Life Lesson for the day...

So this wonderful life lesson comes to us thanks to my lil' sis...

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The Pose...

I'll blog about the trip to Arizona another time. It is still settling into my mind. But just so everyone knows....showing up at the wrong airport is not the smartest thing in the world. oops! ;)

To jump on the meme bandwagon here is my sleeper pose.....

Find your own pose!

Paper Dolls Traits and Tendencies Paper Dolls don't do well when separated; they need regular physical contact to keep in sync. If forced to remain apart for a stretch any longer than eight to ten hours, they can sometimes feel untethered, or even dizzy. But once reunited, all it takes is the simple brush of fingers, or a surreptitious foot-on-foot press under the table, and all is right with the Paper Dolls once again.

Note Paper Dolls is a Sea Sleepers pose. A possible alternate Sea pose you might enjoy: Sixth Posture of the Perfumed Forest.

Health Note Ginger pills, available at any health-inspired market, can sometimes calm the jitters that come when unforeseen factors force two Paper Dolls apart.

Apparently I am very needy......

Realizing....

I am realizing that my hair is more important to me than I had originally thought. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. It’s time to move on.

Gettysburg on Saturday was fun. A group of us went up and took thee hour long tour. I learned a lot and enjoyed the views. It was my first time there. I really enjoyed it. I was also reminded why I tend to visit historical sites and museums alone. I love to dawdle. I am slow. I love to look at every monument and see everything. This is not a good thing when you are under a time constraint. But it was a nice trip. Followed by a birthday party at Dave and Busters for a good friend, There I learned that arcade games are not my forte. Never fear I just need more practice. I will get there. Lol!

I am tired again. I think I will sleep some more. I hope everyone had a fab-u-lous Easter!

They have arrived

I have had it confirmed.I now look like my mother. I have mixed feelings about this. But due to continuous nagging I am giving in. For those that want to see it…here you go.






Those with the pink sweater are from Sunday, they were taken by my wonderful roommate Camille. Those with the white sweater are from Monday at work. They were taken by my good friend Steph with her new camera.

Procrastination....

You know I have decided that I am the Queen of Procrastination. I am not sure this will ever change. I put things off until they have to be done. Let’s take tax season for example. Taxes are due Saturday. January, the w-2’s started to arrive (there were only 2 not that hard to track down) I plan to do my taxes early this year. February I made sure I both sets of W-2’s and I was gonna do my taxes then. Did I? NO! March…….my father calls and asks if I want him to take care of my taxes. I say sure, he said all he needed was me to ship him the W-2’s and he would take care of everything. A bit later my friend Sarah then calls and offers the same…”thanks for the offer but my dad is going to take care of them for me”. April approaches, it is not here yet but already my roommate the tax attorney is helping others with their taxes. Other roommates are finishing theirs. April is here, every where I turn some one is bailing on an activity due to the “I am working on my taxes tonight” excuse. But do I do mine. No. So here it is Wednesday April 12th and I am getting ready to call my dad so he can walk me through the steps. Of course I never sent him the W-2’s so he can’t just take care of it as he wants to. The poor people I punish because of my procrastination.
Next year I am going to be better……..if I remember ;)

Its a boy.....

I knew something was a little off...this totally explains the cravings for sushi!
But for those of you wondering....Steph found this fabulous website(http://www.thepregnancytester.com/ ) that told me I was pregnant!! I am going to have a 13lb baby boy with red hair and green eyes. Would you like to know who the daddy is? I was quite curious myself. But to my surprise it was the pool guy...[and now you know how to keep them employed even when you don't have a pool;)]
Here is BoyToy PoolGuy, called BT for short....

What have I Done?

I can't believe it. I am nuts....After years of long hair I gave in to an impulse. I cut it. All of it. It is gone. I had hair down past the middle of my back. I had thick wavy hair that could be worn wavy or straight, up or down. But then today I gave into the thought that has been percolating for months. So it wasn’t a complete impulse I guess. I needed a cut and thought about short once or twice. But I have not had hair this short since I was 10 years old.
As a child my mother would cut our hair into a boy cut every summer. This means, by the way, that by the time school pictures came around we all had mullets. Any way this went on thru 5th grade. Then life changed and the time for hair cuts was never made. At that point I decided I never wanted short hair again. I have had a few uncomfortable moments where I went with a bob-not a good look for me. So where did I get the idea that a pixie cut would be a good look for me? I have no idea. But I am stuck with it. I will take a few pictures and post them later. I have to find a way to do my hair first.

Drama’s over. I am told it is actually cute. I just have this fear that I look like my mother and who wants to look like their mother!

Vacation......

It has been decided....I am going on vacation. The plans have been in the works for months. I needed something to plan. So the first short trip I am talking is to Mesa, AZ. My half-sister is getting baptized. So we are all gathering to my father’s house for the weekend. It should be fun. I haven’t seen that side of my family in a year. Email and phone calls are not the same. I leave April 21st and return April 24th. I told you it was short. I only get the weekend. But sometimes with family a weekend is enough.

On to the real vacation….Memorial Day Weekend. I am taking a week at the beach. At least that is the plan. I have the spot in the house. I have the friends to go down. We are staying a bit longer then normal I guess…. We go down Friday early morning and then we get to relax, relax, and relax. Beach, Sun, water, fun! I am so excited. We are not to return until Saturday June 3rd. And here we run into the snag in my perfect week. I have a YSA conference that weekend. I am on the committee and so I am supposed to attend the conference. Then again, do I really want to go to a 3 day meeting where they talk about commitment? Technically I do not have a ride back until Saturday. So really I can’t make the conference. Maybe I can find someone coming back Wednesday or Thursday. Who knows? It is over a month a way. Right now I am just basking in the joy of anticipation…. (Is that even a sentence?)

Mesa for a weekend......The Beach for a week.

What were your favorites.....

It has been a whole week. Can you believe it. I hardly can. Time flies. This weekend was General Conference. I highly enjoyed it. Granted I slept through Elder Ballards comments as usual (there is just something about that man's voice, you can't help it.) But there were so many great comments. I think my favorite talks were Elder M. Russell Nelson, Elder David R Stone, Elder Robert S Wood, and Elder Joseph B Wirthlin.
Favorite Quotes:

"Marriage is the foundry for social order"
Elder M. Russell Nelson

"Courage is the basis and foundation of all other virtues."
Elder David R. Stone

"It is in the quest for the abundant life that we find eternity"
Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin

Thoughts to ponder....

A Day...

NOTE: Today’s thoughts are stilted and random.

I took a day today.

My moods being what they are I tend to take these every so often. Today was beautiful outside. But I made a deal with myself. If I was going to take a day, I was going to be productive. And I was. I finished unpacking (I have lived here since last August and can now officially say I am moved in). I rearranged the furniture in my bedroom to make room for the new dresser. And I cleaned. The new arrangement is nice. It is clean and new. And only took 8 hours of my day. And to top off my day I finished with Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, one of our family favorites. We used to watch it on Sunday afternoons. I can sing all of the words. It brings back good memories. It was fun. The music is still soothing to the soul. The ending still makes me laugh. The dancing still causes a dreamy sigh. A highly enjoyable day.
Hopefully I can get my mind to engage for work tomorrow…..

The Moods....

I was looking back over previous posts and I realized I tend to write when I am in a contemplative mood. I was in one just a few weeks ago....I thought the lull would be longer but it wasn't. I am not helping by the things that I am reading. I just finished Tony Parson’s book Man and Wife. His first book left me in a mood for days. I am not sure why I thought this one would be different. As a follow up I read Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom this afternoon. Both books made me take a look at the world around me and realize that we are all searching for something in this life. My friend Cam calls it connection. Others have told me it is peace. Some say it is acceptance. I think these are all pieces of the same. I think it is all connected to love. Or should I say our own perceptions of love. I have recently realized what I was searching for, I doubt its possibility. No it is not love and marriage and all of those things, though I am looking for those things at some point. Regardless now that I recognize the futility I must change my thinking and search for things that can actually be good for me….. What are you searching for?

And the results are in....

I AM NOT A CHEF, COOK, OR ANYTHING ELSE HAVING TO DO WITH THE KITCHEN!!!

Sorry for the shout, there was lots of pent up frustration about dinner last night. So let me give you a semi-short reenactment:

Rachel gets off work early so that she can go home and finish the prep for the meal…misses bus.; hauls tail to the Transit Center (making a 25 minute walk into a 12 minute walk/run) to catch her connection, which she does by running in the parking lot and waving her arms.

Once home, the enchiladas are already in the oven thanks to Kara a wonderful roommate. Allowing 30 mins for the enchiladas to heat through, Rachel now has time to heat the refried beans and make the Guacamole. (Which turned out rather well if I do say so myself)

Missionaries (Elder Lund and Elder McDonald) show up a few minutes early with the token Priesthood Holder in tow, Jesse somebody or other. The table is not set, and the enchiladas are still in the oven; not to worry we have time. While the fabulous roommate Kate entertains, Rachel goes into finish in the kitchen. While taking a tray of enchiladas out of the oven she burns her hand, not being allowed to scream and shout curse words due to the missionaries she quietly set the tray down and checks to see if they are done; which, of course, they are not. Back in the oven they go. She now has time to stick her hand under cold water. When her hand is no longer throbbing she does, what her grandmother always told her to do, she puts butter on in. (Yeah you laugh all you want. I know it is an old wives tale, but 2 things a) I was not thinking clearly and b) it made it stop throbbing. The blister never appeared. And the burn is not half as bad as it could have been. Plus I didn’t want the people in the living room to know what a doofus I was. Now back to the story)

Rachel starts to set the table; Sour cream, Guacamole, plates etc. and the refried beans straight from the stove. Once every one is seated she takes a tray of enchiladas that are warmed through but not hot (GRRR…) and sets them on the table; leaving the 2nd tray in the oven to continue to heat. Fabulous, roommate Kate turns off oven with out Rachel knowing.

Dinner lasts a good long time. There is enjoyable conversation, and the declaration that dinner is good. But really what else are they going to say, they're missionaries and it is free food. When Rachel finally remembers the 2nd tray, the top is crispy, but not burned because of fabulous roommate Kate, so Rachel sets them on the stove top. Dessert (Gourmet cookies provided by that fabulous roommate Kate again) and then closing prayer and we are done. At this point there is the realization that something in burning. Nothing is in the oven; the enchiladas are on the stovetop. So, if you were wondering if a stove top set on low can heat through a Pyrex casserole dish and burn a tray of enchiladas black. The answer is YES. And not just a little burn, we are talking charcoal. Yes, I forgot to turn off the stove when I removed the refried beans. And that is the pleasant note that the missionaries left on.

Why do I even try? I am going back to Ghetto Parmesan Chicken and Freezer foods. Grr…at least I have fed them for this month. I don’t have to try again till next month. :)

The Greatest Day

Thursday is the greatest day of the week. I have thought this for quite sometime now. When I tell people, they always look at me like I am crazy. If you look at it logically I am right. Let me explain…..

Monday is not the greatest day. It is the first day of the week. But it is not exactly the worst day. You have just come back from the weekend, yeah you wish it was still the weekend, but you can handle going to work knowing you just had 2 days off.

Tuesday is the worst day of the week. There is nothing special about Tuesday, you are not just back from the weekend, and you are not halfway through the week, the weekend is not even in sight. There is nothing good about a Tuesday [unless you had Monday off and then Tuesday is not so bad ;)]

Wednesday is a pretty good day. You have made half way. You can see the weekend; there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thursday is the best day. You are over half way. The next day is the weekend; the anticipation is so strong you can taste it. You are almost there.

Friday is a great day; it is usually busy with things that have to be done at work before the weekend. The day will fly by right up until ten minutes before quitting time. And then the minutes turn to hours as you watch the clock. Finally quitting time and you rush out to start the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday…these ones fly by, they are usually filled. You can fill them with activities and errands or just with sleep and relaxation. But they are so full that they are over too soon. There is never enough time. So as much as you enjoy these days they are not the best days because they are always over much too soon.

And then the cycle starts all over…..

So really no matter how you look at it……

Thursday is the best day of the week.

Will they survive.......

Let me tell you first off.....I am no chef. I can cook a few dishes. There’s Ghetto Chicken Parmesan, which consists of Chicken Nuggets, Preggo Spaghetti Sauce, and Parmesan Cheese (thank you DAD); Chicken and Cheese Rice Bake (Chicken, rice, water, and Monterey Jack Cheese) and Freezer foods.

But I can actually cook one dish that I am proud of. My signature dish is my red sauce beef and cheese enchiladas. I think they are pretty good. My brothers loved dinners when I made them at home, which was not often. It usually takes about an hour of prep time and then another hour in the oven. So this is not a meal you can whip up after work. But the missionaries are coming to dinner. If I am going to cook for them I have to have something edible. Something I don’t worry would kill them.
I am preparing the night before they are to come. I can just pop the trays in the oven when I get home and dinner will be ready at 7. Tonight, though, was not my night. I had previously shopped for everything I needed (or so I thought) except for the enchilada sauce. So tonight after work I walked to the giant next to the metro. Unfortunately they were out of enchilada sauce. Did you know that was a possibility…I didn’t. Who runs out of enchilada sauce? Bah!
I have a wonderful roommate (Thank you Kate) who offered to take me to the nearest Safeway to see what we could find. Now logically, I am at home, preparing to go to the store, I should double check to make sure I have all of my ingredients. Did I? NO! I went to the store blissfully ignorant of the trouble ahead. With Sauce purchased, dinner eaten and everything ready so that I can make the enchiladas, I realized that I was missing a key ingredient. How was I to make my meal? Oh the drama!!! There was a frantic call to my mother and my sister. How do I substitute? What will work? If I add more of this how do I compensate for the spiciness? I can’t destroy the one dish that I can actually cook. I will not go into detail about the mess that ensued. Roommates were brought in for taste testing. What if I use more of this and less of that? A dash of this should give it the right kick….or not. The only complaint is that the first tray might be a little bit spicy. In the midst of all of this drama, the elders called to confirm only to tell me that they now have a meeting at 7 pm. Therefore dinner will have to be moved up an hour. This is fine except that no one will be home to put the food in the oven. Roommates are again assembled to see if any one will be home just to put the food in the oven. I will be home to take it out. Another crisis averted. Now on to the final problem; I just took them out of the oven for the pre-cook, only to find that they have overflowed the pans and spilled in the oven. Well it seems I can’t win for losing today. I’ll clean the oven tomorrow after the missionaries leave. The day should be better. ;)
Wish me luck. Hopefully the missionaries will enjoy? Hopefully I won’t give them food poisoning! :)

I Love You?

So a friend of mine discussed the use of this phrase on her blog. She posed the question that maybe the over use of this phrase reduces the meaning. Since I am in a contemplative mood anyway today I have been pondering this. I recalled a conversation between me and my younger sister. When she married her husband there were definite differences in their communication styles. Our siblings and I have learned by sad experience that people don’t always stay around. Some of us have picked up the habit of saying “I love you” when ever we leave or even end a conversation with a family member or close friends. This was a not the norm for my sisters new husband. She had to explain that she needed to hear those words from him when he left in the morning or ended a call with her. Even more, she needed him to understand that she needed to say these words to him, regardless of who was around, as there was always the possibility that it would be the last time she saw/spoke to him. Her overuse never diminished it’s meaning. It was just as important to her each time she says it.

In contrast if overusing it would diminish its meaning then would under use deepen the importance when it was said?

I don’t think so. As I recall the days of my youth I don’t recall them being used by my mother all that often except when extreme emotion was involves. As a matter of fact these words were used as more of a manipulative tool when I was young. It was always pulled out in the middle of a fight as if that would change what was going on…It’s okay because I love you and therefore I can treat you this way. Or how could you act that way I love you…etc. I don’t think this gave more importance to these words. (Then again what was it just yesterday I blogged about how nice it was to hear these very words from my mother. Ironic I know.)

To finish these are not words I use all that often. I know I don’t say it enough. I have to find the delicate balance. I never want to use this phrase and have people feel that I am trying to manipulate their actions by my use of emotion. I hate being manipulated by my emotions. But I also need to let those that are important to me know that I will miss them when they leave. I think I am almost there.

Now I am bored being contemplative and Gilmore Gilrs should be starting soon. Time to be light hearted.

For those who want to know.....

All right already. I'll post it.....

Apparently, as with everything else, I tend to be unpredicatable. But as it says I'm always in the mood to try something new.

You're a Freaky Kisser

When you kiss, you want to experience something new A new technique, a new partner, a new piercing... And your own personal kissing style is very unpredictable There's no saying where your tongue or hands will go

What Kind of Kisser Are You?

A nice note...

I had a good day today.....It was a little crazy busy. There was the sad news that my friend had to have surgery Sunday night (she just had her appendix out, she is already home resting). There were projects for work that came up last minute rearranging things for the rest of this week. Then there was the Hockey game. The ward went to see the Washington Caps vs Montreal. Gwen and Steph condescended to sit with us instead of paying for the good seats. So we were literally in the last row of the arena. Unfortunately the Caps lost yet again, but it was still enjoyable to be out with such a large group.

Even better though was what I came home to……you know sometimes parents do great things for their kids. Today was one of those days. I came home to a letter from my mother. Essentially she told me she was proud of me and that she loved me. Not something I hear frequently from her. I think she just assumes that I know these things. It was nice to hear. It is even nicer to know. I hope one day when I have kids, heaven forbid, I can remember how important those moments are. I hope I can remember to duplicate the great things my parents did for us when we were small. Hymns to lull us to sleep, green eggs and ham on St Patty’s day, Slurpee’s on Payday (it was a treat we could afford) . Of course these things lasted no longer then my parents’ marriage but they left memories with me and my siblings. Hopefully the good things can be carried on.

Now I am done being contemplative. I am going to take a test from blogthings. Maybe I will share the answer. What do you think? Wanna know what kind of kisser I am? Yeah me neither. ;) Lol!

Snarky.....

Have you ever noticed that when you get your feelings hurt and immediately react you almost never say the things you want to say.....I snarked at a good friend today. Actually, I snarked at a good friend 10 minutes ago. And now it is bothering me. All over something silly. I got my feelings hurt by not being included. And then by some one making me feel silly over wanting to be included. One of my many faults is immediate reaction to being made to feel stupid or silly. It stems from my childhood and having too many people tell me that I wasn't ....something(smart, good, something)...enough. I work hard to control the instant angry reaction. Most people don't intend to treat you like you are being silly or stupid. I usually do pretty well, but sometimes I miss the step to angry reaction. When it happens usually I will pull out of any conversation because I know I will say something unkind it I continue to talk and there is no excuse for unkindness.

So now I have to apologize..and then explain. Which is really not worth the effort as it was silly to begin with. I am tired just thinking about it. Or maybe I am just tired. *sigh*

Happy Saint Patricks Day!

Top o’ the mornin' to ya!

St. Patrick’s Day has arrived.......Wahoo!! This happens to be one of my favorite holidays, for no apparent reason. One day I would like to go to Chicago and see the parade and the dyeing of the Chicago River. It would be even better to be able to go to Ireland. *sigh* I do have Irish in my family. One of the stories says we are from Galway Bay in Ireland. My mothers maiden name is Galloway....the change happened somewhere along the line. (Hmmm....that would be interesting to find out) Any way, there is really no reason for me to love this day so much. But I do. I am giddy today. I have been wearing green all week. Not that that is really different then any other week. It is my favorite color after all. But I don't drink...so really green beer, not for me. I do remember once when I was little (We lived in New Hampshire at the time so it was somewhere between 5 and 7 years old) Mom got up early and made us green breakfast. Green eggs and Ham, special just for St Patty's day, well and the book by Dr. Seuss, of course. It is a fun Memory. I usually don't go to massive parties on this day. Tonight for instance, I will be hanging with my great girlfriends while we plan our major outing for the fall. But there is something about this holiday that just makes me smile. Maybe it is the fact that it is spring, and there is green involved. I am just so easily pleased these days. I hope you enjoy this wonderful holiday.

City Girl at Heart

So, I was pondering many things today. But as I walked the 30 minutes to my house after work I recognized my love for the city. I live in the ‘burbs. It's not as bad as it was last summer when walking any where was not even an option. Right now I am at least a 30 minute walk to anything. So I have decided that I am a city girl.

I love knowing that I can walk anywhere, I can go to the library or the grocery store, or the theatre with out having to rely on any one else. The access to the metro system any time of day, allowing me to get any where I want any time I want. [Kind of ;)] I miss that part where I live. I love coming home to a house with lighted windows...it is comforting in a way. But, I miss being independent. I hate feeling like I am abusing a relationship because I can never get to an activity on my own...(shut it....I know you don't care but I do!) I miss knowing that I can do anything I want with out having to push any one else to go with me.

I love the sights and sounds of the city. I love the people rushing everywhere, places to be, things to do, people to see. I love the zoos and the parks. I love the museums and the theatres. I love the shopping plazas and the restaurants. I love the city. I miss living in the city.