Dear Yahoo.....

I am truly sorry that I haven't spent much time with you for about 3 months now. But 3 hours to go through the unread messages was a bit much. Even if I did end up deleting 10,443 unread messages.

Sadly I must also tell you that I probably won't see you again until Summer. Till then we will have to survive with Blackberry connections. I am sure you will survive somehow.

With much regret,
Rae

Another Productive Semester....

I got my grades today.....

a 3.94 for the semester

Interestingly enough it was my writing class that lowered the GPA. I only got an A-. But still for the schedule I was keeping I am still fairly impressed with myself. Lol!

Now to do it again.....

Wish me luck.

2:45 am

The house is quiet...

There are no loud boys or crying babies or any of the others things that signify a large family has gathered for the holidays. Shopping will come bright and early tomorrow, yet here I lay awake. I am exhausted and should be sleeping but in reality all I want to do is to start another book.

For months now I have had to put off my personal reading time. Books that used to take me hours now takeome weeks and sometimes months to get through. As the semester progressed and I got more and more busy, I the books in my TBR (to be read) list did nothing more than gather dust on the shelf. Now that the classes are done for the holidays and I have had 10 days to relax and prep for next semester, I have read 12 books. I have another week and a half to go and look forward continue on my reading spree.

Be it The Art of War by Sun Tzu, an young adult fiction, a sci-fi/fantasy, or a romance, I can't begin to explain the balance that I can find when I slide into the pages of a good book.

Tiana is not pregnant!!

Apparently there has been confusion.....
Now that that has been cleared up back to your christmas festivities. :)
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It's that time again....

So I realized today that I didn't have my traditional Christmas in Kilarney Video up yet this year. I wouldn't want to disappoint anyone... and since I listened to this song for the first time last night.... here you go! Aren't the Irish Rovers great!

Finished!!

The day I thought would never arrive ... arrived this morning. I had to meet with my writing professor regarding my conference paper. And with that short 30 min class.... I finished my semester.

It has been a particularly hard one. Between moving, the New Moon Event, work, and classes, I seem to have lost sight of myself and my goals. There were a couple of times I seriously doubted my desires. Did I really need to go back to school? Was it worth it? For the first time, I wondered if I had the abilities to pull off the degree I want.

Now that the brain fog of classes and finals has cleared.... my answer to all of the above is still a resounding yes.

This semesters classes have been passed and while I don't know if I pulled a 4.0 like last semester, I am content with the grades that I have.

Now for a 2 week break to prep for next semester. :)

"Goose Frabba"

Can it really have been a month since I posted? I can't believe I have let time go so long. I guess that explains so much of my current verbal diarrhea. I need an outlet.... :)

today..... well it is crazy busy and I have to get to the how to guides for Thursday's event......but I found a quite that I really enjoyed and needed to write it somewhere....

I have been taking an American Lit class this semester. I had forgotten how much I enjoy reading the classics. There is just something about the greats that causes my heart to race. (I can hear my mother now...... "Now if she can just get as excited over some guy as she does her books...." lol!) We have read so many different things, from short stories by Charlotte Gilman's to poets like Langston Hughes. I loved the chance I had to re-read Fahrenheit for book club discussion. That book is one of the ones that shaped my life as a teenager.

I came across a quote today while reading an interview of my friend over at Salon.com and it reminded me why I feel that reading is so important. Why I am grateful for women like J. K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer who bring people back into the world of books and reading.
One of the women interviewed stated that:

"I like my life. But there's probably some deep need to shut out the world for a while. Because the world is so [freaking] intrusive....Reading is an act of defiance in the world today. I owe Stephenie Meyer a thank you note for reminding me of that"

I felt this so describes how I am feeling these days. I have very few complaints about my life..... okay.....I am way busy... and I live in Utah ... with my parents. Other then that, I have enjoy my classes and all of my learning opportunities. But there are times, when you want to defy it all, block it out, and find that moment of "goose frabba," as Steph would say. And that is what books are for. Those moments of learning and Goose Frabba!


Okay....Moment over....... back to work and event stuff!

Coming up for air.....

You know that horrible feeling you get when you are in over your head..... Being me I get that feeling a lot. I thought that I have finally found my breaking point. So what do I do? I add another assignment onto my already full list of things to do.

I have been trying to think of a way to tell everyone.....well.....everyone who doesn't already know. But with all that is going on I just don't have the time. Today alone I still have to do my homework, find boxes to pack, research storage units, and figure out a meeting place in Draper for tonight's meeting.

To top it off, I am tired. Beyond tired, for the past 3 days I have gotten at least 8 hours of sleep and I am still draggin' tail. I know it gets worse when I over do, but I don't know how to cut back. There is too much to do and so little time to do it in. I also know I would feel better if I hit the gym, but with an already packed schedule I have no idea where I would fit it in. The only time I have available is after 10 pm. Which does me no good, as I am then up until 2 or 3 am because I have so much energy. *sigh*

Back on track......

I am moving in with my parents to work thing out financially. I have the chance to do a study abroad in France next spring and if I get every thing paid off I can go. So I am moving in with my parents so that I can do that. Now I have 2 weeks to pack up my house and move. On top of everything else I have to do. Cross your fingers for me.

;)

Pros

When deciding to move back to Utah, I made a list of pros and cons.

I have to admit days like today were on the pro list!!! Crisp fall air. The trees on the mountain changing colors. Topped with snow capped peaks!
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American Lit....

So I received my first exam for American Lit today. I have 2 weeks to take this 12 question test. It is open book, open notes and take home. Easy right?

NOT!

The first 11 questions are short answer. Meaning I have 1 paragraph to explain the significance of given quotations. Not bad. It is question 12 that is the doozy....

I have to write a 3 page essay. 3 PAGES! now I know why he lets us take home his tests for a week and a half. Lol!

To be honest, I am really looking forward to this exam. There was a lot of great readings in this section and I can't wait to discuss it.

I don't want to work.....

I don't want to read about Daoism (homework).......

I don't want to go to class tonight.......


*sigh*

I'll change my mind in about an hour......but for now can I take a nap?

Quotre from women's conference

"Nick taught me never to go to a church function without treats."
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I have missed being able to write just for me........I never seem to have time to sit and write when the thoughts are flowing....

I just go off a call from a good friend....you would think after 12 hours of sleep I would be awake but I am still exhausted. Yet I got to thinking about guys and all my various friends and the choices they have made regarding guys. Some one once pointed out to me that to find a guy I was willing to marry I had to know what I wanted (Hi Tara!). At the time, I tried to make a list of what I wanted in a guy. But as Marianne the librarian's mother says, the mix of Paul Bunyan and Shakespeare doesn't exist. Even then, there were so many things I wasn't sure I wanted. I think this is my current problem. I feel a little like Eric from the Little Mermaid, when I see him it will hit me like lightening. Except I know that is not realistic.

I was trying to think this morning about what I really wanted. Want to know what I came up with?

Ok I will tell you....only cuz you asked so nicely.

I really want to finish school. I want to go to grad school. Iwas looking at schools again last night and putting them in order of desire......I think Rutgers moved into second place now that I know the Universite de Montreal is ALA accredited. It is also french speaking. How cool would that be?
UMD and Catholic are still on the list and so is Indiana. But I was looking at all the other options (all on the east coast) and I can hardly wait!

Also....I started thinking about minoring in French. My french teacher suggested it and it has been on my mind ever since. I am gonna look into what is required on top of what I am already doing.

That is what I want.....I guess everything else will have to wait. :)

Quote #4

J: I think he is sexy........ Whenever my husbands showers I find an excuse to go in to the bathroom. I usually tell him I have to pee. (Then there was lots laughing)
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Quote #3

"We need a bucket for the placenta"
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Quote #2

Me: I don't have time to see my trainor.

L: then sleep with him its a better work out.

A: It's a two-fer.
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Quote #1

L: He has his bras and I have mine.

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Reasons to attend French class.....

Because you never know who will show up!

Out of Steam....

I have 13 weeks left of the semester. It sounds like such a small number, but the urge to cry is strong. I think I am in over my head. But truly I am not. It isn't that I can't survive the schedule I have set for myself. It is that I just don't want to any more. My motivation is completely lacking. While the schedule is rewarding it is also very demanding. I never get to do what I want any more. I love learning and I have chosen this path. I know that.

I also know that I took on the extra responsibilities for the event and I won't back out now. I committed and I keep my commitments. But I will admit that I have started counting down the days until Nov. 21st when I can eliminate it from my schedule. (I believe we have 67...should I put a counter on my blog? Lol!)

So people....what I need from you are ideas. I need help staying motivated. How can someone who is working a 37 hour work week, has 17 credits, and helping with an event keep her head above water. I just need ideas to keep me in a good mood......well at least most of the time. Can any one give me any suggestions?

Okay back to the 2 short stories for American Lit, the paper and 2 chapters for Writing and the 2 readings for American History.......

Helping Kate.....

While talking with Kate tonight she confessed to struggling to name her second bedroom....
It is a Study/Library/entertainment center

But what do you call such a room. Since I have a room that is also a study/library, I have decided that a word must be created. The top two choices are:

Stud-brary

and

Li-budy

To be honest I am leaning towards the first one.....lol! Ihave always wanted a Stud-brary. ;)

midnight.....

I think this is the first time in 8 years I haven't commemorated this day in some way. I didn't even put it on my facebook in any way.

I don't really have an excuse, though my day was rather full. On 3 hours of sleep I worked 7 and a half hours, went to 3 classes, worked on a paper, worked on the November event, watched a movie with the 'rents..... I think that was all.....To be honest, I am really to tired to think of anything important or commemorative. Today is important to me...... but right now I am typing with my eyes closed because the lids are too heavy to stay open. I have tomorrows to-do list running through my head and I might cry here in a minute cuz it just keeps getting longer......


Suffice to say, Gone but not forgotten.

It doesn't matter if it is 8, 18, or 80 years, those we lost will always be remembered.

A topic...A topic.....

Rae's got a topic!!!

I have been stressing over my topic for my world history research paper. I was told it has to pre-date the 15oo's and the paper should be between 8 and 16 pages (Until I have covered my topic). But I couldn't figure out what topic I wanted.

i thought about the female pharaohs for a bit....then shifted to the Celts..... I even talked to my professor about studying the epic of Gilgamesh or possibly the writings of the Celts.

After heming and hawing over it I decided that want I really want to study is ancient libraries. I mean really...who is shocked about that.

So now I just have to narrow down my topic. Which libraries....the first library in Sumer in 2000 B.C.? Maybe I could see what records were kept in Europe or the British Ilses? Ohh.....maybe during the Crusades...I'd love to do a bit of studya nd see what was destroyed then....hmmmmm....


So many chances....

Life is full of dilemmas.......

Currently I am too tired to think clearly. I have 8 more pages to read for American History, 20 pages to read for American Lit. 5 assignments due for French, a narrative to write for the writing class, and I still can't decide on a topic for my world history class (thanks for all the facebook suggestions, I might even use one. Lol!)

Add to that trying to figure out what needs to be done for the November event, how I am gonna pay for my next tank of gas, when will I find time to prepare my lesson for Sunday, and for the French study group on Sat. and find time to sleep....sleep is a very good thing, especially when class starts at 7 am tomorrow.....

Maybe I will try that now....right after the readings that have to be read for tomorrow!

crunch....

I broke my tooth.....vertically right down the middle.... my good dentist is back in DC......What's a girl to do....especially when I can afford to fix it. *sigh*

Frustration....

I ran out of paper halfway through printing the readings for my Amer. History class. Argh!

by the way....the professor posted all of the readings so that I don't have to buy the discontinued product like his syllabus said. Lol! Helps if I actually look at all the available info. :)

The Morning after......

Wow....I can't believe how tired I am. At least I won't be washing the kitchen and bathroom floors on my hands and knees for another couple of months.

I got up early and bought my new school books to the tune of alomost $400. UGH! My only worry now is about the American Lit class that didn't have any assigned text books and the history class where the program was discontinued.

On a good note, the new parking pass will get me through the next 3 semesters (fall, spring, and summer). I only have to buy them once a year. Hallelujah!

And now I am thinking about my schedule for the next little bit..... I will be going to school and working for 11 - 12 hours a day for the next sememster. On the days that classes starts at 7 am I don't get off work until after 6 pm. On the days they start at 8:30 am I have a night class that goes until 9 pm. This won't include my meetings that I have to be at for the event in November. Or anything else that endes up on my plate. It also means no more movies for a buck on Tuesday nights. I have French class. (I know what you are thinking AmyO! French class!!)

What does this all mean.....

As of today, I no longer have a life until December. Lol! Have a great fall everyone. I'll see ya on the flipside :)

Rae is DONE!

It took almost 7 hours to clean my tiny 2 bedroom apartment.... 7 HOURS!

Okay that time included the time it took to update my calender with my new semester classes. Don't expect to hear from me until December. It is going to be a very busy couple of months for me. Lol!

I also tried to download the text for my American History class only to learn that Microsoft has discontinued the program that the professors based his entire class on. That's a bit awkward. Lol! Guess I'll have to go to class to figure out what the text will be. Maybe I should email the prof and tell him the product was discontinued....or would that be too annoying?

French looks to be interesting, though it will be a lot of work. I'm still hoping to get info on the other 3 classes.

On that note I have to crash because tomorrow is quite busy.

G'night

Every so often....

I find myself going through cycles. Usually I am fine, I have a good life. I am grateful to be near my family and have my cute little 2 bedroom that desperately needs cleaned. School starts again this week, I have meetings for the Nov Event, a Lonestar concert with Sarah, and an outing with Rhonda. It's not like I don't keep myself busy.

But then there are nights like tonight. I have known it was coming, I was stupid and joined my sisters for the movie P.S. I Love You this last week and that always gets me to thinking (yes things other then ...."Wow, Irish boys are hawt"). I can tell by my unexplainable temperament and the influx of my reading.

Tonight, I sit here listening to sappy country music and reading books. Purposely listening and reading things that will tug at the heartstrings.

oh well....someday......

I'm an idiot....

Its the last Sat before school starts and instead of going to bed at a reasonable hour last night I stayed up until 5:30 reading Tara's darn fanfiction. Makes me pretty useless today!
I need a nap before tonights baseball game. :)
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Quote #3

"The one in the front has an a** of steel. Just so you know. "
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Quote #2

Is that a broom or are those guys pole-dancing?
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Quote #1

Paul on tonight's young (as in 10 year olds) dancers:

"If they were older I would call them whores. "

Let's just say the outfits were rather skimpy........
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1 exit from home and I am stopped on the freeway due to construction!!!! Literally stopped!!! Dead phone battery so I can't call anyone and now what should have taken less than 5 minutes is gonna take over an hour!!!!

I hate night time construction!!!!
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P.S. I am home now and it only took 45 minutes. Thanks to Amy for the Blue October CD that got me through the stopped traffic with out pulling my hair out.

P.P.S. Night time construction workers.....I don't hate you. I understand the need for fixing our roads when there are less people on them. I just wish you would have warned me before the last chance I had to get off the freeway. I could have taken back roads to get home in 10 minutes instaed of 45.

Do a little dance.....

make a little love......get down tonight.....get down tonight......Everybondy sing with me now.....

I finished my last assignement of the semester.....now all I have left is the final tomorrow and I am done.

WAHOO!!!!!

Why tonight.....

I have to be up, showered, shaved, and ready in a dress by 615 in the morning.

So why is it that I have been trying to sleep for TWO hours and am still awake!!!!
Even reading didn't help. Argh!!!
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It's Monday....

2 Moments to remember from my morning commute.......

That gut wrenching feeling as the cop behind you turns on
the flashers then goes around you to pull over the guy in front of
you.

AND

Realizing the call with your dad didn't disconnect while you
yelled "why are you on my tail a**hole!"

I really need to work on my commuter people skills....Lol!

P.S.

While I might not be a HUGE pizza fan, I must say that I have a thing for Domino's desserts.

Especially the chocolate lava crunch cake.......

YUM!

And I'm not even a huge chocolate fan. Lol!
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Tired.....

When I was in my early twenties I learned in a fairly dramatic manner that I cannot over do..... My body will only handle so much before it gives out and I crash for days (or months) at a time.

As time has progressed I have tried to train myself to stay with in the boundaries that my body has set. But it isn't so easy for me. I will do really well for a while and then I will want to have fun. My schedule will get busy and I will forget that if I don't take care I will over do it and crash out. I will want to have fun and you can always sleep when you are dead, right?

With my hectic schedule of late, I have been waiting for the crash period to hit. I knew it was coming but I didn't think there was a way out of the crazy life that I had set up for myself.

Then I went to Twi-con......

It started with 3 days of 16 -17 hours on my feet during the day and little to no sleep at night. I crashed on night 4 and I got decent sleep the last 2 days (my body requiring a full 8 hours before I was coherent enough to move). But the day schedule didn't change. While I had some great moments, the week is kind of a blur of fatigue and chaos.....

Now here I sit 5 days after the event is over and my brain is finally starting to get back online. I couldn't figure out why I had lost my motivation. I had assignments ready to be turned in and a final next week but haven't done a bit of studying since I finished Chapter 12 while at Twi-con. But the need to rest is still riding me pretty hard. I have completed my work assignments while at the office, but didn't go to class or do my homework during the last 4 days. I crawl into bed around 7:30/8 pm and read for a bit then sleep through the night.......(okay I admit to reading late into the night last night (I was asleep by 1:30) but I totally blame AmyO for that. Why would you give me a whole new trilogy? By the way.....Maria V Snyder Study Series - Good Stuff)

I have officially decided that today will be my last recoup day.....I am back on track as of tomorrow. But I have learned something....I can't do things like this while I need to be focusing on school. I can't lose a week of school because I am too tired to focus. Which is why I had to pull out of the New Moon Event in November. I can't handle this amount of stress right before I am to go into finals for a 17 credit hour course schedule. I can't take a week and a half off then. So...I will be helping on the fringes but I will miss the major action. While I am sad about it.....I know it is the right decision.

As for the event....I think it will be awesome! Check it out and those of you in the area swing on by the event in November. For those that aren't close by y'all know I got a floor if you need a place to crash. ;)

Bow I am off to bed.

3 am never looked so fun

Britton recorded this on Thursday night.....I am not sure the actual time but I know it was well after midnight. There we all sat with our laptops and Facebook having conversations about Mormons, Catholics, and Foogart's Frozen Yogurt & Smog Checks. Lol!

TwiCon definately had it's moments. ;)

1 down.....2 to go

Do you remember the scene at the end of Mr. Mom....the one with the little boy running around the house shouting "One Punch! One Punch!"That is how I feel today. I want to run around the house shouting:

88.6%!! 88.6%!! 88.6%!! 88.6%!!

Okay I feel better now. That would be the score I got on my Astronomy Mid-Term today. I know it isn't a stellar grade, but after 2 weeks of studying and sweating I am ecstatic over a solid B. I have apparently absorbed enough of the information to pass and if I can pass this class with a solid B I will be happy.

Admittedly, it will be the first B of my college career (all three semester..lol!). Who gets all A's in college any way?

Now I am back to studying....It's time for the History of the Solar System.

Girls Night......

We forgot to take pictures!!!

Nannah...next time we will remember. Lol!

The night got off to a rocky start but with our sodas and candy in hand we were seated minutes before the curtain went up (actually it was minutes before the announcer guy came out on stage to talk to us about sponsers...the outdoor Scera theater doesn't have a curtain.)

The Dr. Pepper and gobstoppers kept the nausea at bay long enough to enjoy the womens voices and cringe at the mens. I did a double take every time "Baby John" came on stage. Between the hair and the old school clothes I could have sworn that Nick was on stage. Lol!

Nannah and I had a good time. We laughed, we talked, I cried (never fails the ending always gets to me.....). I can't wait to hang out with her again. :)

I also realized tonight that I have been very spoiled. The Kennedy Center, the Hippodrome, and Broadway are definitely not community theater. After 4 years of that coming back to actual community theater is hard for me. But I will persevere. I will suppert the arts here while I can, and wait patiently for the days when I can afford to go to the other theaters again.

I can't get it all done!

I seem to have hit a block......

My eyes won't stay open for the reading of my Astronomy book. I still haven't finished the last 2 chapters, which I have to read and answer all the questions for so I can take the test. That doesn't include the other 6 chapters that I have to have done by Monday so I can take my second test. Is crying allowed?

Secondarily, the writing of my anthro paper has ground to a complete halt. It is due on Friday!! I have all this information swarming around in my head and I just can't get it to come out in a logical pattern.

I think I am going to give up for the evening. I will try again tomorrow morning.

Things of note....

While the new headset makes me look like a little silly....I am really, really, REALLY grateful I don't have to turn or tilt my head today. It seems to aggravate the pulled muscle in my neck when I do that. I figure if an hour and a half can bring me to tears.....more then that will reduce me to blubbering and that would be BAD on the job.

Second.....Kirsten...you were so right. I LOVE Castle. Nate Fillion is great and ABC lets me watch all of the episodes online. Yay!

Today's Astronomy lesson......

1) F=ma

2) (Pyears)2 = (Aau)3 (wow that doesn't look right on my berry but there you have it.)

3)CCD = Change Couple Device. It can be found in telescopes and your digital camera.

And finally.....

Astronomers like it BIG. ;)
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Sometimes......

Sometimes I wonder if I am fundamentally broken.........Steph says I'm not but I still wonder.....

Now back to astronomy and anthropology.
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Down Home Country Boy

This is the reason I have a soft spot for them good ol' country boys. Lol!

The find of the day....

3 minutes left of my day and I found a pot of gold!

Doogie Howser, MD is on Hulu!!


This is great. I just finished the Pretender so I need something to watch while I am creating labels for mailers. Wahoo for me. :)

Too Tired

I was going to post today....but from the time I got up for my morning class....to the visit with my sister, to the shooting activity to the concert....I really didn't have a spare minute.....


And now it is after midnight and I am exhausted........

So this is all you get.


P.S. The concert was AWESOME!

I knew not only every Styx song, but I knew the words to each song. :)

(Sadly, I only knew about 2/3 of the .38 Special songs and only 1/2 of the REO Speedwagon songs. Of those songs I was only able to sing along to about half of them. *sigh*
Blame Ralph, he was the one with the Styx CD's growing up. They were right up there with his ABBA collection. Lol!)

Proof of Age.....

Tonight I realized that with my birthday approching, I have started showing my age. What proof do I have, you ask......for starters:

• I am tired by 10:30 pm.
  
• I went to an Eagles concert and I knew not only all of the songs, but all of the words to said songs.
• Tonight I went to a BeeGee's Tribute concert.....where yet again I knew all but 3 or 4 of the songs. (At least I didn't know all of the words this time.)
• Saturday I will be headed to yet another concert....and I am really excited...but yet again, I will probably know all of the words, to all of the songs sung by Styx, Reo Speed Wagon, and .38 Special.
  

Sad I know....some days age just smacks you in the face.

*sigh*

Jumping up and down!

I know I'm a geek. But I get to see the new Night at the Museum movie. I loved the first one and am stoked for this. Hope it lives up to my dreams. :)
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Isn't this the music that Ross plays?

Alright...last one for today....Special thanks to Darla for all of the cool quizes!

You Are Electronic Music

You are energetic and expressive. You love feeling alive. You never get sick of your favorite things - they're what makes life special. You don't take tradition or conventions too seriously. You live for the future. You enjoy remixes and re-interpretations of things. Life is about making improvements.

What Kind of Music Are You?

Of Course.....

You Will Be a Cool Parent

You seem to naturally know a lot about parenting, and you know what kids need. You can tell when it's time to let kids off the hook, and when it's time to lay down the law. While your parenting is modern and hip, it's not over the top. You know that there's nothing cool about a parent who acts like a teenager... or a drill sergeant!

Would You Be a Cool Parent?

Not Very Rational?

You Relate to Deer and Pandas

Your Power Animal: Deer Animal You Were in a Past Life: Panda You are a fun-seeker - an adventurous, risk-taker.While you are spontaneous, you are not very rational.

The Animal Personality Test

There are days I hate being a girl.

So I am going to bed. Granted it is only 9 pm but maybe tomorrow will be better. I doubt it. But MAYBE.....
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And thus began the jumping for joy!

I have been stressing greatly over my Bio class this semester. Every one has heard how I have a research paper and a presentation due this Thursday.....

ACK!

Well today at work I registered for my fall classes. After getting everything set I realized:

General Bio is COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY!

So I spent the early part of the afternoon searching for any class that would fill the slot. Anything, at all! I needed something that was at least 1 credit so I could continue at 12 credits. (When I first registered I was told I had to have a 12 credit course load for financial aid) I came up with a big whopping nothing. So I put in a call to the financial aid office just to double check things. Then came the sweet sentence that has made my entire week. I am fine at 11 credits. I don't have to take the extra class.

Isn't there a song with the words...sweeit is the joy it brings.......Lol!

This means I don't have a research paper or a presentation due. Any one want to joing me in a hapy dance?

I will complete my science requirements over the next year with astronomy this semester, Bio Anthropology in the fall, and Cutural Astonomy next winter. They all interest me...so they can bring on the presentations and research papers...I am so eager to learn those. Plus, I get to return another book. I cannot tell you how happy I am. Maybe this one will make up for the cost of the extra Anthropology book I had to buy for a hundred bucks.

Everyone take a moment to chair dance with me......come on you know you wannna.....

Kant and his infernal Universal Law!

For those that haven't heard me rant, I have a 7 am Ethics class. I have been heard to say that "no one has ethics at 7 in the morning". Seriously, who can even think clearly at that time. Interestingly enough, this class is quickly becoming one of my favorites. (Ten times better then the dreaded Bio class)

Today's discussion centered on Immanuel Kant. I have to admit that I struggled with the reading and his theory of Universal Law. The Prof asked that we focus on the following quote:

"Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law."

Talk about over my head. My poor professor kept trying to explain it to me but I just wasn't catching on. I kept circling back to my understanding of Kant's statement and what I perceived he was saying regarding "willing that it should become Universal Law" My brain kept getting stuck on the fact that that there is no universal categorical imperative. In other words, there is no law or action that everyone follows with out exception. No rule that everyone agrees is always the right answer in a specific situation. Therefore, if all of our actions had to be based on the need for it to become universal law.....we would never act on anything.

Finally, towards the end of class, one of the students chimed in and I think I have finally started to get a grasp on the concepts here. Kant isn't saying that you have to act in a way that you can expect all others to act as well. I was right in thinking that there is no universal imperatives. What Kant suggests is that every time you act you should look at what the outcome would be if everyone else handled the situation the same way you did. If what you did became the norm...hypothetically, would that be good or bad for society. Then again, this seems to take things to an extremist point of view:

If I do X in this situation, what would happen if the whole world did the same thing? If the result is not good, then you can't do it.

But then if you take Kant's theory and say....
If I don't do X in this situation what would happen if the whole world never did the same thing?
What is to say that it wouldn't be a bad thing if the whole world was acting in X manner or not acting in X manner.
(I would like it noted that I wasn't the only one struggling with this reading, it made for quite a discussion as everyone had a different opinion)

Anyway.....that was today's rambling in my head. I will get a week recap up soon. It has been a fun one, despite my Bio teacher assigning me a Research paper and a presentation both due this Thursday. Now I am off to read Aristotle.....wish me luck. ;)

Quote for a fine Saturday......

"It's like the Budda's belly....rub Amber's boobs and all your dreams come true."

"Is there an apostrophe in Amber's? She does posses her own boobs, right?"

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The weekend begins.........

I realized yesterday that I thrive on my busy weekends. I know this is something that has been apparent to everyone, but after months of very little activity I was reminded rather sharply this weekend.



Boo and Steph are in town, my parents are out of town AND I have a TM event to attend this evening that will probably run into the wee hours of the morning......

So here is what my schedule looks like for the next week:

Last night I got off work at 6 and went to stay with my brothers. (Really they are old enough to be by themselves but Mom felt the need for a safety net.) There was a lot of fun which culminated in me finishing my new book at 4 in the morning....

This morning I was up at 6 so I could get ready for work, make breakfast, and have scriptures with the boys before 7:30 am. (We couldn't have them late for school, now could we) I am working form 8:30 to 3:30. I have a dinner starting at 5:45 which I do believe will run until about 5 or 6 tomorrow morning.

Which is a good thing since I have to be on the road by 7:30/7:45ish so I can be in Salt Lake to meet Steph and Boo by 9 am.From there we head on to Wyoming to see teh Grand Tetons.......don't ask, I am not sure why we are going in the snow, but I brought a jacket and lots of jeans......maybe I will pick up my long johns this afternoon between work and dinner. hmmm......

Monday starts bright and early with a session with my trainor. Since I haven't been to the gym in a week, I am really not looking forward to it. *sigh*

Tuesday is free...so far (but I still have to finish getting stuff ready for school...like a parking pass and a student ID)

Wednesday starts classes. My first one at 7 am!

So really my life will be jammed until somewhere around mid August. Though if you think about it, by then I will have chosen my fall schedule, so it will probably still be packed then. I think it will be fun.

Now I am back to work.....and my secnd Cherry Coke of the day. ;)

P. S. I bought myself my birthday present...I get to go see Beauty and the Beast the musical the first week of June. :)

Quote of the night...

Me:what do I look like the crazy cat lady.

Brother Paul: you need got either a cat or a boyfried.

I feel the love. How 'bout you?
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Again

How is it possible the last week we hit 85 degrees on Wed but it is SNOWING today?

Yay for springtime in Utah. Lol!
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Being sick stinks.....

But I have to give a quick shout out to my younger brother Ian
who kindly brought me Sprite....not 1 but 2 2 liter bottles.

Yay for me I haven't thrown up in 3 hours!

Now I am going back to my couch.

G'night

They always come back for more.....

I couldn't resist sharing this one......

You Are Chinese Food

Exotic yet ordinary. People think they've had enough of you, but they're back for more in an hour.

What Kind of Food Are You?

Not Comfortable.....

Religious post…….read at your own risk. ;)

Yesterday during Relief Society a story about the march of Zion’s Camp was used to emphasize how God can step in and help us out when things are beyond our control. During the lesson I had a thought but I couldn’t get my words to align so that I could express the sentiments running through my head. Ironically, while in the shower this morning everything snapped into place and I was able to word the comment I wanted to make. So you are stuck getting it. ;)

Abit of LDS background………

In the early days of the LDS Church the members were driven from state to state, trying to find a place where they would be allowed to live with their neighbors in peace. Time after time they sold what they could and moved on. At one point in Missouri, after mobs had forced the people to leave, the government in the area promised to help us get our land back if we provided the armed men to do the task. About 250 men volunteered to march from Kirtland, Ohio to the lands in Missouri to help the members that were living there. The group, called Zion’s Camp, ranged in ages from 17 to 79 and struggled to make the 1000 mile march. One night the men were warned that there was a mob gathering to kill them. Our men were outnumbered and outgunned. I am not sure what exactly happened at that point; I am at work so I don’t really have the ability to do more research. I am pretty sure prayer was involved but I don’t have the facts there. What I do know is that night a great storm arose. The men of Zion’s camp got wet and some of the tents were blown down. Some of the men even had to take shelter in a nearby Baptist church. The Prophet Joseph remarked that God was in the storm that night. A few miles away the men of the mob did not fare as well. The lightning and thunder spooked their horses. The rain that had fallen on Zion’s Camp turned to large pellets of hail. Bones were broken, guns were broken, and the river swelled to the point that the mob could not cross it to reach Zion’s Camp. The result: the men of Zion’s Camp were protected in their time of need.

All through our meeting yesterday the thought that it wasn’t comfortable kept running through my head. When it all finally clicked into place I realized that the men of Zion’s camp didn’t have it easy. During the storm, they got wet. There was lightning and thunder in the distance so it is possible that their own horses were a tad spooked. Their tents were blown over. They even had to take shelter in the Baptist church. To top it off…how would they know what the storm was doing to the men of the mob? The mob could have found shelter and were waiting out the storm to attack. Just because God steps in, doesn’t mean that life will suddenly be easy or comfortable. We can have the peace of knowing that we are doing what is right; but we will still have to work to follow that path that the Lord has set for us. I keep looking at the schedule my life will take here in a few weeks and getting more and more nervous about it. I know that I am doing what is right, but I guess I needed to be reminded that it isn’t supposed to be easy. This life is a test and a trial. Neither of those words are synonymous with comfort.

So in the end what did I learn in Releif Society yesterday:

Suck it up and deal!

A girl needs a forceful reminder now and then. ;)

What do I do now...

I spent the day running errands that I needed to have done before starting work tomorrow. The biggest thing being registering for classes. I am officially registered for 14 credit hours on top of my 35 hour/week job. (Shall we say I will be a tad busy during the summer semester?)

I had decided last week that I was registering for classes today whether or not I had a job. Lucky for me....I have a job, so I had to work around that schedule. It's not as easy as it sounds, but I managed. I am working to get all of my GE's out of the way so I can really concentrate on my English and History courses. (Oh yeah...Jess: I am working on an English Lit Bachelors and a Public History Bachelors before going onto our favorite Masters Program). Out of the 5 classes I am taking, I am mostly excited about 2 of them, the other 3 are required to get a degree throuh UVU. The ones that I think will interest me most are Social/Cultural Anthropology and Elementary Astronomy. Both classes seem to be something that will hold my attention. I can hardly wait to start them.

But now that I am done with that, I guess I had better get the apartment cleaned so I can go to bed ontime. But I really am not in the mood to clean or go to bed....*sigh* the struggle of being an adult. :)

I have a job.........

Yup you read that right:

I HAVE A JOB!!

It is more hours (35/week) then I would prefer in a week, but I can work a small school schedule around it. I have to go register for classes (hopefully this afternoon) but I should be able to pull at least one class in the morning and one in the evening. It might not be the full 12 credits I had planned but we can go this route for a couple of semesters at least.

As for details: It is a receptionist position at a small software company (Sound familiar Kristin?). So it is something I am good at and something I am comfortable with. It is in the salary range I was shooting for (Yay!) and I start tomorrow morning.

Next Question............With classes (morning and evening) starting in May.........when am I gonna go to the Gym? Ugh, I have to call my trainer, he is not gonna be happy with me. :)

Just late night ramblings......

Saturday was a big day for our family. After an early morning of Easter egg hunting the adults in the family headed up to the Salt Lake Temple to attend the sealing for my big sister and her family this weekend.
(Short version translation for my Non - LDS Readers: A Sealing part of the LDS wedding ceremony. It is part of our belief that marriages are to be 'sealed' for time and all eternity. (Now you know why marriage is such a big deal in our world...Eternity is a VERY long time.) Sometimes this is done at the time of the wedding, sometimes it is postponed for one reason or another.)

Lighthearted-ness aside it is a very spiritual moment for any family and I am very glad that I was able to be present for it. It was a sweet ceremony that gives us a reason to celebrate and be with people we don't see all that often (Hi Sandy and Travis!) The ceremony was followed by a great big dinner filled with family members. I was joking to a friend that we had at least 25 people at my mother's house for the dinner and that wasn't all of us. More then half, thank heavens, but not all. It is always an interesting time when we are surrounded by family. I truly enjoy the time I get to spend with them (even if they do stab you in the back every so often......"miracle" indeed Kent Jr! :P )

Ohhh.....also a quick shout out to my best friend and her amazing husband who took the time to come do a quick fix it job on my car when we broke down on the way to the temple. John was a sweatheart to come out to the freeway and take a look when I called Meg in a panic. So thanks to John we got moving again and made it just barely on time.

So after such a long event and family filled day, I took today off. Lol! I needed the quiet of my apartment and was very grateful to have it all to myself. Wahoo for living alone! Anyway, it has been a very relaxing day. And tomorrow I am back to job hunting, the gym, maybe a trip to the temple.......maybe a stop by the History department to talk to one of my advisors for school....there are so many options. :)

Happy Easter to everyone!

Scene from a semi-Italian Restaurant.......

My heart has been melancholy this week. It doesn't make any sense. My life is good. My family is good. Even Inkheart couldn't lift my spirits in the long term. Though, I liked it enough to see it twice. (Ya gotta love theater's that have movie's for under a buck!)

I think this melancholy is what led to my trip into the city today. It has been years since I have gone to visit the graves. I got directions only to find that the main buildings had closed. I had been planning to stop in and ask for directions to the actual plots. As I said it has been years so my memory is pretty sketchy. I walked around for a while trying to locate the plot but the wind was pretty nasty and I was starting to feel creepy. I mean who walks around a cemetery at dusk ALONE looking at all the headstones with out stopping. Apparently, people who can't remember where their family is buried! Argh! I finally had to give up when my hands started to freeze. My flowers ended up on the grave of of a Navy Vet from WWII. I'll try again next week, when people are actually working there. I know her body isn't there but I need to make sure the headstones are at least clean. Ya know, and she deserves flowers. Every girl deserves flowers once in a while.

Written during dinner.....hence the title.......

**Edit**
Just for clarification, the graves I was visiting were those of my best friend and her mother. They were killed when I was 11. It is kind of a long story....but they had a profound impact on my life.

All by myself.....

Tonight I have decided that it is time to start having my own FHE again. Not that it is that big of a deal as a single person. Lessons are short and there are no arguments over the activities.
But I'm taking this opportunity to do fun things all by myself. Tonight's activity:
Inkheart with Brandon Frazier (sp?)

I have my popcorn and bottled water.......so we're ready to start the previews. Now if only the kids will stop yelling.....*sigh*
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Nothing new on the horizon.........

It feels as if it has been forever since I posted anything about what is going on in my life, so here is a quick update:

• Classes start May 6th. I have decided to get 2 bachelors degrees before heading on to a Masters. I figure that should keep me busy for a while.
  
• I am still job hunting. I interview at least once a week and am getting rather tired of the words over qualified. It is quite annoying.
  
• My apartment is almost ready for other people to see. My front room is mostly unpacked, my library is mostly set up and my room is livable.
  
• My family is close by and I see them a couple times a week. It is nice to be able to see and hang out with everyone, and also nice to go home to my apartment and ignore everyone. ;)
• I see my friends a couple of times a week.......especially Meg and Sarah.
  
• I am also at the gym 3 times a week and have just decided that I will start going to the temple right before I go to the gym (it's not like I don't have the time).
  
• Conference was great, I spent it with the Fam, cooking and cleaning. Lol!

That about sums up my life. If anyone hears of any part time jobs....give me a holler. I could use all the help I can get. ;)

Conversation of the day........

Today I got to go to lunch with the incomparable Megatha and her great kids.

During the course of our lunch I had the following conversation with her 5 year old son:

5 yr old: Where's your husband?
Do you have a husband?
Me: Nope, I don't have one.
5 yr old: Then you'll have to work for one like my mom does.

Did You Know.....

There is a Chipotle and a Five Guys in Bountiful Utah........

Why did I move to Provo again?
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Snow In March.....

Next week is the first of April but today is freezing. There is snow, granted it is not much and the wind is blowing like crazy. But the point is.....

It's beautiful.......and one of the reasons I moved back here to Utah.

Happy Spring y'all! :)
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It WORKS!!!!

I have spent the day trying to get my internet to work.

Finally!

Now it is almost 1 in the morning and I need to sleep. But I wanted to post a quick review of my day.....

Went to bed at 3 am.....

slept until mid-morning.

read

cooked a full meal in my kitchen for the first time

read some more

cleaned and put a way a few more items

read

slept

watched the movie House Bunny (not sure what I was thinking there....it wasn't as funny as I wanted it to be. Lol!)

And that was my day. As Scuttle the Seagull would say....."Ahhhh...very boring"

Tomorrow should be better, there is a visit to the bookmobile and a run to the park with the Zerkle kids. ;)

The dawns begins to break across the sky.....

.....as I finally start to fall asleep. I've got to find a way to cure this horrendous insomnia. :s
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Qoute of the evening....

"I don't need the balls I have the letterhead...."
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Rinding in cars with teenage boys......

I have great little brothers. They crack me up over random things. Often I can be found jsut hanging out with them.

On Friday there was a run to the store with Goose to snag a birthday present for his friend.

Yesterday was a quick jaunt with Wog and his girlfriend to drop me off at my car.

But today took the cake...... I had all of them in my car when we went to the first birthday party for our niece. On the way home it was reaffirmed that I do not think before I speak around them. I am afraid to post what was said as it was rather crass and I know some of my readers don't think that type of humor is funny. But lets just say that it could have been a scene straight from the Simpsons. I was just to slow to catch on. Lol!

We laughed all the way home.

The geek in me.....

Alright, those who know me know that there is a small part of my heart that will forever love the ABC Family and Disney Channel original movies. What can I say? They are clean, and cheesy and fun....and you know that they will always have a happy ending. Lol! In a world as uncertain as ours, I am a sucker for a happy ending.

So no one is probably surprised that last night I was drawn to the Disney Channel for my watching pleasure while babysitting. On a Friday night Disney is known for playing their old Original movies. Which is how I got to watch Camp Rock.

And being me, I watched the whole thing sort of. Part of the time it was on mute while I was on the phone. I also offset it with 3 other movies that were running on other channels. So I was totally confused by the end, which means that I did a little searching this morning and watched it on my laptop. Since I geeked out....y'all get to join me. Here is the climactic song number (Steph and Heather get your mind out of the gutter it is a Disney Movie....) the unpopular girl is who the rocker is looking for.....aren't we all surprised? Lol!



On another note.....I now know what the Jonas Brothers look like. Lol! Why is their hair in their faces? The main character makes me think of a 70's pop star........

Quotes of the Evening.....

Tonight, my friend Sarah called at the last minute and wanted to go to dinner. I had nothing pressing and was glad to join her. As always dinner was full of laughter. So I thought I would share a few with you........


*** So it looks like we haven't spent enough money on dinner. We're gonna have to get dessert. Are you okay with that?

(Yes that was said seriously.....You gotta love Sarah)

*** We would like to look at the dessert menu please. I am the menu. You are the menu? (we order and he leaves the table) He's the menu? He is a bit young but do you think maybe he would lay down on the table for us?

*** I am gonna have to stop exercising. It's not good for me when I am a single girl. It clears the clutter from my mind and all that is left is the gutter. I just dive right in and go swimming.

It's been A Month.......

Wow, How time flies when your having fun.

This is fun. Right?

Mostly, my life is still pretty boring. I am still applying for jobs and not getting much response. I refuse to start school until I have some source of income. Call me crazy, but I have this terrible fear of not having money to pay rent. *blush*

I spend a lot of time at my parents house. I love my little 2 bedroom apt and I am still working at unpacking everything there. BUT.....as everyone knows, I hate to be by myself. There is something about too much silence. So, I head over to my parents house just to have a noisy background. I love the time I get to spend with my brothers.


Now onto THE TRIP....everyone keeps asking about the trip to San Fransisco with some of my friends. I love to travel and I haven't been to SF since I was 11. That isn't to say that I really got out and saw the city at all. Ha Ha ha, I spent the weekend with my friends at a convention. But that is for later in the story.

I drove to Fresno Thursday night. Why Fresno you ask? Because I refused to drive I-80 in the snow with the possible requirement of chains for my tires. After the small snafu in Wyoming, I am staying clear of snowy mountain roads. So, I went south through Vegas, up through Bakersfield and onto Fresno. There I met up with friends Kirsten and Mary. The next morning we gathered with the rest of the women traveling to SF and carpooled the remaining distance. Then we were there and the weekend started.


Now for a confession........

My friend Kara won 2 tickets to the San Francisco Salute to Twilight Convention. Yes, I have driven all that way to go to a Twilight convention. For those that followed my Facebook conversations, already know how I feel about being there. I had a blast with my girls that were there. Kara and I spent alot...and I mean ALOT....of time together as we waited in line for signatures or attending the various events. Then there were meals with everyone and just time to chill. It was great to see the girls that I had met last September and to make friends with the new women. The TM's are such an interesting mix of women. :)

As for the rest of the conference......There were Q & A sessions with the actors from the movies, which I found interesting and embarrassing. as much as I loved listening to the answers to the various questions, it is unsettling for me to be counted among the fans that were there. I would rather not be compared to the woman who asked for Peter Facinelli's gum straight for his mouth, or the one that offered a marriage proposal to Kellan Luntz, or the women who brought out the cuffs.....or other gifts.

Part of the tickets that we won were signatures from each of the actors, so I had brought my twilight book for them to sign. There were quite a few hours waiting in line for that. To be honest, if we hadn't been getting something signed for a charity auction we probably would have skipped the signings entirely to go hang out with our girls who were at the front of the line. :)

The Jackson Rathbone concert was fun. I am sad i didn't attend the Vampire Ball as one of my friends from Sept. was there so I missed out on seeing her. It was cool to see what can happen at these things and talk with Kara about what she wants to happen for the one I am volunteering for in July.

I have to admit, my one grump was Billy Burke......he is my favorite actor from the movie. I adore his version of Charlie and he will forever be what I see in my head when I read. Unfortunately, when I asked him to sign my book.....he signed right across the words! I mean really. Who signs across the words of a book? You read books! LOL! It's not really a grump just a pet peeve of mine....Hee hee hee.


I also took some time to see my sister Gretch and her husband Mark while I was in town. I haven't seen them since Christmas and never in their "natural habitat". It was nice to spend a day with them. We ran errands, played cards, talked about pregnancy (Gretchen is right now in the hospital in Labor.....GO Gretch!) and just hung out. I am a big fan of just chilling with family.

Okay that is my trip. now I have to shower.....and get ready for another interview. *sigh* As Laurie tells me.....it would help if I could upgrade from "Interview Goddess" to "Job Goddess". Then I could stop going to interviews and start working.

From my uncle...............

This morning my mother, my sister-in-law, and I sat and watched this video repeatedly.

What I want to know is.........Who doesn't know the Mashed potato? That end choreography is almost straight from a Dirty Dancing scene and any girl of the past 3 generations knows the story of Johnny and Baby.......
Don't they?
If so they all should be able to join in at that point. :)

Why am I here........

I am not a screaming girl fan so why am I surrounded by them?
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On the road again.......

So I have finally started my trip west. I should be in Fresno late this evening. I have to say that I find the mountain vistas of Utah much prettier then the flatlands of Tennessee, Missouri, and Nebraska.

Well potty breakis over. I'm back on the road.
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Not "Bodice Rippers".......

I couldn't help it....this totally made me chuckle.

I figure since Ms. Gabaldon had it on her site I could share it here.

Trip to San Fran.....

Last Friday my friend Kara called to invite me to San Francisco with her. Now as everyone knows, I am still trying to find a job here in good ol' Utah. Deciding to take this trip was a bit difficult for me. What responsible person takes a trip when she doesn't have a source of income?

Well......when the trip is paid for by someone else........that would be ME!

I will be leaving Thursday sometime and heading to California. I am still not sure which direction I will go. Due to weather I might have to go the southern route and crash with friends in Fresno on Thursday night. Then we will all drive together to SF on Friday morning. But if the weather is nice through northern Nevada I am just going to do an early morning drive straight to SF. (If they're gonna require chains on my tires I will turn into a chicken real quick

Just another day

So it is officially that day that is feared by all Singletons. The day that we are brainwashed to believe should be filled with hearts and flowers and romance...............

So....Happy Valentine's Day!

Tonight was fun for me. I ended up hanging with my family. The discussions that ensue around a family dinner table are of the likes that I have nowhere else. There is always laughter when my brothers get talking. I believe at one point there was a discussion on the difference between claymores and broadswords. We tend toward the geeky side.......;)

We then moved onto movies. We started with a ballroom movie for the Cricket. Apparently, Get Smart is too crass for the fam, but Take the Lead is just fine. Lol! Since 2 of my brothers are ballroom dancers there was quite a discussion on rules and regs of ballroom competitions and what dancers can actually do.

We followed up with Drop Dead Fred. Years ago, my parents recorded this movie from television in 1994 (According to one of the commercials that were recorded). The Wog and I enjoyed it. Ha Ha Ha

Anyway....tomorrow I am back at the parent to help with the rolls for a ward activity my parents are attending and then babysitting. I think I will enjoy this Valentine's Day.

Hope you enjoy yours as well. :)

Where's my book?

I'm early........

Everyone knows of my terrible sense of direction. When going to an interview I usually give myself an extra 30 minutes or so. This way when I inevitably(sp?) get lost I still arrive on time.

Unfortunately, this means that I'm left with nothing to do the two times I have arrived 30 min. early. Lol! I haven't had the time to get back into my TBR pile. Guess I'll have to do that tonight.

As for what else is going on.......

The interviews continue. *sigh*
I just wish I could find a place to work. I hate not having a regular schedule.

The unpacking also continues. *double sigh*
I finally got a dresser and was able to unpack my clothes. Now I'm closer to being completely unpacked.

As a final note, I had forgotten how much I loved the radio stations that I listened to in Utah. I have even found a hip hop station (blame Steph).
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It's Snowing......

The other reason I moved to Utah was for the snowm Yesterday we got snow....

And it is snowing again!!!

I love it!!!
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In the Kitchen with the Candlestick.........

So today I got a late start due to my desire to catch up on Bones.....which turned into a marathon of Bones Episodes. Lasting until roughly 5 am or so.......I know.....What can I say...I am a sucker for Booth. :)

In hopes of keeping this short, let me paraphrase.

• I got up this afternoon and decided to I was done with living out of boxes. Since I don't have a dishwasher and all of my dishes have been packed for over a year, I was allowed the privilege of washing every dish by hand. Yes.....it took 3 hours, but my kitchen is completely unpacked. (Well except for those things that are at my Sister-in-laws house. I haven't picked up those boxes yet.)

• In an effort to multi-task, while washing the dishes, I started downloading all of my cd's. Now I am not finished yet but I am over halfway done and it has only taken 10 hours. Now the question is what do I do with the cd's? Lol!

• After finishing the kitchen I moved on to my library. I unpacked all but 6 boxes of books. And those six boxes might just end up at the piblic library. (I don't think I will ever re-read those books. So now might be a good time to get rid of them.) I did get all the books I like unpacked. Unfortunately, I am using the broken shelf by stacking books on top of it. Lol! I am hoping to get 2 to replace the ones that I lost.

• While unpacking I found many important things...like the sheets for my bed! Yeah. Tomorrow I won't have to sleep in a pile of blankets. Lol!
  

Now I am tired. I am going to bed.....tomorrow maybe I'll start working on hanging my clothes and working on the rest of the living room.

Gotta love Gladys.......

I found this today on the SBTB website......and while it isn't so spiritually uplifting I had myself a good chuckle.

Enjoy.....

Another day in my life....

as the Scuttle the Seagull would say:

"Ah...Very Boring"

*I had two job interviews.... One I wanted and didn't get, the other was crazy and I am glad that it gave me an opportunity to perfect my poker face.
Oh well...back to the local search. Hopefully I can find something soon.

*I had the chance to babysit my nephew today. What a cutie. Tomorrow I am babysitting 2 of my nieces. Wahoo! I am glad that I have the chance to do this now. It is part of the reason I moved home. btw....This means that there is only one more family in the area I haven't had the chance to babysit.....Cyn you and Kent want to go out one night...I'm offering?

*Tonight, I started unpacking my library. Yes, the stove still needs cleaned and I haven't unpacked all of my clothes and my kitchen stuff. But really people. A girl has got to have priorities. ;)

*I took the time to catch up in the blog world tonight. For the first time in months I have no blogs left to catch up on....what's a girl to do. People you have to write more now. :)

Thanks Mom.........

There are days where you come across a problem that you can only take to your parents. They are the ones that calm the panic and help you find a solution.

Tonight was one of those times......

Since I find the whole situation mortifying.....I'm just going to say:

Thanks Mom.

I'm Just Me.......

I was supposed to spend my day cleaning and unpacking. Instead I got online to look for jobs (that's my priority right now right?).

Of course after doing that for a while I wanted to take a break...................and this is what I came up with.

Enjoy......

The music a clip of SHEdaisy's song titled Lucky 4 You (Tonight I'm Just Me)

(P.S. If it works right I will make one of my "on the road" pictures.)

Aches and Pain......

The storage unit has arrived and thanks to my family it is unpacked. Yesterday after a quick interview I headed over to the PODS place to check out my unit. My sisters Tallie and Sarah met me there with their cars, which we filled. Then my Dad and brother Paul arrived with a trailer for all of the furniture.

Sadly, some of the furniture didn't make the trip in one piece. My two lamps are going to take some work and I lost 2 book shelves. Those are the hardest to take. Ugh!

Anyway, after loading up my brother Paul had to go to work, so we switched him out for my brothers James and Ian and headed to my new apartment. These guys work fast and between the 6 of us we had everything unloaded in about 45 minutes or so.

*sigh* I am exhausted but I am sitting in my new apartment surrounded by boxes.

A HUGE thanks goes out to my mom who watched the little ones for my sisters while they helped AND made a spaghetti dinner for all of us. I know she hasn't been feeling well so that was very nice of her.

I stayed up until the wee hours of the morning but I was able to clean the entire apartment except for the oven, the microwave, the blinds, and a small portion of the kitchen that is full of boxes. Unfortunately, the scrubbing has caused my hands to cramp so I am putting off the rest of the cleaning by playing online.

Tomorrow is another set of interviews......hopefully I will have a job soon so I can buy groceries and gas for my car on a regular basis. LOL!

Day EIGHT (The last day!)

This is the last of the Travel blogs........hallelujah!

Day Eight started with road closures in Wyoming, but it only lasted a few hours so I was on the road before noon. What did I do on Day 8..............I drove.....and drove......and drove. I made it to my parents house by about 8 pm and was very grateful to end my trip.

There was one small incident with the icy roads. Just after passing Rawlins, WY an 18 wheeler pulled in front of me and when I tried to slow down and merge in to the far lane my tires slid me sideways. It is an un-nerving feeling to be going down the freeway horizontally. It didn't last long but I ended up going off the road to the right and landing myself in a ditch, hitting one of those mile marker things in the process. No harm to anyone.........except for the rather obvious dent on the front left side of the car. Yay for the Rental Agency Insurance! I mean really, really YAY!


Well that was my trip. I plan to have 2 blogs with pictures from the road.......they should be up in the next couple of days.

In the past week, I have rented an apartment, bought a car, and applied for many jobs. Interviews start tomorrow. Cross your fingers for me. ;)


P.S. Just a note.....today would have been 4 years at my last company..........It'sad for me.........I sure do miss them.

Day SEVEN

Sunday morning was a bit difficult for me......after the night drive I was exhausted and slept a lot. The passes through Wyoming were closed so it wasn't like I was going anywhere for awhile.

My friend Laurie offered to let me come and "veg" out with her and her kids....which is what I did. Lol!




She had 2 adorable kids!!














After meeting up at Laurie's place, we headed out for lunch. I made Laurie drive because I am a pansy and was too scared to drive in the snow. I think the place we went to eat was called Sanford's. Whatever it was called it had awesome burgers and even more awesome desserts. I am not sure what we had but it was deep fried with ice-cream and lots of syrup. As you can see.....we ate it all. Lol!

From there Laurie took me on a short scenic drive of Cheyenne......I saw lots of.........snow.......and more snow.............and more snow. After that she made my day by taking me to the public library. They have the coolest kids library I have ever seen. I even took pictures. They have a the entire place set up to help kids learn interactively. There is a bookmobile, a whole slew of computers, a life size (kid size) chess game, a stop animation set up for kids to make their own movies, and then there is this play area where the kids have tiles with letters and have to move them through this really awesome set up.....kids could play for hours and never get bored. The teenagers reading area has a bunch of funky chairs, including an area that is set up like a fifties diner. The whole place was just amazing for me. Lol! I loved it. I took a ton of pictures but I won't bore you with them. Except for this one of Laurie and her daughter.....I took this because Meg is going to grow up to drive the bookmobile.....I wanted her to be able to see what it would be like for her. ;)

So after a day of vegging out with Laurie I went back to the hotel for lots of sleep and to prep for my drive to Utah.

Day SIX

The stop in St. Louis on Day five meant that I didn't get to Hannibal until late that night. I drove to the hotel that I wanted to stay at but it was dark and well we all know how afraid of the dark I am. Plus, I had passed a Holiday Inn Express........what can I say.......I'm a sucker for a really comfy bed all to myself.

The morning started with a tour of Hannibal. Unfortunately, they have a tourist season and I had missed it. Lol! I ran into a lot of signs like this:
Fortunately for me the Mark Twain Museum were still open. The museum consists of a few separate buildings spread out over a couple of blocks. The only building with any heat is what they call the Gallery, which is the interactive museum but it was located at the other end. So I did all of the outdoor exhibits first....in 15 degree weather. Ironic....but I believe I was the only patron.
It was cool to be able to see the homes of the people that influence the writings of Samuel Clemens. The really nice lady that ran the bookstore at the outside exhibits even pointed out a coffee shop between the outdoor exhibits and the Gallery so I could warm up. A cup of hot cocoa was definitely needed to get the 2 blocks to the Gallery. As for the information that was there, I didn't know much about Mr Samuel Clemens to start with. It was interesting to learn about his time on the river boat, the guilt he felt about the death of his younger brother, and even where he came up with his nom de plum. I loved the quotes of Mark Twain that they had posted throughout the exhibits. Then again, I have always loved Mark Twain's quotes.

The Gallery had quite the set up. They 3 different areas dedicated to specific books. You could sit on Huck Finn's raft and watch excerpts of the movies. Or travel in a stage coach for a while. I had a lot of fun even if I was the only one in the building. Lol! I found a special edition set of the 2 greatest Mark Twain classics in the book store and just had to get them. I now have never-to-be-read copies of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.


After leaving the Mark Twain exhibits, I was on the road again. Here is where that change of plans came in. After listening to the weather and realizing that the snow was supposed to get pretty bad, I got nervous about the passes in Wyoming and Colorado. I called a bunch of people who have driven them before and came to the conclusion that something would have to change. The first thing to go was Mt. Rushmore. It was too far out of the way and by the time I was done with it, the snow was supposed to be in full swing. The second decision I made was to head south, through Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona. But that would have added a week on to my trip and I was ready to be home. The final decision was to cut across Nebraska and head straight home. Which is what I did...........

I took a quick break at Council Bluffs, Iowa (just outside of Omaha, Nebraska) to visit our church site there. In the mid 1800's when the Mormon pioneers had been kicked out of Illinois and decided to travel to the west, Council Bluffs became a stopping point. As a matter of fact, a large body of Mormon men were recruited from Council bluffs to fight in the Mexican - American war. So I got to stop and see the museum / visitor center, there was a very nice sister missionary there that took me through all of the exhibits.

From there I continued my drive and decided I could make Wyoming before morning......which I did.....I arrived in Cheyenne at 3:30 am...too tired to think straight but very grateful for a bed.

Day FIVE

Hello Everyone....sorry for the delay in posting these. I am settled in Utah.....I even have an apartment which I will move into on Monday! Yay! Now I just need a car and a job and life will be good. Ha Ha ha Anyway, I will try to get the rest of the trip posts up......here is midweek last week.
I woke up early and hit the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. This museum is located at the Motel where Martin Luther King was shot in 1968. The museum requires you to check your camera when you enter so the only pictures I have are from the outside.





I found the museum very informative. But I must admit that the set up of the museum wasn't very clear. The flow of information wasn't always clear and everything wasn't always documented. There were a lot of pictures that I didn't know who they were and the signs didn't explain them.

After the museum I headed out of town and on to St. Louis. I had promised people that I wouldn't stay the night in St Louis as it is apparently a fairly dangerous city. So I chose to leave Memphis early in the day so I could hit the St. Louis Arch during the daylight hours. I arrived and got lost. So maybe everyone was right about me not staying there. As Steph says it is very possible that I would end up in the middle of a gang war in the ghetto. Lol! The Arch was pretty cool. I got to stay for a bit at the top and took a bunch of pictures. I evan had the ranger take a picture of me at the center point. FYI.....the arch is 630 feet tall and 630 feet wide.

It was late in the afternoon when I arrived so I had to rush through the museum at the base but it seems to have a lot of information even if there didn't seem to be an obvious beginning or ending point.

Also as I was the last person to arrive before they closed the trams that run up each of the legs of the arch I got to ride in a tram all by myself. Which I am very grateful for. All I would think was that this is how Mork felt in Mork & Mindy. It was a tiny egg shaped elevator thing that was supposed to seat 5 people. Ugh!


The people were really nice and I was on my way to Hannibal Missouri as night fell.

What day is it?

So there was a change of plans yesterday......when I realized that there was snow predicted for Wyoming all through the beginning of the coming week I decided that my plans had to change. I didn't want to get stuck some where. There were multiple calls to friends and family that have either driven through the area or live in the area to help me decide what to do. A decision was finally made to keep course to Winter Quarters in Nebraska and then cut across Nebraska to Wyoming and head home today. While I was supposed to stay the night in Omaha.....I changed my mind when I noticed that the roads were clear and I was totally hopped up on Cherry Coke. I figured I would just drive until I either got tired of the snow caught up with me.

Unfortunately, the snow caught up with me about 3 hours outside of Cheyenne..........without a decent hotel in sight. Ugh! But The caffeine crash came about an hour outside of Cheyenne but by then the roads were clear again (thank you for snow plows!!) and the snow had stopped and I was determined to make it to a nice bed at the Holiday in Express in Cheyenne.

I got in around 3:30 and was up at 8:30......vaguely........a call with my friend Laurie gave me the bad news. I-80 East and West has been closed.......but they hope to be open in the am. So I went back to bed.....lol! Forgetting to reset my alarm so I could go to church. Now that I am awake sacrament meeting is almost over. So instead I am going to go to lunch with Laurie and enjoy the rest of my Sabbath.

May be I will get the rest of my pictures up.

Day FOUR.....

Yesterday started with a trip to the land of the King: Graceland.
I learned quite a bit about about the Presley family yesterday. This isn't all that surprising once you consider the fact that the only thing I knew about the Presley's before yesterday was that my younger siste, Gretchen, liked to listen to Elvis music when she was in high school. Walking around the various exhibits at Graceland was fun. While I might not have been a huge fan, I can understand the effect Elvis had on many people, both of my generation and my parents generation. I even ended up buying a bunch of the Elvis movies as I haven't seen any of them. While talking to my dad last night, I learned that he has seen every one of them. Lol! It makes sense, but was not something thaty we have ever discussed before.
I find it interesting, that the green 70's shag carpet in Elvis' house wasn't just on the floor.......it was also on the ceiling in some of the rooms. I found that a bit odd... and still don't know the purpose of that. Anyone have any clues?
I think my personal favorite Elvis tidbit was that Elvis liked to read......A Lot! Every where he traveled he packed a TRUNK of books. When he flew on his plane The Lisa Marie (which I saw and took pictures of) the trunk was kept in his room on the plane so that he could read before going to bed. See.....I am not the only one that packs a stock of reading material. Lol!

After finishing up at Graceland, I headed over to the Rock 'n' Soul museum to learn about the start of Jazz, Blues, and Rock and Roll. Another place full of information where I didn't take any pictures. I must admit by the time I was done it was dark and I didn't want to be out by myself, so I jsut headed back to my hotel. There was a small detour to find a grocery store....which unfortunately took me through the hood........I finally found a Piggly Wiggly just like in the movie Win A Date With Tad Hamilton. Now I can say that I have been to one. ;)

Well.....now it is after 10 pm and I am tired......I'll have to write about today in the morning.