Killing trees

Sadly, there is evidence of many killed trees in my apartment this weekend. But the good news is many of them will be recycled.

I've been purging again. :) I love this feeling: getting rid of the excess crap that I just don't need anymore, all the extra magazines I don't read, the extra files and paperwork that are outdated, filing the stuff I do need. I ended up taking out two 13-gallon bags of shredding out, 3 boxes of recycling, and several flattened boxes.

This all tells me a few things:

1) I get way too many magazines and junk mail to have that much recycling of paper products.
2) I need to shred more often so I don't have these papers lying around my apartment. That can't be a good thing.
3) I order way too many things online (too many boxes!). And despite the fact that I love getting mail, I really need to stop this.

But it's been a very cleansing last couple days. And to celebrate, I just finished watching Tango & Cash, one of the cheesiest action movies ever, but I do so love it.

"FUBAR, big time."

The things I have forgotten...

- Why I love Guinness over all others. I enjoyed a Guinness tonight for the first time in months. I'm not a big drinker anymore. I used to drink more often - rum and cokes, wine, cheap beer, Guinness, etc. - but I just don't. It's not that I don't enjoy the occasional drink, it's just if I'm given an option of taking it or leaving it, I usually leave it and choose another option. I'm not sure why I do this, or what changed my thinking. That's a dilemma in itself.

- Some of my theology. This past week a few different conversations have triggered some thoughts and questions in my head. One was this: I was riding with two of my friends who are very Christian; one (female) is going to a local seminary to be a chaplain, the other (male) is a born-again who I'm not sure I realized how into Christianity he was until we were driving and he had on the Christian rock station (not that this means much but it helped solidify the conversations I had had with the former person about his beliefs).

Anyway, as we were driving the guy is pointing out landmarks and said, "That's the road that leads to [local scrap metal and parts dealer]. But I don't go there anymore because they have made me mad too often." The girl said, "You know they are Christian." And he replied, "Just because the owners are, doesn't mean their workers are." But the whole while I wanted to ask, "What does that mean?" What did she mean by that statement: You know they are Christian. Does that set them apart from all the other dealers in the area? Does it make them better? What makes that significant? This isn't the first time she's used this phrase and it's not the first time it's confused me. I just don't follow her train of thought with that.

The other part was another conversation where we were talking about the Lutheran faith and I totally spaced on why communion is important. She was talking about how she likes the Calvin approach where communion is to lift us up. I cringed but couldn't figure out what I was thinking until today - I don't see communion as a way to lift us up to God, but as God's gift to us. Normally that would have just rolled off my tongue, but as my years away from the sem and kind of the church continue I'm forgetting some of the basics. I really need to get back to my catechism.

- There was another one for this list, but I can't remember it now. It'll come to me later, I'm sure.

Timeliness is everything

Remember when I bought my shredder?

Remember how I said I was going to use it this year?

I finally did tonight. Nothing like jumping right on that task, huh?

Running 101

Top 5 reasons to run in the morning:
5. There are less bikers out in the early morning, which equates to less sudden movements behind you or those annoying little ding-ding bells to indicate someone is coming up on your left.

4. The crisp, cool, morning air is an invigorating way to wake up.

3. The warm shower when you finish is a fabulous feeling.

2. It gives you an excuse to eat a lot in the morning.

and my number one reason to run in the morning:
1. If you run before 8am you are less likely to be seen walking and feeling like a wuss when doing so.

I made the mistake of not setting an alarm last night. Actually, it felt great to just sleep until I woke up. The bad thing is I went to bed at 10:30 and didn't really wake up until 9. Whoops. So by the time I got out of bed, dressed and had a little pre-workout snack, it was 10:15.

So I headed out on the trail. I was just going to run for an hour this morning - not worrying about distance or anything, just get out for an hour. I had done some preliminary stretching in my apartment and then headed out. 2 minutes into my run my legs were super tight, so I stopped to stretch them out. That worked for about 5 minutes before my right shin tightened up like it did last week. It wasn't the burning sensation like last week, but it was so tight.

Trying to keep my sanity, I sat down and started to massage it out. An older couple walked by me and watched me as I was working on my shin. The old man was grinning...probably because he's a little perverted, but whatever. I stood and started to run again and the pain flared so I walked. And walked. And massaged. And walked. And stretched. And ran - 20 feet. And massaged.

Finally after about 30 minutes of being out, my legs were fairly loose. This is SO not a good sign. It shouldn't take me 30 minutes to get warmed up, should it? If this is the case, my morning workouts are really going to have to start earlier, and if I work out during the day I'm going to have to talk to my boss about letting me work later so I can compensate for needing all of my workout time to get loose so I can have an actual workout.

I came back and did some moist heat on my leg which seemed to help, and then a warm shower. I'm not sure what to do. I'll have to think on this one.

The bad thing was that while I was out at 10:30 in the morning, there were thousands of bikers on the trail. I'm really not used to this, mostly because I'm usually out earlier so there's hardly anyone around. But even when I'd "sleep in" and not run until 8 or so, there's still usually more runners than bikers. So I felt really in the way. I think there were maybe 5 of us running out of all the people I saw, and maybe half a dozen walkers. The rest biking, biking, biking.

I have nothing against biking, but I do feel bad when I'm taking up space on the trail trying to stretch out my leg and there are bikes coming at me and I hear them coming up on me from behind. So I'll have to make it a point to run earlier all the time.

Weird day

I started the morning with a 2 mile run - not my best, but certainly not my worst. It was 50 degrees when I started running. Can I just say - COLD! Well, not that it was really cold, because I have known cold and this really wasn't cold. But chilly, nonetheless.

I kind of wish I had worn pants because my legs were tight and couldn't quite warm up. I'm thinking I should have had a steam before I went out, but that seems like a waste. Maybe I just need a sauna.

The rest of the day was just odd. I didn't really do much work, it felt like. It was Jenna's last day and I was very sad. It's not that I won't see her again, but it does suck that she won't be around full-time anymore. She really was my sanity and humor check during the day this past summer. Now I'll be getting the mail on my own, venting to no one but Albert my plant (and he doesn't need to grow anymore), and just alone in my merriment.

So Scotty, TD and I took her out to lunch - well actually Scotty ended up buying which wasn't the deal, but it was very sweet of him. Lunch was great; Long, but great. Then we came back and went to a local bike shop to pick up bikes for our two sections so we can get around work easier. This was a blast. My office took the red one and she took the black one for her section. Suh-weet.

This was exciting for me as the first real bike I've purchased since I was 12. Sheesh - that was a whole person who could drink lifetime ago. I was very tempted to look for a bike for myself since I've been wanting to ride to work all summer. But I just can't afford a good one.

Of course there's also the thought that I just can't afford not to with gas prices as they are. I have a plan - I'd run errands on Monday's only and could drop off my uniform and work out clothes at work then so all I'd have to do is dress to ride to and from work. It's only 3 miles, I can totally do this. But I want a decent bike that isn't going to be a pain or a lot of work, and those are spendy.

I'm thinking I could buy it this fall when bikes are cheaper and then store it until spring when I could ride it again (freakin' snow), but that seems stupid too. I could really use some time to build up my savings for the bike and then it wouldn't be such a shock to my budget. But to buy something now that I can't use for another 9 months sucks. Hmm...a dilemma.

Anyway, the rest of the afternoon (which wasn't much left after these trips) I spent cleaning up my desk and checking over a few things. I kind of...no not kind of, I do...feel guilty about not getting as much done as I should have. Of course most of the workplace took today off since we also have Monday and Tuesday off next week. I don't know. I have a lot of studying to do this weekend so I will be "working" to a point because I have to get these courses done (freakin' CBTs) so I can be kosher in my job.

I don't know. Maybe I'll run in this weekend and do some filing. I mean, what else am I going to do this weekend?

Truly I am a roller coaster

So this morning I woke up, checked the weather channel and was told it was 97% humidity. I'm not stupid so I don't run. Well, then I check our local weather station and they said it was only 76%. shoot. By this time I needed to either be halfway through my run or getting ready for work.

I chose the latter and ate a full breakfast today instead. It was good. Eggs and toast. MMMMM.

This actually turned out to be a good thing since I decided to give blood today. The bloodmobile was at work and folks usually try to give if they are around (another way we give back to the nation or something like that).

Well, honestly, I was a little nervous. I haven't given blood in 12 years because the last time I did I was only in it for the cookies and juice and ended up so nauseated and light headed I almost threw up...twice.

But today went okay. Brian distracted me with stupid stories when I wasn't looking out the window. I squeezed every few moments and tried not to think about the needle in my arm, which I could feel every time I squeezed, and focused on the cookie awaiting me since those are SO not on my diet right now. And I made it through.

But I didn't run today because the nurse told me I shouldn't unless I had someone to run with me to make sure I didn't keel over. Dammit. No one runs with me these days so I decided to take the day off. Probably okay so I don't over do it right away getting back into my workout routine. But still...my time is getting short.

I took the rest of the day off though and went to see my Goddaughter Nika and her family. Her folks took her to see her grandparents this week, who live about 90 minutes from me, so this worked out really well (especially since I love all of them...it's a blast to see them). E&K and I took Nika to the pool while Grandma and Grandpa went to pick up some things for supper. When we got back, E and I prepared some of the food while K did the guacamole (mmmm) and Grandma made the salads. Grandpa took care of Nika - a very very important job.

I love eating when E is around. We always eat really well and it's always delicious. We had pork chops (which if anyone knows me, know these are not my favorites, but when E makes them...delicious), a green salad, steamed broccoli with cheese, a zucchini thing I'll be making again, the fruit salad, and then potatoes and cheesy bread which K&I didn't have because we just don't eat that stuff. Oh and the guacamole. Yummmmy. Can I say that again? YUUUUUUUMMMMMMYYYYY!

I ate way more than I should but considering it's all damn healthy I don't even care. It was so delicious. I could have eaten a ton more of the zucchini but by the time I got to seconds I just couldn't.

Nika and I had some nice bonding time which was much needed for both of us. I got to feed her a couple bottles, we talked a bunch (seriously) and we cuddled as we do. I do wish I lived closer to my urban family but I just have to deal with the fact I don't and make sure I visit as often as it works out. Thanks, Nika, K&E, C&J for a great night. I loved every minute.

On another fun note, I received my World Run Day t-shirt today. Interested? Sign up today! It's a great program!

Alrighty then

So I made it this morning! YAY!

I did my usual slow awaken (where I snooze for 30 minutes), got up at 5, got dressed and went to run 2.75. It felt longer - as in distance, but it did feel really good to get out. No pain, and the first mile (plus a bit) was about 12:30 which pleased me. I even committed to going around the cool park in our town and running some city streets. I don't normally do this, but it felt okay. I did walk more than I wanted, but that will change.

I ran with my iPod today, which was a first in a long time. I need to check it though because I had loaded a bunch of new songs the other day but none of them played. It kind of pissed me off because I was really looking forward to them. So I need to resync tonight and see what's what. The music did help, I will say, especially since 5:30 in the morning is DARK now. A month ago I was wearing sunglasses but now I'm wearing my reflective gear so I wouldn't get hit.

I also ran with my mace. I know I probably don't need this since I ran into 2 people and a dog on the way, but I also ran where there were more street lights. My normal route is pretty dark so I guess I won't be running that this winter. More streets for me! I'll have to find some decent routes.

Eating today was pretty good until tonight. We were making some calls for one of our volunteer programs so I didn't get home until about 10 minutes ago. I can't eat this late because I have weird dreams and get upset tummy moments. Keith and I are still trying to figure out my normal caloric, carb and protein intake. Slowly...I'm getting there.

Oh and Baritonality - thanks for the vote of confidence. I needed that. Sorry I missed you this weekend. I'll be back on the 8th...booked in the am but could meet up before I head home if you're interested. Email me and let me know. :)

Not a good start

Last night I crashed at 8:30, asleep by 8:45. It was insane. Getting a massage as intense as yesterday's and then driving 4 hours really sets up a gal for a desperate need of sleep.

This would have been great except I woke up at 2:30 feeling like shit. I don't know what triggered this. Of course yesterday I didn't eat very well. I had leftover popcorn for breakfast, a delicious calzone for lunch, and ice cream for supper. Yeah, I'm doing well with this whole diet thing. Oh and don't forget the 3 Musketeers bar. That was needed.

Anyway, so it took me 2 hours to fall back asleep all the while I wondered if I was going to have to call in sick, which would piss me off on so many levels: 1) I'd miss the 8 am meeting I came back for specifically, 2) I could have gone to see Nika last night instead, 3) I could have stayed in the cities and maybe caught up with a couple friends instead.

But I did fall asleep...around 4:30. Which was when I was going to get up to go running and I so should have. Instead I was out for almost 2 hours, making me late for work and missing my run this morning. And of course the one day that I miss my morning run Old Windy Winderson decides to blow his fool head off and so running outside today? SO not an option.

But I did start my nutrition intake spreadsheet. It's scary when you really start writing down what you eat. And then add in the calories, fat, carb, sugar and protein count and it's almost depressing. Of course I'm tallying all this crap up and I really don't know what Keith is going to do with it all. Am I eating right? Do I have enough protein? Too much sugar (yes)? Too many carbs (probably)? I don't know. I guess we'll find out.

So tomorrow am I have to run no matter what. And then I need to go again tomorrow afternoon. And somewhere in the middle I have to breathe.

Mirror Mirror on the wall, you need to run more

I forgot to mention Sunday how I was having a really awesome day of reflection. Not a meditation type of day, but almost every time I looked in the mirror I was really pleased with what I saw. I'm not sure if it's the style of mirror, or reflection in a window, but I really looked damn good. The only time I wasn't happy was when I tried on my new skirt (which looked great!) but my shirt didn't work with it at all. So I have to get a new shirt to work with the skirt so I can wear it, because I love the skirt.

But it was refreshing to not feel so depressed when I looked at myself. I'm not as fat as I sometimes think (though maybe not eating crap every day like I was the past month – with the exception of last week – actually helps). I do need to lose some weight but more so: I desperately need to tone!

So that's where Keith comes in. I met with Keith today to get a massage and see his new office. Pretty sweet, actually. We talked and caught up a little since it's been months since I have seen him. And boy did the massage prove that!

I ran through my concerns and fears with Keith: 1) I have a marathon in 6 weeks; 2) I haven't run in 3.5-4 wks, due to the horrendous schedule I've had; 3) last week when I tried to run my shin muscles were so tight and burning that I could barely move my ankle, despite the moist heat and stretching; and 4) did I mention I have a marathon in 6 weeks?

So he really worked on my feet and legs today. It was great – painful but great. It's one of those things where I'm gritting my teeth or laughing to get through the pain, all the while he's trying to distract me with random comments and slams. It's great. All in all, it was a great 2-hour massage but I need to go back soon.

After that we went to lunch to catch up some more and talk about training plans. He wants me to send him my protein intake (and carb and everything else for that matter) and my workout schedule. A year ago he had given me a periodization schedule but I haven't really used it as I know he would like me too. I've varied some things instead. But his big thing was that I need to be running with music for motivation, especially since I have no one to run with, and that I probably need more weight training.

We're meeting again on the 8th – so that gives me two weeks to get my ass back in gear, doing my Tony Horton in the morning, running at noon and doing my crunches and pushups at night. Or some variation of this. I have 6 weeks! And that's not just for the marathon – that's for my trip too...toning will be much needed. So here I go!

Covering all parts

Today was a very full day, but one that actually turned out exceptionally well.

I started today by going to IHOP for breakfast with Debbie. After much deliberation, much to Debbie's consternation, I finally got scrambled eggs with green peppers, tomatoes and then two pancakes with just a smidgen of sugar free syrup. YUMMMY! And Zach, our super cute but oh so not legal waiter, even gave me a little bit o' salsa for my eggs which turned out to be a great addition. So much so that we told him we were taking him with us but Frank said we had to come back at one. "We'll have him back by one, you bet!" we said. No, no, no....we had to pick him up at one. OH well.

Then we went to "I...kea, that's comfortable." We stayed on level one where all the kitchen and home stuff is. I picked up a few things that I didn't need and Debbie got a few others. I hadn't been there in awhile so it was kind of fun to walk through and see some of the new cheapo Swedish stuff.

Then, we went to the Mall of Death.

(pause)

Okay...is everyone back in their seats? I know I should have forewarned you, dear reader, since I hate the place and that I was planning to go and even wanted to go.

(pause)

Oh, crap. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you fall off your chair again. Are you alright? I'm so worried! If it helps, we didn't stay long and thanks to Debbie's expertise I barely made it in one section.

We swung into Nordstroms, bought a couple t-shirts. Then I (prepare yourself) bought a new handbag from a kiosk. It's actually cute and fairly functional. I was lamenting a bit as I drove back that I spent what I did on it, but oh well. Then we went to bare ecentuals so I could get some zit zapper and sunblock. Debbie wanted to stop into Coach to see Zoey (or however she spells it) while I just chuckled. Of course when meeting Zoey turned to looking at jewelry which could have upset Tiffany, I had to pull her out.

That's it. We had a chai and left. Seriously - in and out in an hour. That's all I spent there. I SWEAR! And my trip for the second time this year is complete. Hopefully that'll be the last. Oh, wait, we did stop at Williams Sonoma but I'm proud to say I walked to the register to get a gift card and walked right out without touching a thing.

Then it was on to Kevin's ordination. This was kind of fun and one of the better sermons I've heard at an ordination (sorry, friends). Kevin's internship pastor preached and he really tied everything together well - not just of Kevin but the congregation's role in the whole process. "From this moment forward, every day for the lifetime of Kevin's call - you must be in prayer for him and for the ministry and for the Word. That is his call, but your call is to help him through that as those here supporting him today." Very true. I forget that too often. I do pray for all my friends who are in the ministry, whether I've been at their ordination or not, but do I remember to do that every day? I'm not sure. I'll have to work on that. Note to Nika - my prayer list will be as long as yours soon!

After the ordination I ended up talking with the interim pastor at Kevin's church, that pastor's family - adorable kids, and the internship pastor. What a great group of people! SO welcoming and fabulous to hear the ministry they are sharing. Shockingly, I didn't see much of Kevin, but he had a lot of supporters there. I gave him his gift - a red whisk (he didn't have a whisk! He's a chef and he didn't have a whisk!) to commemorate his ordination and the gift card to WS. I hope he'll enjoy. It was that or a communion serving thing and I'm just not as good at buying the churchy stuff as I once was.

Then I headed to the Guthrie for round two. Last night was The Government Inspector, which was funny and enjoyable, though I've seen better at the Guthrie. But like someone said today, "Even a crappy show at the Guthrie is still better than regular theatre anyday." So very true. Kris L. Nelson and Lee Mark Nelson were phenomenal. I really enjoyed their parts. Great job guys!

But tonight was "Little House on the Prairie - a musical". Despite the rough reviews it's been getting I was pleased. I mean, how do you turn a series of books into a musical, really? There were some interesting parts, but they stayed pretty true to the books I thought. The women playing Laura and Mary had voices that were beautiful and really blended together well. And the sap that I am teared up. Again, a nice show.

I'm starting to cry a lot at musicals I'm finding. It's a little odd. I'm not sure if I'm missing the theater, missing singing or a little of both. There's something about being on stage in a show, flipping the switch and becoming someone else for awhile and being able to sing your heart out.

My favorite show was The Threepenny Opera that we did in college. I got to play Lucy Brown and had a solo for the first time since high school. My friend Jason was the light guy and I sang to him - My Moon, as I called him. After the show my friend Tom came up to me, picked me up and spun me around saying, "Holy crap girl! You can sing! Why haven't you had a lead before?" Thankfully he said it really loud in front of both our stage and music director (not that it helped in the future - I wasn't the prima donna physically enough for most roles) and I was tickled pink. I loved singing on stage those nights. It was so incredible for me to let loose and be someone else. I long for those days to return.

Now it's off to bed for tomorrow is massage time! WOOHOO! And then drive home and figure out when I get to see my Godgirl...hopefully this week! YAY!

Hoping for a pheasant free day

My last road trip involved a fabulous bird strike on my part where a beautiful pheasant suddenly became feathers flying through the air, showering themselves upon the unsuspecting SUV behind me.

Let's hope that doesn't happen again. I still have a feather stuck in my car frame - but that's mostly because I haven't washed my car since. That'll happen after this trip.

This one should be a lot of fun: Guthrie, Sarah & Eric, Debbie, Keith, massages, lunches, ordination, and a little time with the Mall of Death out of necessity.

I can't wait!

Huh...this is strange

For some reason I have had a lot to say lately. I'm not sure why. Usually I struggle with what I'm going to post. Even tonight I sat down and tapped the keys and wondered, "What should I write about tonight?" And suddenly that last post just came out.

It's odd, because I don't usually share this much (do I?). I had a friend tell me once (or a few times) that I talk too much, but I don't usually.

But lately... Well, it's been different. I'm not sure if it's because I'm feeling lonely or if it's been all these trips I've been on where I've been stuck in a car and had nothing to do but sing.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not regretting the trips because it's been great to be able to go to these places. I like that I can afford to go places and see amazing things and do amazing things. But maybe it's just been too much lately.

And getting to talk last night with Mikey, and yesterday with my other friend I haven't seen in months, and today with yet another...well, my need to talk and share with people close to me is coming to a head. It's probably very good that I get to get my fix this weekend in the cities. Hopefully my friends will be ready for the onslaught of language as well as oodles of fun.

Next week, I'll probably be back to struggling for words. But who knows?

Shoo fly, don't bother me

We've had this infestation of fruit flies at work lately. I've had them at home too but I know that's because I've been eating a lot of watermelon and so my whole kitchen really just needs a complete scrub down (which will happen after watermelon season).

Sarah and I were talking about watermelon a couple weeks ago when Eric and I were having our contest on who could eat more. She commented how because we live in the tundra, we don't get fresh fruit all year long, at least fresh fruit that we could potentially grow ourselves (if we had our own houses and gardens and such) and so when fruit season (i.e. summer) comes around we just devour it.

And devour I have been. I think I have spent more money on watermelon in the last two months than I have on the rest of my groceries. It's crazy. I usually start the week with one, cut it in half and cube it into a bowl. I'll eat half the bowl that day. The next day I'll portion it out for work, and eat whatever is left (if any) that night and cut up the other half. The next day I portion again, and eat what's left that night. If I remember, I'll have picked up another watermelon after work and will cube that for the next day. I'll go through 2 maybe 3 watermelon a week.

Now, just in case you're freaking out with my obsession with the fruit, these aren't the big long ones that are 2 feet in length. I tend to go for the more rounder ones because they fit in my fridge better. This is part of why I have to buy so many. If only I had my fridge from my last apartment. *sigh* I loved that fridge.

So I've been eating a lot of watermelon and hence, a lot of fruit flies. But why they are at work is beyond me. It's annoying.

So annoying that I took out the big garbages this afternoon. Here's the odd part of this. We have a schedule of who cleans the breakroom and vacuums the hallway for each month. It's divied out by one of our head folks in the fall for the rest of the year. My month was July and my cleaning partner (it's usually two of us) was basically non-existant the entire month, so I cleaned all on my own.

Well this month, JJ was lamenting because her partner is gone this month, but her temp was going to help her. JJ is gone this week and so I asked the temp if she was cleaning this afternoon and if she was I'd be willing to help, just let me know. Her comment was, "I'm not worried about cleaning the building." That became obvious when she left at noon and the building wasn't cleaned.

Not a big deal. I've skipped the vacuuming and sweeping when the breakroom floor wasn't bad, but no one had emptied the coffee out (which I never drink so this annoys me even more) and no one had taken the trash out and it was 15 minutes to close. So I did. I'm not looking for congratulations, I just wish people would do their tasks, or others would step up so I wouldn't feel morally obligated. I hate the "responsibility" trait. Grrr.

But hopefully it'll help. That's all I can hope for.

Shout, shout, let it all out...

There are certain words or phrases in life that one must shout:

* "YEAH!" upon scoring a goal, point, run, touchdown, etc.
* "Hooyah!" for whatever military group wants to claim that one.
* "Curse word" there are multiple options so I'll let you insert your favorite.
* "Ouch!" I do this at least once a day because I'm a total clutz.

Some of my favorites to shout have stories behind them:

* "Yoooo, Mika!" because it's just too fun to yell that during the Lollipop song. And Mika's awesome.
* "Yoooo, Nika!" because I have to switch it up with the nouns.
* "Chicken!" which I often yelled with K when I'd eat lunch during one of my various eating plans. I think the "chicken" actually stemmed back when I was on one of Jay's versions where I was eating tuna for breakfast (which on occasion, if I was awake enough, I'd yell out "tuna" too!)
* "*sigh* Schlenker." Yeah, 'nuf said.

And of course, the most important one:
"MIKEY!"

This one is essential for tonight, because my awesome friend Mikey called me to catch up. His timing is impeccable, as always, and so our conversation together was confessional, uplifting, therapeutic, laughable and fabulous. Mikey and I will always have this kind of amazing friendship where we can go for 7-12 months at a time, pick up the phone and be right where we left off. I love it.

So thank you, Mikey, not that you read the blog since you're of the "other sort" which K wants me to join, I really needed to talk to you tonight and I feel so much better than I have all day. I will sleep in peace once again. :)

But...

Okay...read the other post first, but just in case there is any question...

I DO STILL LOVE MY JOB!!!! It's the BEST!!!!!

one of those days

One of the bloggers I read wrote today about frustrations and asked what is frustrating us.

This has been one of "those" weeks. I've been struggling this week. It's nice to have my office back as my own. What I haven't been pleased with is some actions by others that really don't matter in the course of history, but they are little things that just have rubbed me the wrong way.

I really try to stay positive in my life - because negativity...what good does that do? But days like yesterday and then again today just irk the hell out of me.

Today I had a simple problem to correct, my company credit card was charged twice for a product but I needed to close out the account today. To do so I had to call in some advice. So I did, and the person on the other end told me what to do to fix the problem and I thought all was well.

THEN, he says, "So when did this double charge occur?" Well, July 31. *big sigh on his end* "You need to be checking these accounts every day, at the very least every week, because this could have been prevented if you had called this in at the beginning of the month instead of waiting until the close-out date." um, yeah, I realize that (I'm not an idiot) but I was on a work trip that week, the next week was a living hell, and I was on a work trip last week. This is the first week I've had a chance to even look at this. Not to mention this is an additional duty that I'm helping cover while someone else is away, so I'm lucky I've gotten this far. "But you need to be checking it all the time so these problems don't happen."

This is when I snapped, but did my best to keep an even tone as I said, "Yes, I understand that, but it's hard to check an online account when I don't have computer access. I'm going to do what you suggested and it will all work out. We have next month to catch the credit and all will be well. Thank you for your time."

And I hung up and muttered, "Asshole."

So that last part was probably harsh, but I was so pissed. When it's close-out day, this is not the day to be lecturing me on what I should have done three weeks ago. Wait with that until next week. And if it's such an issue, you have access to my account - you check it! That's your job anyway. This is an additional duty that I'm only covering for someone else. I have no clue what I'm doing and it's probably all jacked up anyway.

That was right before lunch and thankfully Jenna wanted to go out to eat. I needed to get out of the building before I screamed. But poor Jenna had to deal with my rant all the way to Little Ceasar's. But lunch was great and Jenna even treated - or tried to but had forgotten her wallet at work. :) THAT was hilarious. But alas.

The rest of the afternoon is kind of a blur of nothing. I was still reeling from the conversation and I hadn't been feeling well all day anyway - and the pizza, while delicious, didn't help much. I should have just come home, but I stuck it out.

Tomorrow will be a better day, right? RIGHT! Tomorrow I get to work and then get ready for an awesome weekend trip to see some great theatre, awesome friends and get a massage that is desperately needed. I can't wait. That, if anything, will help to ease my frustrations.

Favorite moments from the day

Sending Phoebe songs back and forth with Jenna

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Text conversation:
J: In the cities
M: Wave to the mall of death for me!
J: It says hello

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M: Look at you! You're awesome, Scott!
S: I know. *smiles* I mean, thank you.

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Getting 3 points for flipping lights on and off in Patti's office and getting her to laugh and lose her train of thought while she was on the phone.

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Certificates of Revocation for unused Slinky's (trust me, this is a huge offense)

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"I love that your hat fits me. And that my hat fits you! How cool is this?"

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M: Keith! I need you! Do you have any openings next Monday?
K: I miss you!!! Where have you been???? Ok, I'm just as guilty if not more, but we have sooooooo much to catch up on. Are you free after our massage??
M: Hell yeah!

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Breakfast - eggs and toast. YUM!

An article like no other I've read...

Interview
The Things That Carried Him

This weekend, well yesterday, I read a story that impacted me as most stories like this would. But this one was different. The level of intricacies and detail and emotion put into the words ... well there are no words to explain. We talked about this at work and wondered how many military members probably missed it because it was in Esquire instead of a military publication. My thought was yes, they should read it, but maybe it's better that the general public reads it first - to understand that the military does care for the fallen, and their families and respects every member of the Armed Forces from beginning to end.

It's an emotional article, one I had to start and stop several times because I couldn't see past the tears; one I had to start and stop because my emotions building were so intense I had to step back and gather my thoughts - a luxury many in the story were not able to do; one I had to start and stop because I now had a more clear understanding of what would happen if any of my friends didn't make it back.

Read - probably print and read because reading it on the screen may take you a while.
Comment if you'd like.

Just another day...

I ran today. It was not good. My shin tightened up with a pain I don't ever remember having, so I emailed Keith to see if he can help me this weekend when I'm back in his neck of the woods.

I was having a rough day today. I got some things done, but not others. At least I have my office back. That's a nice thing. Truly nothing against the guy working with me now (he's a part-timer though so I won't see him for awhile now), but I really like having my office back.

This afternoon I gave a comp-time form to my boss to sign off on. I really hesitated on this because I just didn't quite feel right about it. I hemmed and hawed for several hours before handing it to him. I got "the talk" that if I'm working late on things for work Or working on weekends that I need to put in requests for comp time for that, because "if you don't take care of you, no one else is going to." Of course I feel like I do, because I tend to come in a little late and I take longer lunches to go run or eat with my mentors. So in my head it's all a wash. Usually when it's over 2 hours or (really 3) then I'll put in for the comp time, and even then I struggle with it.

But as I handed it to him, my boss is so sweet to ease my struggles and guilt, he said, "I told you to come in this weekend." I said, "No, I told YOU that I was coming in." And then I smiled, he smiled and I said, "Is that the same thing?" He nodded and signed his name. Maybe I really do run the company. :) hahaha

I also think I pissed my mother off today with an email. So we'll see what comes of that. It's a long story and one I don't really want to get into but let's just say that I went out for a run to ease my stress and because I was thinking about issues with her I came back more stressed than I was. Not good. But I sent the email and we'll see if she does anything with it.

A meme

From bethany actually

Ten Things I Wish I Could Say to Ten Different People Right Now:
1.I'm sorry I pushed you away without a real explanation why I did and now it seems too late to explain. I'm also sorry I didn't call or write when your Dad died, but I wasn't sure how to.
2.I never mailed the check.
3.It's good things didn't work out with us, though I still miss you. I just want you to be happy.
4.What we did was cruel and stupid and I have felt guilty and horrible about it ever since. I’m so very sorry. If I had known then what I know now, I never would have. It wasn't meant to be as mean as it turned out to be...but I learned then that jokes often backfire.
5.To the others in respect to #4, I'm sorry I lied about it.
6.Sometimes you drive me crazy and I just don't want to see you, so I come up with lame excuses instead of telling you the truth because I don't want to hurt you.
7.I hate when you lecture me like I'm a child but you don't do anything to help yourself.
8.I still feel guilty I wasn't with you that day when it ended. You shouldn't have been alone then; I should have been there holding your hand.
9.I really would love to meet you someday.
10. You have inspired me every day.

Nine Things About Myself:
1.I’m very lazy when it comes to housework, but prefer when my house is in order.
2.I’m not lazy at all when it comes to cooking elaborate dishes or baking...anything.
3.I like painting my toenails but colored polish on my fingernails bugs me – not that I have fingernails to paint. But even if I did, I wouldn't because I think it looks weird.
4.I like jewelry but I rarely wear it. In fact, I wear my ring and the same earrings (when I wear them). It's odd if I have anything else on, though I own some cool pieces.
5.I’m a total introvert with extroverted tendencies. If you were just meeting me you’d probably never guess the introvert part.
6.I long to be organized but I hate doing the organizing.
7.My friends think I have this elaborate knowledge of how to find things (just call me Red). But fact is I learned where to find things from hours surfing the Internet while sitting at the ID.
8.I wish I knew as much as people think I do, especially in relation to the degrees I've earned.
9.I love my hair color (it's au naturale), especially in the summer when I've been outdoors.

Eight Ways To Win My Heart:
1.Write to me—postcards, letters, emails, notes on a dry-erase board, whatever.
2.Laugh with me and make me laugh.
3.Don’t take things personally.
4.Be persistent. If I turn down an invitation it’s probably because I am a homebody and don’t want to leave the house that day. Please keep inviting me.
5.Don’t take much notice of what’s cool and uncool. Just like what you like because it appeals to you, whether or not anyone else agrees.
6.Disagree with me. I love a good discussion.
7.Be kind to others, regardless of their age or language or job…especially when they aren’t in the room to defend themselves.
8.Tip.

Seven Things That Cross My Mind a Lot:
1.I really miss them.
2.I so need to run today!
3.I don't want to run.
4.Thank you, God.
5.Ooh, that sounds yummy. I wonder if I have all the ingredients?
6.I could do that, but…I don’t feel like leaving the house.
7.Where the heck did I leave my keys?

Six Things I Do Before I Fall Asleep:
1.Check my alarms (yes, plural).
2.Go through my list for the next day.
3.Make sure the doors are locked.
4.Pajamas.
5.Brush my teeth, pop out my contacts.
6.Check my alarms. (yes, again)

Five People Who Mean a Lot:
1.Family – I'm going to lump everyone here because I have Mom, and 3 amazing siblings, all married with kids (8 total)
2.K&E, Nika – again, lumped together because they are my urban family
3.Debbie, JB, Thom, Evans, Mark, Jeff and others – Urban family part deux – from the cities
4.JWG
5.OOF-FW – again a lump group because they are very important to me

Four Things You’re Wearing Right Now:
1. Tee-shirt
2. Shorts
3.the usual underthings
4.the ring I bought in Turkey

Three Songs That You Listen to Often (Currently): (I'm changing this to CD's)
1. Ella Fitzgerald sings the Harold Arlen songbook especially “Hooray for Love”
2. Maia Hirasawa, “though, i'm just me”
3. Altar Boyz soundtrack

Two Things You Want to Do Before You Die:
1.Visit Italy, Australia, Hawaii
2.Sing with a jazz combo, on stage and do it well

One Confession:
1.I don't like to confess things on line. I really have a tough time with this. I have things that ride me with guilt, and confessing them here is not going to help me...or you.

A check in with Mondo Beyondo

Andrea reminded her readers (me, being one of many thousands) about our Mondo Beyondo themes for the year. I had totally spaced on this, but I'm happy to see that I'm actually doing pretty well.

Original post is here.

So, I'm slowly working on this, which makes me glad. Funny enough, I'm back on my declutter mode this weekend and organizing my papers. You should see the boxes of papers I need to shred, let alone the ones to recycle. It's insane. And I haven't even gotten to my storage yet, but I have to so I can find books for Jenna.

But today I finished going through box three and realized a lot of it can be shredded. I also organized my investment paperwork into a binder (not that I have even read any of it - I just AES a little too much maybe) and my bank stuff as well. I started adding my receipts into my spreadsheet so I can fix my budget for next year (i.e. buy less, especially online). And I'm feeling really good about it all.

I did take a bunch of clothes to Goodwill a couple weeks ago and I have more at mom's I need to take as well - not to mention more boxes of crap there. But she has room to store, whereas I don't, so I need to get my place picked up first.

I'm realizing that the marathon is going to be really rough this year - especially since I've been lack of a solid running buddy since, well all year, and I need to fix my focus on that. And my time may not be 5, but I can still finish.

I also realize that while I'm still single, I have better prospects on the horizon than I have in years and I'm excited about that. We'll see how they go, and if they don't, I'm still okay with that. If they do, I'll be elated.

And I'm working on the negative thoughts about myself. This one will probably be a constant struggle, but I will say recent conversations with friends have helped and focusing on the good I see in me is becoming a better trend in my life than just, "OMG I'm so fat." Instead, I see the toned parts of my body and how things fit and the amazingness of the body God gave me. I eat better (with the last three weeks as an exception) than I have in years. I'm healthier in that respect, and I'm working hard to be greener in other aspects of my life.

It's good it's only August. I have some work to continue, but a big thanks to Andrea for the reminder!

Ahh...

Today was a great day. I got up at 7am (went to bed at 11:30 after chatting with a friend for a couple hours - we watched Phelps kick some Olympic butt again) after a great sleep. It was a little weird because I half woke up during the night 3 times but I felt really rested when I got up.

I headed to church which was nice. We sang "Be Thou My Vision" as the final hymn and I do like that one. Usually I stay until the very end, listening to the organist's postlude (as I was taught to do in seminary) but I had to get to work so I took off as soon as BTMV was concluded. Which also meant I didn't get to talk to Big O at all. Oh well...I'll catch up with him in a couple weeks.

I headed to work to facilitate a couple fitness tests that have to be completed. I ran along with Kim as she went out, and that was painful. I hadn't eaten yet - so I had nothing in my system to provide some energy. I didn't really stretch out very well. And I wasn't really wanting to run. Therefore, my right shin tightened up like a sphincter on ice. Not pleasant. I stopped to rub it out while Kim ran up to the turn-around. We did okay. I just realized that I have a long way to go. So I must run tomorrow AM.

I'm still working on my sleep schedule so after I got home a couple hours later (I had some other work to do too), I had lunch, talked with JB - which was awesome! Thanks for calling girl!; and then took a nap again. It wasn't a 3 1/2 hour this time...just 75 minutes. It felt good though.

When I got up I decided I needed to do some work in my apartment. I have a bad tendency to keep papers - articles from magazines, health and fitness articles especially; interesting stories; every receipt from everything I've ever purchased; and all mixed in with my important papers like dental forms and insurance and investments. Not cool.

So I started sorting through one of three boxes. I got through two today and my living room looks pathetic - but it's one of my super sweet traits (just ask my college boyfriend since I got him hooked on these): NLPs - Neat Little Piles.

My NLPs are nicely organized. I have one more box to go through tomorrow and then I need to file and file away. I need to go through my filing cabinet too so I can actually put these where they should be. That might help...a lot.

But that's been my day. It doesn't seem very productive, but I feel a lot better about me getting organized. I need to do this so when I'm at work I'm not thinking about the mess at home. My mess at work is getting fixed thanks to my co-worker, but this one is all on me. And I want to get this done before September hits. Because once that month begins, my life goes into warp speed. I'll have 5 weeks to a marathon, 6 weeks to a vacation (and I really don't want to be thinking about NLPs on that vacation), and a lot of work things coming up. I need to prep myself now so I can handle it then.

I hope you are having a great day, dear reader. More to come. wish me luck on my running tomorrow. :)

Okay, so ... wow.

Yesterday I was falling asleep at the wheel so I went to bed at 8:30 pm. I slept like a rock and when my alarm went off at 5 am, I was not a happy camper.

But, duty calls, so I got up and headed to my task for the day. Our town does a school supply drive every July and August and then hands out backpacks and supplies to the kids in need. We did that today and my co-workers volunteer to help with security and keeping the line in order outside as the kids and parents line up to receive their bags.

I got there just before 6am. Why, you ask when the doors don't open until 9? Well, because the first kids in line were there at 3:30 this morning and when I got there it was half way down the block.

We received our briefing and then an ask for volunteers for two people to write numbers came up. NO one was stepping up and I hate that, so I said I would and then Sue said she would too. We both thought this would be a simple process - write numbers on the hands of the kids, parents/guardians, so they would go in the doors sequentially. Easy, right?

Yeah, no. We had a lot of "My brother is coming", "My dad had to work but will be here at 8", "My kid is sick", etc. etc. etc. Sue and I thought we were doing pretty well - we were up to 900 when the doors opened (early, I might add) and suddenly we were super far behind.

Luckily, Mike came and switched our strategy (I'm not sure if for the best or not) and we had two lines, I had the odds, she had the evens, but we kept getting off. And there were line jumpers, and people who we "missed" - though the ones we marked I don't remember at all.

Finally at 9:30 (3 hours of numbering) Mike swapped us out. Thank goodness. It was great, to meet the kids and see how excited they were, but man! People kept thinking they weren't going to get anything if they weren't farther up in line, and we all kept telling them they could come back later in the day or even next week and still pick up supplies.

Anyway, we grabbed a bit of sustenance - cookie, pluot* and lemonade. I had a headache from hell. I'm not sure if it was sinuses reacting (because I've been getting over a cold) or if it was lack of caffeine since I hadn't had a diet coke since yesterday afternoon, or if it was just sleep deprivation topped with people.

I hung out for awhile longer and then Bruce said I could go. The line had diminished immensely and he had plenty of helpers. I was supposed to be on until 1, but I was really glad he let me go.

So Lisa, Emmy and I got together and did a little shopping. I picked up the bowls Emmy and I did last week. I like how it turned out except I realized that I really need to use more paint. I didn't like that it wasn't even in so many places.

Bethany - tell me your secret! Do you prep the pieces at all before you paint? Or just start painting? Help! I have some cool ideas in my head but I need to figure out how to paint them better...

Okay... anyway, Em and I looked at cooking stuff in Kohl's while Lisa shopped for work clothes. We found some cloth napkins that I bought - they were on clearance but they're going to be great for my house. I really want to stop using paper napkins and so now I can! YAY!

We also went to Target where my list of 3 things turned into 9 and was way more expensive than I planned but all things I need. Then we went to lunch because Emmy kept grabbing candy and drinks "Look, Mom! Look what they have!"

After lunch I was exhausted so I ditched the girls and came home to take a quick nap before I'd go out for my run. Yeah, that hour nap turned into 3 1/2 hours. THREE AND A HALF HOURS! I could not believe it. I'm still tired too.

I know I needed the sleep. I have been so off on my sleep schedule the last few weeks with camp, work, Olympics, work. So hopefully, I can get back on track now.

Of course I didn't get my run in, so I have to do that tomorrow. 7 weeks to the marathon. SHEEEIT!

*Pluot - a new fruit I had never heard of but these were really yummy! The lady brought these in for the volunteers this morning and I kind of wish I would have grabbed a couple for the road because I'm not sure I'll find them again. HopefullY!

Falling asleep at the wheel

I stayed really motivated this morning until I went to get the mail. Then suddenly my momentum was destroyed and as soon as I got back to the office I was ready to go home. Luckily Boss1 had already approved for me to take the afternoon off (sadly, I originally typed "night off" - I'm working too much) so I left shortly thereafter.

But once again, I took care of a few last minute details which ended up lasting another hour. Why do I do this to myself? It was very beneficial, but I was in a rush then to get to Sarah and Eric's to help them pack up their things.

This was bitter sweet for me. I'm excited for them that they are starting the next leg on their journey in life, but I'm sad because once again my friends are moving away. At least I go up to the cities enough so I should be able to see them frequently, at least as frequently as I saw them when they lived here.

But I had a gut ache all day and I realized it was because I hadn't eaten all day, so I came home and had a pizza and thought I'd blog. I feel like it's 9pm and it's time for Psych, but in reality it's not even 7. I'm so tired I could go to bed right now - which I probably should since tomorrow my day starts at 5:30 with a school supplies project that I'm helping at with security.

So I'm debating if I should go to bed, or if I should stay up and watch my Friday shows. Hmmm...I'll figure it out.

Never leave work

I was going to title that as "never go on vacation" but I haven't been on vacation. I've been on a work trip. But ugh. Coming back sucks.

It probably didn't help that everything is on a time crunch this month because the end of the fiscal year is coming up so we have to finalize so much in such a little time. I still hold fast to my belief that the way I broke up camp this year was essential but coming back today and having meeting after meeting after meeting just sucked.

I ended up staying until 7 and that was only because I got a phone call at 6:50 or I'd probably still be there. I was on a roll getting things caught up but when I realized it was so late I thought I better go home and get some food in me. Eggs and toast, baby...the dinner of champions.

I'm so tired but I need to sort through papers and find my package slip for my stuff from Dave and an insurance slip for my dentist. The last 4 weeks have been crazy and I've barely read my mail. It's a good thing I pay my bills online or I'd be in big trouble.

I'm watching Pride and Prejudice tonight (the original). I love this book. I want to read it again. I think I just might pull that out tonight to help me wind down so I can sleep. I love Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. I want my own Mr. Darcy. Someday maybe.

This...

...is what happens when I don't have internet for a day.

Byrd

Damn.

We're finished!!!

YAY! JDL and I totally kicked ass today. We were finished with our project by 2pm, edited it, then Tony helped us with keyline-ing (once I explained what that meant to him) and packaging the project. I made a PDF, emailed it to me, changed clothes and was on my way by 4.

This was totally awesome because I really didn't expect to get out of there until after 5 and even then I wasn't sure if the project would be done. I hate leaving projects unfinished. I had to do that last year because we were waiting on a letter from Judy which took forever, but this year Marty had it to me by 8am this morning. How incredible?!

So we were able to really get everything together in a timely manner. It helped that JDL did the DVD last week. And of course it helped even more that I stuck with the same format as last year for the other part of the project. So sadly the projects look fairly similar, but yet they're different. As my father used to say all the time, "It's like, but different."

What's funny is that this project is supposed to be for Mike and he didn't seem to really care how it was completed. In one way, the non-micromanager way, this was nice because there was a lot less pressure on content and design. But in another way, it felt a lot like he didn't care one iota what we did or if we even did it. (In fact, last week he told me he hoped I had recovered from camp and when I said I wasn't finished yet because I had 4 more days next week, he was surprised.) Oh well.

JDL and I are really proud of it. I'm a little less proud because last year was from scratch and really all my own work. But I am proud that I was able to do a team project, merging both our work together, and didn't once feel like hurting her. :) In fact, I was really comfortable with stepping aside and letting her do parts of it without me even there. Which was beneficial when Ward took me aside on a work matter that needed some assistance and I was gone for 45 minutes. Whoops. :)

Anyway, I drove home at 72 miles an hour laughing at all the minivans and SUVs speeding past me (and not just at 75, but some were going at least 85, if not 90). Apparently the gas issue that we've had the past few months didn't bother them. I get great gas mileage and I was so not in a rush.

I had one bad moment, which I'm just realizing I forgot to check when I got home. I had a total Bird Strike tonight. A hen (pheasant) started running across the road and I had no time to swerve out of the way so BAM! I looked back and feathers everywhere. The scary thing is that I don't really remember seeing a body fly anywhere so it could be stuck to my car right now, this very moment, rotting away in my garage. Joy. I'll check it in the morning. uffda.

Otherwise during the trip, as normal, I sang a lot and was very thankful when my friend from down south called me right as I was getting into a good scat with Ella. Normally this would tick me off but I had an hour left to drive and if I sang with Ella the rest of the way I would not be able to talk tomorrow. That may be questionable as it is since just before Ella I had been singing with Take 6 for about 90 minutes.

But our conversation was great. We're planning a trip for me to go visit him and we basically have the weekend planned with some fun activities - like an A&M game, a comedy show, fun with his nephew and sister, and just quality time together. It's been far too long since we've seen each other, so this is going to be great.

We're trying to work out the best way to buy the ticket though. I don't travel enough where I need the frequent flyer miles (though that may change in the future as I seem to keep traveling places) but we're checking on if we can use his flyer card but my money. Or if I just need to send him a check. :) Something...we'll work it out. We have time.

And now I need to get to sleep. *yawn* I'm back to work tomorrow and my morning is already booked solid. Sheesh...how does this happen? At least my Saturday project is now only 8 hours instead of 12...but that may change too. :)

No...don't think about it, Moe...just sleep.

Once again

Disclaimer, again: To my "fans", I did write this last night, well within the rules of Blog365, but posting today because I had no internet again.

I am so tired today, and I really don't know why. I didn't hit the Bell last night, instead just came back, burnt some popcorn and curled up on my bed watching Olympic beach volleyball. Deaner called wondering where I was, and he and Skip were up north in a little town. After talking to him today I'm really glad I didn't go with them last night. They didn't get in until after midnight taking the long way back. Sheesh. Maybe if I had gone with them we would have gotten back sooner since I'm at least map aware.

I was going to get up today and go run. I actually did wake up in time to do it but realized that if I'm going out with Di, Dean and Skip tonight I'm going to need my rest. Plus I just needed rest. I have been so wore down the past two weeks, getting over the cold I get every time I go on a work trip (lack of sleep, poor diet, lack of exercise).

The project is coming along great. I really couldn't be more thrilled. JDL is awesome and we've made some excellent strides today. I'm a little apprehensive about timing for tomorrrow because I didn't get to work as late as I wanted tonight since Deaner called at 4:15 wondering where I was ("We're at the club, come soon!") and Di called at 5:15 (which I really thought was only 4:30) and wondering what the plan was.

We all met at the club and didn't leave there until 6:30 for supper. This was a nice plan on Di's and my part because we didn't want to go on another mini road trip with the boys tonight. So luckily we just went to a local place for dinner, talked til about 8 or so and then parted ways. It was a great time - way too much laughter and I didn't have to drink a drop. YAY! I love times out like that.

So because of that I didn't get to Dunn Bros tonight to get on the Internet, so here I am writing. Michael Phelps is going to make history tonight, so I want to stay up and watch that (edit: he did too - relay team beat the WR again - under 7 min - and another gold for Michael). I did get all my stuff packed up, which is good. This will go on top as soon as I finish typing this and I'll actually have less bags going home than I did going out. Weird how that works. I'm really glad I went back and got the rolling bag. That was my one smart move this week.

Well...off to bed. A long day awaits.

Just like I expected, yet not

My partner in crime on this project I'm working on is awesome. This was a project in three parts - 1) take the pictures during camp; 2) make a DVD of the pictures set to music and 3) put together a yearbook.

Well, #1 was a no-brainer and JDL and I accomplished this easily.

#2 apparently was a no-brainer as well since JDL finished this last Tuesday. YAY! It's a lot shorter than last year's version but it's still great and will allow more room on the DVD that we send out to attach picture files which the kids have been asking for the last two camps.

#3 is going so much better than I thought it would.

Basically for #3 I'm using the same template as last year's. This is helping because then all we really have to do is plug in the new pictures and new events. JDL and I spent the morning going page by page figuring out what will be on each, then started at the beginning and started adding pictures and doing some layout. We finished 8 pages and have several more started. This is so great. We only have 28 to do total, so having 8 done already and a few more set up to go is so great.

JDL is so awesome. Working with her is so easy. Everything has been a compromise and collaborative project. It's great.

Yet, we're busy. We started at 7 and I didn't get lunch until 12:44. I totally didn't bring anything to snack on so that was a little rough, but I made it. Then I went back at 1:15 and worked until 5. Then it was time for a little nap and then to figure out what the hell I was going to do for dinner.

The bad thing about me traveling alone is that I don't like to eat out alone. It's not that I can't, I just don't like to do it. I usually just go through fast food, which is so good for me (not) and head back to the room. Tonight I just wasn't in the mood to eat, so I'm at Dunn Bros using their internet and drinking a chai. mmmm Chai.

The fun thing was that K just called so I could talk to Nika. SO FUN! I really needed a Nika fix at that moment. When she talked to me it was like a weight lifting off my shoulders, however temporary. I can't wait to see her again.

So I'm going to probably hit the Bell on the way back and then go through some more pictures tonight. We have a few holes we need to fill and we have to use a few pictures that we maybe don't like just so we can make sure we get enough exposure of the teams. It'll work though it won't be as great as it could be, but really only JDL and I will know.

Hopefully I'll get to go out to dinner tomorrow with Di so I'll be able to eat without feeling like too much of a loser. Either I need to travel more or I need to just figure out how to eat in a restaurant without feeling pathetic. Someday I'll figure me out.

Till then... have a great night. I'm off to figure me out a bit more and then go to bed.

From yesterday

Disclaimer: I really did type this Sunday night, but to my faithful readers (all 5 of you) you'll know this wasn't actually posted Sunday night. Long story...which I wrote last night so here you go:

What a freakin' day. I'm so tired I just want to sleep, and I will as soon as I finish this.

Saturday night ran late (to verify, see post's timestamp) and if I was a good Christian girl I would have gone to church. But I was hoping to get on the road early today so I could travel via daylight.

But no...I got up late (much needed sleep though I could have slept even longer but forced myself up so I could get going). I had to do laundry, I thought, so I threw in a combat load and cleaned up my kitchen. Then started packing, during which I realized I probably wouldn't have had to do laundry, so that pissed me off because I'd have to stick around for the dryer now. Grrr.

Oh well. I tried to just relax for a little bit and do some cleaning so I wouldn't have to when I get back. And I tried to prep my head for the upcoming week. It's going to be another doozy. I can feel it already.

Eventually I got out of my apartment (not before I walked to the elevator with all my bags and then decided to go back and repack everything in my rolling suitcase instead. Smarter, and I have no idea why I didn't do that initially!) and headed to work to finish up a few things from Friday and pick up my work supplies for the week.

After a couple hours of work I got on the road for my 5 hour drive. Honestly the drive isn't bad. I like to drive, especially road trips, even if they are for work. This one was really nice and I took a few photos from my car just for fun.



But then I hit a tremendous lightning and thunderstorm. This was awesome. I'm usually pretty staunch when I drive, believing that me and Morty can make it through anything. Yeah, no. I actually pulled off to the side of the road for 15 minutes for this one. That was really nice. I love storms, not that I like them in my car, but this was sweet. The rain was sheets, the thunder rocked and vibrated the car and the lightning was amazing - thick and long lasting. Suh-weet.

I made a pit stop at Target to pick up the things I realized on my way out that I had forgotten and then headed to my place to stay. I was so exhausted it was all I could to unload my car.

I finally got everything in and I was supposed to call my friend Garry for supper but I just couldn't bring myself to dial the phone. Instead, I got in my jammies and sorted through pictures for this week's work. I watched Doris Day movies on AMC (which were both awesome - one was Young at Heart with Sinatra - awesome!).

Now I'm going to go to bed because it's late and I need sleep. We start early tomorrow, though with the time change it's actually an hour after I normally do. Odd.

Smiles all around

Today is why God invented weekends.

Emmy and I slept in (well, 7am, at least for me - she got up at 8). We had some Kashi Go-Lean strawberry waffles and watched The Wizard of Oz while we frosted our sugar cookies we made last night. Talk about a sticky mess - sticky, sugary mess. But it was fun. I have a person cookie cutter and she decorated one cookie as her mom with purple hair ("She's wearing a wig.") and another as her dad, with white side hair (since he's bald on top) and a pink mustache. I laughed my butt off on that one. Of course his reaction later was priceless.

"Emmy bear, you decorated a cookie to look like me?"
"Yep! I gave you a pink mustache!"
He feigned that he was hurt. And then when I muttered to my sister, "Yeah, and she used white frosting on the sides of the head for his hair" he added a push-away gesture and walked away. We were all laughing though.

After Em and I frosted the cookies her mom called to see if we were going to walk the two blocks to see Zach play in the 3-on-3 tourney he was in. Emmy had a resounding "no" when I asked her. Apparently she's sick of watching her brother play sports all the time. So we went to a place in town to paint pottery.

This was a lot of fun, though a little more expensive than I had planned. You have to pay a studio fee for me as an adult and her as a child. And you have to pay for the piece you're going to paint. It seemed a little steep but it'll probably be worth it. I've seen Bethany's stuff and I love it. I know mine won't be near as awesome but I'm excited to see how mine turned out. I used the colors from my living room so I'm a little nervous.

After we painted we headed to Applebees for lunch. Originally we were going to go to Arby's which is across the street from the paint place. Not the best option since the street is hellacious and I hate driving on it in the middle of the night when no one's around. But put me on it at 1pm on a Saturday and I long for the bumper to bumper rush hour traffic of the cities. It's so much saner there. At least people understand how to drive.

So I ended up ditching the plan to eat in that area and went around town and back to my side where there's an Applebees there. Of course Em's family ended up at the Arby's we had intended to eat at which made me laugh. Oh well. We decided to have dessert at my house (cookies, natch) and packed up her things and headed to meet the fam.

Then I got to have my adult fun. Wow, that sounds dirty.

I made up the salad my sister gave me the recipe for at Emmy's birthday and cut up watermelon and drove to see Sarah and Eric. We grilled burgers and had potato salad, my salad, and then Eric and I began our contest of who could eat the most watermelon. We tied, but it was fun. Then we watched the Olympics and cheered on Michael Phelps set a new world record in the 400 meter individual medley.

Then the fun began...Eric's parents showed up and what a riot! We had a blast. They are hysterical and I can totally see where Eric gets his humor from. What fun! I didn't really want to leave but when I realized it was 10:30 I thought I better get my butt home since I have to travel again tomorrow. Fun fun!

So now I have dishes in the dishwasher and it's time for bed. Tomorrow I have to do laundry, stop out at work and clean up a few more things I didn't finish Friday, then get on the road. I'll be glad when this week is over. God bless!

Roller Coaster

The old grandma in Parenthood was totally right when she said that life is a roller coaster. Today was truly one of those days.

Another sleepless night with weird dreams of running a 5K which turned out to be 1.5 miles which I ran after not running for 2 weeks. Then a dream about a softball game where I was supposed to be the starting catcher but my right knee kept popping out on me when I'd get up or down and my coach said if I didn't play I wouldn't get to start ever again so I sprinted twice and my knee kept popping and then I focused all my attention on my knee and was able to sprint without my knee popping. Craziness.

So I was late for work because I was so freaking confused on those dreams. The morning was spent trying to pick furniture pieces and fit them into a new office for other people. UGH! This went into the middle of the afternoon because it took forever to find the right combination to work. Then there was a bunch of paperwork that needed to be done for someone for a trip next week which after 2 hours of stress and trying to sort out the funding and travel and materials needed ended up being cut by Boss1 due to some poor pre-planning by the individual who wanted to go (and the fact that the person never got approval anyway).

Finally, I was able to clean up my desk a bit and get on the road just in time to pick up my awesome niece Emmy. Emmy is spending tonight and all day tomorrow with me. We've already had a blast. We went to CiCi's Pizza (a place I've never been so she had to show me the ropes) and then to the grocery store so we could make sugar cookies, which we just finished. Tomorrow we'll frost them and then probably eat them. She can't wait!

Now I need to sleep. And so does she. Good night, Emmy! (We have to fold my laundry first...she's really excited about that! Not.)

Okay...

So now that I had the whiny post, here's the good and awesome things that happened today:

- My co-worker who's helping me with my office files these last three and for one more week is kicking ass on the project and it looks awesome! He has a pile of papers from my predecessor that I'm betting we can shred or recycle. I can't wait. There's nothing like purging a bunch of unneeded crap to make me feel awesome.

- Yes, I know there was a pun in that last line and that feels awesome too.

- A bunch of my projects that I needed to complete today I actually was able to complete.

- A form I had to turn into our finance office that was meant as a joke actually turned out to be legitimate and so I'm totally going to score a little bit more cash from last week's work trip. Craziness.

- I was able to talk the recycling guy into taking out my huge bin full of magazines and white paper. Thank goodness (because I get to sort through Boss1's tomorrow).

- I get to spend tomorrow night and all day Saturday with my niece, Emmy. YAY! We're going to pull a Bethany and paint bowls. I can't wait!

- To end Saturday night I'll get to hang out with Sarah and Karen. Double YAY! (and Triple yay if Eric is there too).

- I get to go to bed now.

Tired

I'm sure this is nothing new but I had a totally crazy day.

I woke up late this morning so I missed my 10 minute work out and was late to work. Then I get to my car, which I always lock up, even in my locked garage, and I see that my passenger side window is wide open. I completely forgot to put it up last night.

Then I get to work and take off running...almost literally but not quite because I didn't get to run today because things kept going and going and going. I ate lunch at my desk (not unusual) because I was planning to leave early. Both Boss1 and Boss2 were gone today, though the latter was supposed to be coming in later. He finally came in an hour before I was going to leave and told me he needed to leave tomorrow for another work trip so I had to pull together things for that.

I ended up not being able to leave early, in fact, I left 30 minutes after I'm supposed to be gone on a normal day. UGH!

I was going to go to Tre's tonight to help her with her house and a few chores. She broke her wrist a week and a half ago so I planned to go up and do some dishes and get some things together for her, but by the time I got out of work I would have have been two and a half hours late from my planned arrival time. So I talked to her and we're postponing until next Thursday instead. Cross your fingers nothing else happens.

I'm really tired tonight. I thought I had caught up on sleep, but I guess not. Hopefully tonight.

From one video story to another

Via Dooce

Read

Watch

Hug a child

Pray

This totally made my day

Read the brief story, watch the clip, and read the reactions. Maybe South Dakotans have a better sense of humor than those from Georgia and Kansas. :)

Link Here

How to start the day

Step one: Pick a song line to sing, repeatedly.
Today's choice: "Daddy sang bass, Mama sang tenor, me and lil' brother would join right in there."

Step two: Pick a movie quote to recite, repeatedly.
Today's choice: From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Veruca Salt: What do you use hair cream for?
Willy Wonka: To lock in moisture.

Step three: Make a wish.
Today's wish: I wish I could have a bra-less day.

What are yours?

This is bad...

I'm scratching again.

See, last week at camp, I was brilliant and put on sunscreen Tuesday AM before we headed out for some fun in the sun...or at least something in the sun. I first forgot to reapply around noon or even 9am (since I burn in a snap), but what I really screwed up on was not putting any on my head in my hair line.

I have fine hair, but it's fairly thick. Unfortunately, I had a part that day so I burned bad. It didn't really bother me until Thursday so I started putting my Bare Escentuals SPF stuff on my head to protect it but it was too late.

Then in a continuance of my brilliance, yesterday we went to the pool and NRB got there after us, so I had no one to put sunscreen on my back. I got my arms and my legs a little (though I missed a few essential spots). By the time NRB got there, my back was fried and so I just went with it and didn't even bother reapplying.

I noticed when we got back that my hair line is starting to peel. Mom said I looked like I had cradle cap. Thanks, Mom.

Today, it just looks like I have a bad case of dandruff. But here's the really bad part. I'm itchy on my arms and legs.

Normally this wouldn't be bad, but I've had cases of eczema in the past where my skin has really broken out bad and it took months (seriously) to clear up where I could be normal again.

So I need to moisturize bad. The bad thing is my back is starting to itch and I was able to avoid eczema on my back the last time, and I'm hoping this is just the burn this time. I still need to moisturize, but I'm not quite sure how to do it this time.

Breaking all the rules

Well, at least a few of them.

So South Beach, which I'm kind of on - though I need to get back on it more seriously now that camp is over and I can actually eat food of my choosing not that of Levi and Gary who, let's face it, were a little scary - has a strict thing about sugar and white flour.

Basically...it's better if you don't eat it.

Unfortunately, I not only had white sugar and white flour tonight, I'm using both to bake cupcakes (rule 3 broken) for Boss1 (rule 4 broken) for his birthday (rule 5 broken) which will be celebrated with others (rule 6) and as a surprise (rule 7). Did I mention Casey is buying a bunny balloon (rule 8) to give him too?

Oh well. We were supposed to have our Wednesday meeting tomorrow so I had it all set up with Casey that I'd bring the cupcakes over early and she'd set them out for everyone with the bunny balloon (tied down to a squirt gun so he could shoot the bunny) and then it would be a surprise. So now, I have to go to Plan B (not the contraceptive).

So the man I admire is going to come over tomorrow AM before Boss1 heads to a different meeting to talk about a project they've been working on ("I heard something interesting that I want to talk to him about") and Casey is going to bring her boss over...all while I'm already in there with him talking about the 2 actual issues I need to discuss with him - sensitive issues at that.

I'll feign surprise (I'm an actor, I can do this) and then rejoice that the spirit moved me to bake cupcakes tonight for no apparent reason. I also have fun napkins and candles/matches so he can blow them out.

Yeah, he's not going to buy that I wasn't involved in this at all. In fact the man I admire and I figure we'll be out of a job by about 8 am. So we're going into business together. We're not sure what though...maybe we can start another company like our current one, just at a different location. :) yeah, right.

So, we'll see. I'm kind of having fun breaking the rules on this one but I know Boss1 will be embarrassed. We usually don't do anything for our birthdays in our office (not that it doesn't happen all over the building) but I think we'll just shut the door and no one really needs to know.

Hmmm. Yeah. Pray for me. I'm going to need it.

Feeling better

Okay, so yesterday I really was having a self-deprecating moment. I'm kind of over it now. I've decided what triggered it were these reasons:

- I was super tired after a week of 97 campers, 18 JCs, and other staff members.
- All of that was done while being in the sun, 14 hours a day, with limited water, and 3 meals a day, versus 6 mini meals I'm used to. And lack of fruit
- The picture was being viewed on this screen I'm using which is long not tall, so things are chubby instead of svelte
- The picture was also of me wearing clothes that I hate - bad bad bad shorts and too-short t-shirt (not overly short, just not quite like I like it)
- I haven't talked to one of my hot friends in a while and I miss that, and it made me wonder if I screwed something up there...too anxious too soon?
- I was nervous about today.

What happened today you ask? Well, today I had Jake and Ava, 5 and 2 respectively, for a few hours while Granny was at work. My plan was to meet up with NRB and his son at a nearby water park, which meant I had to wear the dreaded of all women's clothing: the swimsuit.

For the most part, I like my swimsuit. It's not too tight, it's not high cut or rides up my ass, it has a fairly open back, which isn't great if you have back fat (which I have a little) but I do like how it's cut. I just was really nervous to be wearing it in public. I haven't done this in over a year. And here I was doing it in front of NRB and (not planned) another co-worker who we ran into with her great-niece and great-nephew.

But this morning, I woke up feeling less fat (watermelon helps with that, I will say). I was still super tired, but when I put on said swimsuit I didn't want to run for cover like I thought I might. I actually felt okay in it. The kids came over, and of course they don't care what I wear, and we had a blast.

The water park was great. There were a couple slides for the kids and a lot of shallow water for them to play in. There was also a sand park area that wasn't too bad, though I hate being dirty so that wasn't too exciting for me. Jake just kept wanting to build a dam. :)

After the park we went for TCBY and I effortlessly avoided a TV interview of parents and kids meals. "I'm not a parent! And I'm going to feed them ice cream when their grandma told them no. I'm not a good example." Oh well. That worked.

After that we came home and Ava finally fell asleep while Jake and I watched Freakazoid* and Spongebob. When Granny came by to pick them up we went out to BK for supper and then they headed home.

I'm feeling better, I will say. So maybe it's time for some low carb ice cream. I need to save my watermelon for tomorrow. It might be a watermelon kind of day.

*Yes! Freakazoid! I bought Season 1 and it came today in a box that Jake thought would have toys for kids (because my apartment doesn't have any). Here's the clip on YouTube in case you forgot how cool the theme music was. :)

Self-Deprecating Day

Okay...so I'm not happy today. I'm tired. I'm crabby. I'm fat.

No, really. Today Jerry dropped off pics he took last week so we could use them for the DVD and yearbook Jasper and I are putting together.

The sucky thing is seeing me on film. Maybe it's the way my screen makes pictures look...I could blame it on that (since my laptop is more wide than tall) but still...I am fat. Well, at least I look fat. Sorry to any men reading this but I'm going to lay it all out there right now. Having big breasts sucks. T-shirts bulge out so you either look pregnant (if you don't tuck the shirt in) or you look like you're super fat if you do.

My hips are are huge, my thighs ginormous. One of my favorite movies is "Beautiful Girls" from 1996 where Rosie O'Donnell has this monologue:

Beautiful Girls (1996)
Gina: I'm finished speaking to both of you okay? You're both fucking insane. You want to know what your problem is? MTV, Playboy, and Madison fucking Avenue. Yes. Let me explain something to you, ok? Girls with big tits have big asses. Girls with little tits have little asses. That's the way it goes. God doesn't fuck around; he's a fair guy. He gave the fatties big, beautiful tits and the skinnies little tiny niddlers. It's not my rule. If you don't like it, call him. Hey Mitch. Thank you.
[Looking at a porn magazine]

Gina: Oh, guys, look what we have here. Look at this, your favorite. Oh, you like that?

Tommy: I could go along with that.

Gina: Yeah, that's nice right? Well, it doesn't exist ok. Look at the hair. The hair is long, it's flowing, it's like a river. Well, it's a fucking weave ok? And the tits, please! I could hang my overcoat on them. Tits by design were invented to be suckled by babies. Yes, they're purely functional. These are silicon city. And look, my favorite, the shaved pubis. Pubic hair being too unruly and all. Very key. This is a mockery, this is a sham, this is bullshit. Implants, collagen, plastic, capped teeth, the fat sucked out, the hair extended, the nose fixed, the bush shaved... These are not real women, all right? They're beauty freaks. And they make all us normal women with our wrinkles, our puckered boobs, hi bob, and our cellulite feel somehow inadequate. Well I don't buy it, all right? But you fucking mooks, if you think that if there's a chance in hell that you'll end up with one of these women, you don't give us real women anything approaching a commitment. It's pathetic. I don't know what you think you're going to do. You're going to end up eighty-years old, drooling in some nursing home, then you're going to decide, it's time to settle down, get married, have kids? What, are you going to find a cheerleader? Charge it Mitch.

Tommy: I think you're over simplifying.

Gina: Oh eat me. Look at Paul. With his models on the wall, his dog named Elle McPherson. He's insane. He's obsessed. You're all obsessed. If you had an once of self-esteem, of self-worth, of self-confidence, you would realize that as trite as it may sound, beauty is truly skin-deep. And you know what, if you ever did hook one of those girls, I guarantee you'd be sick of her.

Tommy: Yeah, I suppose I'd get sick of her after about, what, twenty or thirty years?

Gina: Get over yourself. Thank you Mitch. Say hello to Gertrude.

Tommy: What?

Gina: No mater how perfect the nipple, how supple the thigh, unless there is some other shit going on in the relationship, besides the physical, it's going to get old, ok? And you guys, as a gender, have got to get a grip. Otherwise, the future of the human race is in jeopardy.

Willie Conway: What was that?

Tommy: I don't know, but a great ass.

Willie Conway: Nice tits. Come on let's go.

If only the guys actually said that after a monologue like that. Maybe I wouldn't feel so crappy today.

Maybe.

Whew

Okay, so you'll notice that I have updated my blog with all my recent posts. I wrote daily while at Camp, but they are really rough...many written late in the evening.

Last night was rough. After I got home from work I finished writing my post for yesterday, contemplated ironing, burned pic CDs, and finally went to bed.

This morning was harder though. I did not want to get up for work. Why I did I'm still not sure. But I did and I got through a bunch of emails and paperwork. Before I left I had my desk immaculate. Today it's back, covered with papers. I am going to clean it off before I leave tomorrow. I have to or I'll truly go insane Tuesday when I return for the week.

It was nice to be back at the office. All last week I kept text my friend RA telling her about camp and lamenting my furniture. But I'm back and it feels so good. Of course that was until one of the higher ups said to me at lunch, "I thought you were off this week?" well, yeah, but I'm back. "Well, Boss1 said you were gone so we wouldn't have slides today." Grr...I went in last night for an hour to get those updated for him and Mel had them ready to go. Oh...he's in for it later.

After a long day at work, I came home and talked to mom a little. She's watching Jake and Ava this week while my bro and sis are at a conference of sorts. I had originally planned to take them both tomorrow night after work but mom doesn't seem to think that's a great idea. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

So I need to clean just in case they or one of them does come to stay tomorrow. I am watching them on Monday, and I've coerced NRB on a playdate with his son and my 'kids'. I think we're going swimming and to the park. Should be fun. I'm excited to hang out with Jake. I think we'll have a blast.

Tonight I watched the Indians beat the Twins, which is always nice and I'm doing laundry. This is the excitement of my life. I've been looking at a few of my photos from this week and it's one of the first times in my life I have really wanted liposuction and a breast reduction. I feel so fat. Camp food and shorts...not a good combination for me.

Of course one of my trips I thought I'd be going on at the end of the month may be canceled and that was the one I really wanted to be in better shape for. I know I still can get into shape and should for it, but the momentum is gone. But we'll see, maybe it'll come back. I can hope, right?

Man, I'm tired. I need sleep.

Camp, Last Day

As expected, the dance wasn't the greatest, but the kids are resilient and made do. I was really wanting to kiss a boy (not a boy boy, but a man boy – you know, someone not jailbait), but the only real option was Ryan and he's too close to jailbait to make it fun so I just had to pretend.

We did invent a cool game while we were cleaning up. The dance is held in this rec hall with a dusty cement floor that gets slippery. We had a Nerf-like football that we started hitting with a broomhandle, which turned into broomstick base/foot ball and a lot of fun. I got some good pictures, I think. I need to download them and really look because some were a little blurry.

Usually we have a tradition that a group goes out for drinks after the dance. The JC's get their time out, the campers get their dance, so the bar is for the adults. Well, this year we were banned from going out which pissed us off, but Nikki and I were so tired anyway that we decided to just skip it. I wanted to pack up a bit and get some sleep since we had to drive back today.

We had some issues. The helicopter was going to come at 9:15. Mike pissed me off by telling Casey and me (who were putting things together for the graduation ceremony) that we had to be outside for pictures when the helicopter came. Uh, duh, asshole. I know my job but I also know that they are never on time. In fact, they were 45 minutes late. But me, being me, went out at 9:15 and took a picture where it was supposed to land and was going to turn that in as the picture itself. I did show it to Edna this afternoon and explained my joke. She thinks I'm hilarious which is nice.

Anyway, it finally showed up and a rock flew into my eye which sucked. Mike decided we were going to take team photos and I piped up and said, no. He got mad but I said, “Well, how long are they going to be here?” 45 minutes. “Yeah, then no. We won't have time.”

I also said no to the big group photo but I was forced on that one so it was rushed and frustrating and I'm not sure it turned out the best, but I'll check it out later.

Then it was graduation time. Jasper and I ran our butts off getting pictures and we had no recognition. In fact, neither did Nikki or Dale (who also ran his butt off for the camp). That hurt, but whatever. I burned discs for Jasper again, cleaned our cabin, packed up the car, packed up Casey, said goodbye to everyone and we left.

The drive home was longer than Sunday, I will say. We did still talk the whole way, and she doesn't seem to hate me for anything that went on this week, so that's good. I dropped her off with her husband and befriended her little boy who is super cute and then went into work. Boss1 has a presentation tomorrow AM so I wanted to get that completed for him. But now, I'm tired and am going to go to bed.