What a great age to reach; the one where your friends start divorcing." I think the news is extra disturbing to us because this couple was married the same year that we were. It makes us treasure our relationship more than ever, and I hope that we will never stop communicating and working to keep our relationship strong.

Once home, we learned that our sweet, elderly neighbor had passed away while we were gone. It is a blessing in that she was in a lot of pain, and we are sure that she is much happier now in heaven with her Savior. She was always so sweet to us, and we thought of her like a grandmother, especially with our grandmothers being so far away. We learned that she was once a cheerleader at the school where Dr. C. teaches, which surprised us in some ways but not in others. Everyone spoke at the funeral of the sparkle she always had in her eye, and even knowing her for a very short period of time, I knew what they were speaking of. There was something about her, and there was always a twinkle in her eyes, even during our last visit with her a couple of weeks ago when she was clearly in pain. She was always gracious and always bragging about her family but never about herself. I hope that I can be that kind of woman some day.

Yesterday, the day I had been dreading finally came -- the day I had to return to work. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), I also developed a sore throat and low-grade fever yesterday. I left work early, and I took today off. I really, really hate that place. I'm almost wondering if I got sick just because I didn't want to be there so badly. I had one breakdown over the vacation, and it was while thinking about sitting in that office again. Given the choice of an everlasting road trip with a cat and going back to that office, I would choose the everlasting road trip in a heartbeat. Maybe I'm just a sucker for gas station restrooms.

EFFICIENT

2006-12-18T13:47:00.000-06:00

Wow, did that last post fail.

After a great weekend of fun with friends (thanks again for coming down, Kristin!), I'm in full Christmas panic mode. Fortunately, panic seems to make me more efficient. Yesterday I wrote out all of my Christmas cards, cooked dinner, and baked two batches of cookies. Unfortunately, I forgot to put the white sugar in one of the batches of cookies, so they didn't turn out quite right, but since I did remember the brown sugar they are still edible. (Maybe I'm not quite as good at this efficiency thing as I would like to believe.)

Today I used my lunch hour to order online gifts and then went to Wally-World where I picked up a few more gifts and some ingredients to make this quick and easy (and cheap!) gift for my co-workers. Tomorrow is my last day at work, and we're leaving for our big trek to the Great White (ok, maybe it's not so white right now, but I can hope!) North on Wednesday. Here's what's left on my list to do:

Finish shopping
Wrap presents
Do one more round of laundry
Pack
Pay bills
Finish, wrap, & send crochet projects

I think that is all. I HOPE that is all!

Meanwhile, there is a chance of freezing rain here tomorrow. If having freezing rain means that work is closed or even postponed for a few hours, then let it freeze, let it freeze, let it freeze!

EXPERIMENT

2006-12-14T09:28:00.000-06:00

Hi.

WHILST THOU ART COMPLAINING

2006-12-12T11:00:00.000-06:00

My husband has been complaining about his undergrad students all semester. It seems that the more students you have in your class, the more far-fetched the complaints and excuses become. So, when you're teaching a class of 200, you get e-mails that include statements such as the following:

"Whilst, admittedly, I have skipped the occasional class thus sacrificing an amiable quiz grade; I am dubious of the dispatched class/quiz participation grades."

I wish I could post the entire e-mail, but, alas, my spouse's employment might suffer irrevocable losses shouldest I do so.

NORTH POLE OR SOUTH?

2006-12-07T09:40:00.000-06:00

I've been so bi-polar this week. I'm up; I'm down. I'm really, really down; I'm fine again. It's driving me crazy. I just want to go to bed and sleep for a very, very long time.

No time for sleep, though. There is Christmas shopping that needs to be started. Yes, I said started. The whole "Christmas totally sucks" mood that I've been in has put me just a tad behind. I am forced to go to the mall tomorrow to get my hair cut, so maybe I'll actually by a gift or two. Maybe.

I think our Christmas travel plans are nearly all hashed out. I'm only going to get to spend one night with my Dad, which makes me very sad. I guess I'm supposed to look at it as "I get to see my Dad, yay!", but really? I mean, shouldn't it just be a given that I see my Dad? Am I not allowed to want to actually spend some time with him? I don't know. I just hate this whole set up. I am completely miserable.

Ok, I'll shut up with the whininess already.

HOLIDAY BLUES

2006-12-05T16:37:00.000-06:00

Does anyone else want to just run away instead of actually dealing with the stress of the holidays? I just want to forget the 3,000 miles of driving, the embarassment of not buying big enough presents for everyone, the guilt trips for not spending enough time with everyone, the sadness because Christmas just isn't the same anymore, the having to deal with the questions about babies and work and Texas, and everything else. I just want to hide in a hole until it's all over.

Plus, stupid coffee place where I usually get hot chocolate with peppermint has switched to their Christmas menu, meaning that peppermint hot chocolate now is its own line item and costs 25 cents more. Merry Christmas to you, too, jackasses.