AJ or Churchill???

Recently a co-worker of mine mentioned that she is not all that fascinated with the new babies....she thinks they all look like Winston Churchill in diapers.



As I mentioned a few days ago, I am the proud new Auntie of Abraham Jay Palmer. And while I think he is completely adorable I can't quite decide if he has the Churchill face...
You be the judge. Lol!

Be very proud of me......

When I arrived home last night I found a box outside my bedroom door. I was giddy as a school girl with her first crush when I ripped it open. They have arrived. I could hardly believe it. The books now sit on my shelf...I have the whole collection as it currently stands. In HARDCOVER! I know, I am as shocked as you are. I don't buy hard cover, but who knows when the paperback version would come out for book 2 and 3? I couldn't wait and so to be uniform I to get the first in hard cover too. Lol! It took every ounce of discipline to put off starting on them. I knew if I started I would be up all night reading and I needed to be coherent for work today. So now I sit trying to concentrate while craving an Edward fix....Tomorrow....I will start them tomorrow night.

For now the anticipation of a whole weekend curled up in my books will have to suffice.

***for those that don't recognize the picture, I am referring to the Twilight Collection by Stephanie Meyer. I am now the proud owner of Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse. I am not sure how I will survive until book 4 comes out next Fall. ***

Because it made me chuckle on a busy Wednesday....

Thanks Super Librarian:

To Tide you over

I didn't get home until after 10 last night so the blog didn't get edited. To tide you over I found a fun quiz to share.

Also a huge shout out to my baby sister and her hubby who just had their first baby boy last night. Congrats.....Now all he needs is a name. Lol!

You're Ulysses!

by James Joyce

Most people are convinced that you don't make any sense, but compared to what else you could say, what you're saying now makes tons of sense. What people do understand about you is your vulgarity, which has convinced people that you are at once brilliant and repugnant. Meanwhile you are content to wander around aimlessly, taking in the sights and sounds of the city. What you see is vast, almost limitless, and brings you additional fame. When no one is looking, you dream of being a Greek folk hero.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

On Hold....

Well I wrote a very long post about my holiday while I was at the airport yesterday....but I don't really like it....so you will have to wait until I have time to fix it.

Until then.....

To all those that suggested Twilight:
I read it on the plane and finished it before I went to bed. I loved it and can't wait to buy the next 2 books.

To Mr Anonymous:
You haven't been forgotten, as a matter of fact, you were even talked about at the family reunion. Lol! I just have to make time to respond.

To the rest of You:
I hope you had a great holiday and I will post more when I surface from the work that has piled up in my absence.

The Thanksgiving re-cap

Exhaustion has settled over my brain. If this entry doesn’t make any sense I apologize. I am on day 3 or 4 of less then 2 hours of sleep and I am not sure I can even form complete sentences at this point. Unfortunately, my flight doesn’t board for another hour and a half, so I have to stay awake at least until that point. Fortunately, I have found the one and only vending machine in the airport that offers Cherry Coke. I might actually make it to take off before crashing. Lol!

It has been quite a week for me. As I blogged on Tuesday, I arrived in Utah on Monday night. After waiting impatiently all day for my credit card, I was finally able to do the things that I had planned for this stop in Utah. I got to see baby Sean Michael, who is really no longer a baby. I went shopping with Tallie for baby things. I went to dinner with Sarah, Meg, John, William, and Leah (Meg has the cutest kids). I went to a movie with Sarah and Meg for a girl’s night out. We had so much fun and The Rock…YUM! Then I rounded out the evening playing games with Wog, Cricket, and Goose until the wee hours of the morning. Wednesday was more playing with the boys and then packing the car and we were off to California. It was just four of us making the 10 hour trek across Utah and Nevada for the Hinkson family reunion. Goose, Cricket, Dad, and I set up shop in Mom and Dad’s Mercedes and traveled in style. Dad let me drive for a few hours on Wednesday night and I must say it is quite a sweet ride. Lol!

Thursday, started bright and early with the annual turkey bowl. Apparently, the guys in my Uncle Greg’s ward have been playing football every Thanksgiving morning for the last 21 years. Since we were all there, our family was invited and even those of us that didn’t want to play tagged along to watch. I spent most of the time, getting in good quality play time with my nieces, Sammy, Nannah, Amber, and my nephew baby Kent. I don’t see them all that often so no one begrudged me my role as favorite Aunt for a day. I have some of the cutest nieces and nephews, though you will have to see the family link for pictures. After football, we cleaned up to head to the church for Thanksgiving Dinner Lunch really, but we ate all day so who could really tell. Lol! There were 42 people at dinner. Yes, we are all related, even more shocking….we counted and there are at least 21 of us who didn’t make it. Can you imagine what it would look like if all of us gathered? Sheesh! Dinner was followed by volleyball and then Pie at Grandma’s. Quite a small house for 42 people, but the conversations were fun and the kids had a blast with each other.

Black Friday, was a lazy day for me, I didn’t get up until almost 7 am and then was fed Swedish Pancakes. Yum! The whole clan headed to the beach (COLD!) for games and a bonfire. It was a first for my sister-in-law Cyn and she had a ball with her camera. There was quite a wind that killed any chance of Frisbee or volley ball, but Sandcastle making and roasting hotdogs and smores over an open flame was definitely fun. When the wind got to be too much we headed back to the church for more volleyball and National Treasure on a projection screen.

Saturday started with the family pictures. Every donned their matching family reunion shirts and drove to a nearby park for pictures with Grandma and Grandpa. I must say we took quite a few. Since we were missing over half of our family we chose not to get a personal family picture. Lol! 6 hours later, after lunch at In and Out Burger and a dinner of pizza our group was back on the road to Utah. This time I sat in the back with Goose to watch Around the World in 80 Days and Happy Feet. Then it was time to change and I finished the drive home. I found that the Mercedes can go 0 to 50 in about 5 seconds, and can do 100 mph with out breaking stride. Lol! As I said, it is a sweet ride. Lol!

So to reiterate what I said at the beginning, I am now running on 2 hours of sleep for the 3rd or 4th day in a row. I am now going to start Twilight, which has been suggested for too many days. I caved and bought it. Let’s see if it is enough to keep me up until take off.

And I was all by myself….no one was looking…..all by myself……

So this morning the silence was ok. I got ready, did some scripture study, checked some email, wrote the blog below. You know standard stuff. But as morning drags into afternoon with no sign of the FedEx man, I am getting bored. Mom and Tallie have been in and out. The boys will start coming home from school in a few hours, but until Mr FedEx comes I am stuck at home with no company other then my dad sleeping upstairs.

Now back to the regularly scheduled blog…


Home again?


No matter how much you wish things to stay the same, they never do. Here I sit in my parent’s family room. The furniture is familiar. The pictures on the walls are the same. But things are different. The people here are no longer the same. Pauliwog, is a priest, he is driving now. Even worse, he is taller then me, by several inches. Jamers voice has lowered by so many octaves it scares me AND he is the exact same height as I am. Sacrilege! I have told Goose that he is no longer allowed to grow any more. I soon am going to feel like the woman from Mary Poppins. You know the one whose daughters grew and grew and grew. They these boys are going soon I will be considered a midget next to them. Lol!

I slept in this morning as the kids had their last day of school, so after I had gotten ready for the day, I took a walk through the rooms that used to be so familiar to me. Mom has continued in her need to rearrange things every few months. The boys have changed rooms since my visit in July. There are books all over the room that Jamesers and Wog share, along with sheet music (Wog plays the french horn and Jamesers the violin). Goose now has balls of all sorts in his room; soccer balls, basketballs, and kickballs fill his closet. All these are things I didn’t have anything to do with.

It is odd, this feeling of being a visitor. Not a bad feeling, I have changed just as much, but the odd feeling doesn’t sit as well as I thought it would.

Mr. Anonymous: I am still pondering your comments, and have no clue who you or your mysterious gym rat are.....

I'm teleporting, I'm teleporting!!!

I know there is only one person in the world that will understand this but the joke was to good to ever forget.....

So in honor of Tiana, I send this out to the blog world knowing that I will forever giggle at the thought of yelling "I'm teleporting, I'm teleporting!!!" at the most inopportune moments.

A Challenge....

***Warning: I am beyond tired...read at your own risk.***

The train car is crowded. People have spent the evening out on the town and now the car has the lingering scent of alcohol. I sit alone on my bench. My headset is playing the classics of the 70’s and a book is in my hand. Unfortunately, none of this does me any good as I cannot focus. I am distracted by the indescribable emotion that has settled lately; an emotion that neither my latest thriller nor Dilbert can seem to break through.

Yesterday, the traffic on my blog doubled due to the comment left by anonymous. The girl mafia, of course, read the new comment and the old comments and I have been given quite a bit of advice on the situation. Steph says I should just ignore it therefore teaching Mr. Anonymous that he shouldn’t play the anonymous card. Meg and Sarah have cautioned me to be careful; you never know what type of people you will find on the internet after all. Jer went over our connected past, trying to help me find a link somewhere. (He did give me a possibility, but who knows if the clue is helpful). Ben, while not a member of the girl mafia was the most adamant about his opinion, lol! He says I should tell Mr. Anonymous to “put up or shut up”. He comments go hand in hand with those from Meg using the phrase “mystery schmystery.” Personally, my curiosity is still peaked.

As with the first posting by Mr. Anonymous, the door to the memories of my past has cracked open and the flood of memories will not be stopped. Spending an evening dancing with Drew in my backyard with one objective…who knew it would take hours to get a boy to kiss me. Sheesh! The drama of my high school years, sick family, fights with Drew, trips to Florida, dances, lunches, swing sets, trees that were climbed. The night I spent talking with Adam; literally talking until dawn. The morning I took the ill-fated trip to Sqaw Peak with ‘he who shall forever remain nameless’. There are a parade of faces, some which I can place with a name to and some I cannot, from school, work, church, and other random places. Ahhhhh…the follies of youth, especially the thinking that it would always be so easy.

The cynical side of me tells me that the man that you see almost every morning is NOT someone that I would be happy to run into. There are only 3 men in my past that I never want to see again. (I figure after 28 yrs 3 major regrets isn’t so bad, right?) Every one of them was “charming” AND I really don’t want to hear that any of them look "good" at this point. I would prefer that they are going bald with a fat paunch, thank you very much. Lol! I figure I am no more then a speed bump in their histories.

The curious side says to find out more. I really, really want to know who you are and who you see….

The third side is the most cynical. It tells me that this is all a fake story created to show my naiveté. It wouldn’t be the first time that I was taken in by the slick story of a stranger, believing that he was being honest with me.

Yet as I have remembered all of these things, the highs and lows of all of my relationships/friendships/school-girl crushes, one emotion has lain like a light film over all of the others: Fear.

As one who tries never to give into fear but to face it instead, I choose to take Ben’s advice: Who are you? And where do I know you from?

I’ll expect an answer in another 10 months when you get back to my blog. Lol!

I don't want to write what is in my head so you get stuck with this:

Yesterdays comments sparked quite a bit of conversation today. I am not quite sure what I want to write about it. I will write later but not tonight. I didn't get home until late and I am tired. So to tied you over I give you the men of regency. While playing around in my you tube account earlier today I found this one that Boo had sent me. I forgot how much I liked it. Lol! Enjoy while I ponder things in my melancholy mood.

Out of Africa

While browsing through movies on Blockbuster.com I came across this one and figured that I should watch it to remember what was so great about it. Many years ago, when I was small (can you see me stroking my chin with a wise expression on my face? Lol!) I remember my mother telling me that Out of Africa was one of her favorite movies. I don’t remember watching the movie back then, but I am sure I must have at least once.
It arrived from Blockbuster weeks ago and has been sitting on my shelf waiting patiently to be watched. Tonight, since I am in my room unpacking anyway, I thought it would be as good a time as any.
Karen, the character portrayed by Meryl Streep is reminiscent of her character in Bridges of Madison County. They are both women who are under appreciated, who want to live life to the fullest and know that they will never get another chance. So they take what is offered and the love that goes with it. Unfortunately, the love that is offered is not from the one to which each of those characters is married. Does that make it any less painful to watch them end up apart at the end of the show? Your heart aches for the lost chance. Though, the words of Karen resound in my mind this evening. “I want to be worth something.” When faced with the choice to be alone or to spend her life with someone that was always flying off into the sunset, she chose to be alone.

I want to be worth something. I want to be important enough to someone. I want to be apart of something…..What woman doesn’t?

And that is the end of my melancholy evening I thing I will follow up with something funny and happy before I turn in.

Good night all!

Independence…

I have always thought myself to be a fairly independent person. I pride myself on being able to get around on my own and not have to lean on many people. I hate to be a bother. If people want to help then they can offer, otherwise, I know that they have busy lives and I don’t take offense at them not wanting to assist. While talking with Kate this weekend, I commented on how some of my friends and my boss, worry about me when I move. I asked why this was as I have always been able to take care of myself. Kate’s response was to laugh and say “Aug 2006”.

For those that don’t know, that was a bad month for me. Between headaches, fatigue, and dizzy spells, I don’t remember a lot. Kate reminded me of at least one incident where a roommate had to help me up off of the floor of the bathroom…though I am not sure why I was on the floor in the first place. Lol! That is a bad sign. Now that is a thing of the past. While I still get tired, it is nothing like it was that year, thank heavens. Kate and I had a good chuckle over the memories and that was the end of the conversation.

Over the last 3 days, I keep coming back to that conversation. I have come to the realization that while I THINK I am completely independent that is far from the truth. In my last blog, I mentioned that I got lost while trying to find my home. Not once or twice but 3 times! Well this morning I did it again. Trying to get to work I missed a turn somewhere and ended up driving all over DC. I hate to be lost so I first called Gina and she helped me, only to have me take the wrong entrance to get on the freeway. Afterwards there was a lengthy call to Steph, who struggled to figure out where I was while she was in Dallas, TX. Finally it was figured out and I was on my way…the long way around the beltway. So add getting lost and the long way around the beltway to my morning commute and you have added an extra hour to that commute. Lol! All I could think when I dropped off the rental car was: Please, just leave me to my metro. I am comfortable there, and oh so happy!

So how does all of this go together….Well, it is unsettling to find that I am not as independent as I want to be. Whether I am ill or just trying to find my way around, I can’t do it all on my own. Or should I say, I can’t do it all on my own YET! I’ll get there. Just you wait.

The Day Dawn is Breaking the world is awaking……

I have finally moved. I will email out the new address to those who need it, don’t stress.

Yesterday was a test of my endurance. After a week of little sleep and a lot of work and packing I was up bright and early (Gina arrived at 6:50 am) to start the process of moving all of my accumulated junk. Boy, do I have a lot of it. Looking back I wish I had my camera, but I never had the time to stop and take the pictures. Ben was kind enough to show up and load up the truck with all of the heavy things. He even loaded my dresser all by himself! I am no light weight and can usually handle moving heavy furniture, but not all by myself. That dresser is heavy and awkward. I am still impressed if you can’t tell. Lol! Kevin and Lael showed up and we finally got into a rhythm. In no time we had the truck, Gina’s car, and Lael’s station wagon loaded and ready to go. Amazingly enough that only left a small load for me to come back for.

Ben had to head home and so there were four of us that descended upon my new house. In a little over an hour we had all of the vehicles unloaded and the contents in my room. Gina and I headed back to the house to load up the last load ourselves before doing a final walk through. While there, we decided that we should order lunch from our favorite place. Wing Zone, I miss it already. The last walk through was hard. It was sad to see things so empty; there are so many memories there. I think, as antsy as I got, I wasn’t really looking to leave.

By the time Gina and I went our separate ways we were already very tired. I own a lot of heavy books and hauling those from place to place it quite a work out. So by the time I headed to Tyson’s to pick up my forgotten check book, I was ready to weep with exhaustion. Kate called and offered to help me unpack some. So I swung by her place to pick her up before heading back into the district. What followed was something I never want to repeat. Now, Gina, Lael and I had gotten lost on our first trip to my new house, but it was nothing like what Kate and I went through. All I can say is that I am very grateful that I rely on the metro system and don’t have to figure out these streets. We spent 2 hours going in circles, trying to find my house. Kate was actually pretty patient as I got more and more frustrated and my headache got worse and worse. After finally finding my house we quickly unloaded the last of the items and I had time enough to take Kate home.

When I dropped Kate off and headed home on my own I was very aware that I have a horrible sense of direction. It didn’t seem to matter how careful I was as yet again I got lost (this time ending up out by Bolling Air Force Base). I was tired, my head hurt, and I had no clue where I was. I called Gina and finally got myself home with only a 30 minute detour. I think the funniest part was that I didn’t see a cop to help me out until I knew where I was. He finally stopped to talk to me when I parked in front of my house. Lol! I think he was worried because I was circling my block. Lol! But by the time I recognized where I was I had passed my house, AGAIN! Lol!

I unpacked until a little after 10 when the exhaustion got to be too much. After a shower, which took longer then I expected do to the effort it took to move, I crawled into my bed around 11:30. And there I stayed until 1:30 this afternoon; not even the sunrise coming through my blind-less windows could break through the fatigue that plagued me. I’ll have to hit the new ward next Sunday.

The downside to this move, other then getting lost 3 times in one day: I lost my debit card. I last remember using it Friday night to buy the doughnuts needed for Monday morning. But the call to the doughnut shop was too frustrating for words, as the weekend employees only speak Spanish!! Now I have to figure out how to fill the tank of a truck with out my debit card. Kate kindly helped me out yesterday by filling it half full. But I used that half a tank getting lost. UGH! The frustrations never seem to end.

Anyway, I am slowly unpacking what I own. As I was unpacking my clothes, I decided that there are things I should be getting rid of. I didn’t have time to purge my belongings when I was packing, so if I haven’t worn or used it in the last year and a half to 2 years, I am getting rid of it. I already have a large box of clothes that I am getting rid of. Lol! There are just so many things I don’t need. And why haul around what you don’t need it you don’t have too. On that note, I am going to lay down some more before unpacking. The headache still hasn’t gone away and I am hoping some more shut eye will help.

Happy Sunday to y’all!!

Disjointed Thoughts on a Monday Morning…

It feels as if I haven’t written in forever. Most days I am tired and stressed. It makes me kind of grumpy so I try to steer clear of people unless I am at work where that is not a possibility.

• I can’t believe that Kristin has been in the hospital for a month. It seems like just yesterday we were carpooling to work together. The time has gone by in a blur. Work is crazy busy, giving me no real time to think. Once I am home there are other things to stress about. Lol!

• I move this weekend. I have rented a pickup truck and I figure I can do most of it myself. My only worry is moving the furniture. Even I can’t move a dresser by myself. Lol! I’ll have to figure out how I want to handle that; hopefully before Saturday.

• Being me, I of course packed my books first. My friend Ben, introduced me to LibraryThing a month or two ago. I figured now would be a good time to catalog my books, so as I packed them away I entered the ISBN numbers into LibraryThing. Quite a feat, especially when I realized that I have almost a thousand books in my house. Actually,I topped out at 994 but there were a couple of books from the White House Historical Association and a couple of church books that didn’t come up in the database. Plus I believe I still have one or two boxes of books back home in Utah. I guess I am really on my way to having my own library. Lol!

• I have decided to give away my love seat. Mostly because everyone hates it and it isn’t all that comfortable. *Sigh* it was my first furniture purchase. It is hard to get rid of it. It cost me 5 bucks 2 years ago….maybe it was 10; I’m not sure. Lol! So I have decided to give it away. Freecycle here it comes. (Okay, my real reason for getting rid of it….that thing is one heavy sucker and I really, really, don’t want to move it again. My arms are already sore from moving my books this weekend. Lol!)

Now I have to work, I have an interview in an hour and a list of a million things to do….*sigh*