This is about as close to a high school reunion as I ever hope to be.

Thank You!

I don't know them all that well, but my neighbors rock!!! Sunday morning when I woke up, someone had cleared all of the snow off of my driveway, and today some neighbors dropped off homemade chocolate candies for Christmas.

Way to go S. Holly Drive!

So here is something that has been seen only twice ever, first at the Christian school teachers Christmas party, under the influence of much prosecco, and then last night, after a mojito and some champagne: me, doing karaoke. And it was fun!

More on Advent

Tonight was our extended family Christmas party. And since I found out last week that my sister-in-law is pregnant (yay!), I decided to ask my nephew about it. I said "So, what's in mommy's tummy?" His answer? "Baby Jesus!"

So, you heard it here folks. Christ is coming again, and is due sometime next July. We are not sure yet if it's a boy or a girl.

(If you are not familiar with the word sputton, now might be a good time to google it)

I May Need a Tutor

Here is a formula from page 2 (!) of my hearing science textbook:

d(t)=A sin [2pi square root(s/m)t + starting phase]

That's right...my computer doesn't even have symbols for some of those things so I had to write them out in words.

I may be in trouble this semester...

Be Prepared...for Broadway

The theme of yesterday's service at church was "Be Prepared," as part of Advent. During the offering, a man, I think a tenor, sang a beautiful song accapella. The only words were "Prepare ye the way of the Lord," and the tune was really pretty. And I thought I had heard it before...I was running through the places I might have heard it in my head...The Messiah? No...and then I realized it--it's from Godspell! A YouTube video when I got home confirmed it. My church is singing showtunes for the offertory. I guess that's what I get for going to the contemporary service, which I really go to more for the time than the music. Going to church at 11 AM seems much more sabbath-like to me than 8:30. I guess if you want to sleep in you just have to put up with a few showtunes here and there.

Quick reading update

I finished Unaccustomed Earth, and I highly recommend it. As I mentioned earlier, I sometimes have a hard time with short story collections, but this one was different. There are some recurring characters who show up again, but not in a cheesy way at all. It's good stuff.

A Job Well Done

So, dealing with my admissions counselor has been a royal pain in the butt. He called me last week while I was on my flight to CA to tell me that he needed transcripts from 2 classes I took one summer during college. Oh, and he needed them the following Monday, despite the fact that it was a holiday. Right, like that's going to happen. So I spent way too much energy figuring out how a plan, and then executing the plan. I faxed a request from CA, followed up by phone and e-mail, etc. etc. And still it didn't happen. His response? Oh, well, okay, you can still register. WHAT? I thought this was a necessary step before registration? He pulled the same crap with the placement test...

All this to say that my expectations of personnel at the university were extremely low when I went to register this week. However, I was pleasantly surprised. I had an advising appointment which I thought would be useless...I was planning on having to explain why I don't need to take freshman English, etc. But, the advisor was way ahead of me. Not only did she know my situation, but she went above and beyond to ask if I could take one course out of order so that I can enter the MA program next spring, and save 2 semesters overall. I had asked about this myself and was told absolutely not, but she went to bat for me (without me even asking), and made it happen. Rock on.

My admissions counselor had also said we could go and get our pictures taken for IDs. So I walked across campus to do this, and the office was closed (way to go, admissions counselor). But, again, someone who was super nice. This lady said that even though the system wouldn't work, she'd take my picture and mail me my ID. I got it in the mail today!

I love people who go above and beyond--thank you advisor and ID lady!

godmother

I've been trying to figure out how to express my thoughts on being asked to be a godmother. I really can't...at least not without sounding too sentimental or melodramatic. Saying things like it's an immense honor, or I'm filled with joy, or it makes me want to be a better person, all sound like fluff, even though I could say I believe each one.

I think some people see being a godparent as just a title, but I want to take it seriously. And the one thing that I love about how the baby's parents described it is this: they want someone who, if they were to die, could tell the baby things about her parents that other people don't know, not even their families. It's a little overwhelming, but moving to be thought of as such a person.

Another Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year in San Jose was a smashing good time. I stayed with Jen and Brian, who hosted the Thanksgiving festivities. Of course, the festivities started with a demonstration of the ever-wondrous steam mop.

Wed. night we prepared for the feast by ironing table linens and cutting bread into cubes for stuffing, along with various other food-related tasks. Jen and I also practiced our napkin folding skills, for which we were both sure we deserved a Calvinette badge.


The feast itself was delicious.

I got to meet Annabelle. I was asked to be her godmother, and I'm honored to be so. She's adorable, and smells like baby, spices, and soap.

We also had some fun outings. We spent a day at the de Young museum in San Francisco.

I got to wear Annabelle, and we bonded over the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit.

Then John borrowed the camera for his modeling session.

One event I did not get pictures of was an arrest on the light rail. Well, I guess it wasn't technically on the light rail, as the sheriff dragged the teenager off before wrestling him to the ground. There was also some light cursing, and a 2 or 3 year old asking what was going on. Her dad told her the teenage boys were bad, and probably spent a lot of time in time out.

An amazing trip.

There is something about the first snow of the year...

all is silent, all is holy...

I heart my "admissions counselor"

And yes, he actually is an admissions counselor, but someone using the quotes seems appropriate, and hearting him is definitely sarcastic.

I got a voicemail from my "admissions counselor" today that instead of the afternoon registration date I had picked and asked off work for, I would need to come that morning. Since I didn't submit an ACT score with my application, I would need to come in to do the compass test, which would place me in the appropriate math and writing classes.

Now let's preface my reaction by saying I didn't really sleep much last night. I'm not sure if it was after effects from the sedation dentistry earlier in the week, or the fact that the cats were throwing a circus in my bedroom, but I got up feeling more than a wee bit crabby.

So when I heard the message that I had to take a placement test to know which ENGLISH CLASS to put me in, despite having a BA in English and an MA in teaching English, and having already explained to my "admissions counselor" at least 2 or 3 times that I'm only doing prerequisites for the MA SLP, I was a wee bit pissed off.

I tried to call him back, but he was not answering my call. So I e-mailed him, and probably with a little too much edge told him I will NOT be attending the morning orientation, and that I don't believe I need to take a placement test, and that I do not intend on taking any classes other than communications disorders classes, and that he could probably assess my math and reading abilities from my transcripts and if not I could fax him GRE scores, but I do not have my ACT score report from a billion years ago...

And he wrote back and said "You are all set to come in for the afternoon session. Since you already have a bachelor's you will not need to take the placement exam."

Wow. What an admissions counselor!

Feeling Crafty

Every once in the while I get the urge to be crafty. It often ends up in a massively screwed-up project, but lately I've been able to actually finish a couple of things, and like the results.

The first was changing out all the hardware on the dressers in my bathroom. You may wonder why I have dressers in my bathroom...well, as I've said before, the lady I bought my house from was crazy, and there is really no explanation for a lot of it. This isn't terribly hard to understand though--one was used for the sink, and the other is just storage. But, I've never been thrilled about the hardware on them, so last week when we were in Minneapolis I bought some new hardware, and put it on last weekend.

Before:

After:

I also have been looking around for a new camera strap, as the one that came with the camera is itchy and generally uncomfortable. Then, I found this tutorial for making a slipcover for the strap.

So I headed off to the fabric store, and came home with a deal--all the fabric you see below (2-3 yards of each) for $20!!! The light green/purple one is even upholstery fabric.

Since my camera is black, I decided the red and black print would look good as a camera strap slipcover.

Here's how it turned out on its own:

And here it is in use (thanks to PhotoBooth)

It turned out pretty decent, I think. It's a little tighter on the camera strap than I thought it would be, but I think it's going to work.

Books and Baby Names

First, a short rant. People, what is with sticking a "y" or two in every single baby name? Seriously, the letter "i" isn't good enough anymore? Too old fashioned? I've been checking a hospital baby roll today, waiting for the appearance of a colleague's baby, and every time I check it, I'm annoyed by all the names with random "y"s. Here's just a short list of the ugly "y" names from the last few days of babies:

Lyncoln
Aryannah
Aryiana
Aaliyah
Darryn

And there is one poor little baby girl whose name is Peterline. The worst part? Her father's name is Peter. I know, it's not a "y" name, but that poor, poor child.

So I'm not finished yet with Acedia and Me, but it's not really been a very good before you go to bed kind of book. It's more of a middle of the day book, and I don't really have much time to read in the middle of the day. So I'm thinking I might save it for the plane at Thanksgiving.

I did read Bound by Sally Gunning and really enjoyed it. It wasn't the best-written book I've ever read, but it was a page turner. It's about indentured servitude, and little did I know Toni Morrison also recently wrote A Mercy, on the same topic. I'm on the wait list at the library for that one.

Right now I'm reading The God of War, which I heard about on NPR. I'm probably about halfway through, and am really enjoying it. I've realized over the past years that I usually pick books with female narrators, but this is an exception. The main character is a young man, I believe somewhere around 6th grade. He has a brother who has some sort of developmental disability, and a permissive mother. I'm not finished with it, but it's promising.

My holds list at the library still includes Jhumpa Lahiri's newest collection of short stories, Unaccustomed Earth. I'm hoping I might also have it for the Thanksgiving plane ride. 3 and half hours from MSP to SJC gives you a lot of reading time. Which reminds me, is anyone else coveting a Kindle? I first saw it on Lois Lowry's blog, and I love it. So many books in one small space! This would make packing for vacation so much easier and lighter. I would never again be over the pound limit on my luggage because I had to bring 5 or 6 books for the week. I'm sure there are flaws and it might be better to wait for 2.0, but wow, it's awesome.

Oh, and one more thing I'm enjoying--JJ Heller. I downloaded her album for free, I think from Jeff's blog, and I love it too.

Good times with the nephews at the Mall of America

Reading the Mall of America coupon book while waiting for our food at Tony Roma's. Mmm, free onion loaf!

Making sure the Gap doesn't have any gum stuck to the bottom of its sweater tables (when we were in the middle of the trip from hell last Christmas, he chewed gum off the bottom of an airport seat)

Making nephew try on embarrassing clothing...Aunty B strikes again!

Blurry but obligatory self-portrait, with breadstick.

I have to go shopping for five more hours, oh no!

So I'm happy about the election, unhappy about the snow (it's snowing), and shocked at a girl I met this week. She's 19, and while I was explaining that for our program she would have a physical and an HIV test, she looked at me and asked me if HIV is hereditary. I was shocked...I said no, and explained that it could be possible for a mother to infect her baby when it was born. She looked at me again, and said "well, then, how do you get it?"

Seriously? I wrote to a friend about this and asked where Pam Stenzel was when this girl was in high school. She went to a Catholic school, but still...are we just not teaching young people about HIV transmission anymore? Or is she an outlier?

So I explained briefly about bodily fluids and blood transfusions (she didn't know what they were), and when I was done, she looked at me and shrugged her shoulders and said "Well, I hope I don't have it!" Me too...

Election Day!

I've said it before, and I'll say it again--I love election day! I love the excitement of it, and really wish it were a day off of work. If it wasn't on a Tuesday night, I'd love to have a big election party with cocktails and...well, cocktails.

But, I have to say, the voting experience in SD is somewhat lacking. I wrote about it on primary day too, but until I started listening to the results tonight, it just didn't put me in a festive mood.

When I live in Iowa, voting happened in a real voting booth. You walked up to the voting machine and pulled the curtain, and felt very much like the great and powerful Oz. You had levels to pull, curtains to open and close, and it very much felt like an event.

When I lived in North Carolina, there was a line to stand in. I'm not usually much for lines, the the comaraderie was very cool. People were lobbying across the street, and I think we voted electronically. Again, it was an event. And both Iowa and North Carolina gave out "I voted!" stickers.

But voting here was not so much the same...There was a small sign that said "polling place" outside, not even as large as a realtor's sign. There were no lobbyists, only old ladies checking names and IDs. The most disappointing part is the paper ballot. Basically you get a clipboard, go into a pseudo desk cubicle, and fill in bubbles like you're taking the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills instead of voting for the president. Oh, and no stickers.

So although I still love election day, election day in SD leaves something to be desired. Maybe next year I'll hand out my own stickers.

PS--When I lived in CA, I voted absentee...lest you think I neglected my voting duties.

PSS--One of my coworkers has never voted, and she's nearly my age. For shame!

I kid you not, here's what I saw painted on the side of a somewhat dilapidated van today while driving home for lunch:

Obama = Trader

(I laughed out loud)

This kind of sums up how I'm feeling about the election at this point:

It just seems like time to put this up again. Listen and be annoyed.

I'm pleased to announce...

So I thought that being accepted to an undergraduate program would be somewhat of a formality, and indeed it turned out to be so. I got my acceptance letter in the mail today, along with a USD Coyotes (what a mascot...) car static sticker, and a certificate of acceptance.

A certificate of acceptance? I don't think I got one of these the first time I went to college...is this the new thing? Do people really hang these somewhere? It seems kind of sad to think of a high school kid somewhere with a bunch of these pinned up around his room.

Anyway, everything is rolling for me to start classes in the spring. I actually was notified of my acceptance by my admissions counselor Chris earlier this week in an e-mail. Last night I filled out the FAFSA (probably in vain), and today I sent in my deposit.

I'm afraid that going back as an undergrad. is going to make me an annoying non-traditional student who needs to tell everyone she's already graduated from college once, and grad. school once. But the school also seems confused about my status. Here's the letter they sent:

Notice how the checkmark for status is on a line next to nothing? I'm not a freshman, not a transfer...just....there, I guess. I found that odd.

Going back to school has also affected me in some other strange ways. Like hoarding...every time I go shopping now for groceries or household items, and find a good deal, I feel like I should stock up while I'm still getting a paycheck. I try to estimate how much toothpaste I'll need for 3 years, or how many bags of $1 frozen peas I should buy...now that I have a deep freeze stocking enough food for three years seems more reasonable.

I also cancelled my gym membership and paper delivery, but the one thing I can't bring myself to cancel is cable. Sure, I was an English major, and a teacher, which would make you think I should be against the television, but I'm not. Maybe it's because we always had cable growing up...I don't know. It may be on the delete list when I figure out what kind of part-time job I can get. We'll have to see!

In about a month I go to transfer registration, and I'm sure I'll have lots more to share! For now, you can congratulate me on being accepted to college. :)

I find this PostSecret postcard strangely comforting.

Stuff and Things

My favorite title for a blog post has to be "Stuff and Things" because it covers so much. Here's what it's covering tonight:

This weekend I had a day of joy. That's the only thing I can think of saying to describe it. On Saturday I took four of my students to an ESL conference. I can't say I was terribly excited about the day, but I knew it would be good for my students. As we pulled into the parking lot at the college where it was being held, I wondered for a moment if I might see someone I knew there. I doubted it, and went in.

We arrived a little late, even having left at 7 AM, so when we walked into the first workshop it was a quick dash to find open chairs. I sat down and tried to concentrate on the activity being described, but since I was sitting squarely in the middle of the room, I wanted to take a better look around the room. I like to see everyone else during a class--I almost always side on the edge of a room. So I looked around, and saw 2 of my classmates from graduate school in California! It was such an amazing surprise. I'm not entirely sure what the rest of the workshop was about, being too busy wondering about them and their lives, etc. It turned out that there was another one of our colleagues at the conference too, so it ended up being a really great time of catching up and reliving a few memories.

I described it, maybe not so successfully, to a friend as being a "feast day." What I meant is that moving back to CA when I did felt like a feast...I was surrounded by an incredible community. And moving to SD has often felt like famine, at least when I'm not spending time with my family. Relationships take a long time to build, and it's been hard to find people I feel like I have things in common with. So seeing my classmates was one of those feast days, a day when I felt like part of a community again.

Another topic covered by "stuff and things" is that my plan to go back to school in January is moving along. Currently my application is being reviewed, and they will have a decision about my admission in a few weeks. Really? I sort of thought the whole application thing was a formality, at least the undergraduate part. Ah, well, hopefully they choose wisely.

A funny moment, also covered by "stuff and things," happened to me today at the library. I had a few minutes to kill before participating in a focus group about the cars classified section of the local paper (earned $25-whoohoo!), so I stopped by our friendly public library. I browsed the new books, hoping for something to jump out at me. Nothing did, so I read a few dustjackets and picked one that looks okay. I brought it to the counter, and after scanning my card the librarian wanted to confirm that I had cancelled my hold on a recipe book for ricecookers. Feeling compelled to share too much information in a retail-type setting (a side effect of living in the midwest), I told her that I had decided to purchase the book instead of borrowing it. She said "Yeah, there are just some books you have to have." And then, the great part of the story, is that she lowered her head a little and leaned in, a sparkle in her eye, like she was telling me a very intriguing secret, and said "I have a lot of books about cat behavior." She made my night.

The Church

I just got home from church, and it was so good. I'm having a hard time pinpointing exactly what I want to say about that, but it's something along the lines of feeling a deep appreciation for finding a place where the Bible and God are central, but it's a community of people who are committed to being honest with one another, discussing ideas openly, and disagreeing with one another. I'm sure it happens other places too, so I'll just say I'm blessed to have found it.

Yay for SLP!

So right now my college class is evaluating me...hope it's going well. Anyway, I can't be in the room, so I'm spending a few minutes here in my office. (My keys are safely in my pocket for the remainder of the night)

Today I shadowed an SLP (Speech and Language Pathologist), and it was awesome. She works with people with disabilities, and does mostly adaptive technology and "speech stories," which are pictures that tell a story or a schedule. Very cool. It definitely confirmed that it's something I want to pursue. I'm not sure I'd want to work in the setting she does, but we got to talk about a lot of different aspects of the job, and it sounds really cool. Hooray for SLP!

Fall/Winter Tidbit

My hair is getting longer, maybe even long-ish, and there's one big benefit for the winter--it keeps your ears warm! Just thought you all should know that.

My Shadow

I'm so excited about tomorrow. No, it's not that I heart Columbus Day, or Native American Day as it's known here in SD. Although neither of those is bad....well, maybe Columbus Day is bad if you're a Native American, I don't know...

But I'm excited because tomorrow I'm going to shadow a Speech and Language Pathologist, which is what I'm going to be going back to school for. The person I'm going to shadow works with adults with developmental disabilities, so I'm really interested to see how that goes. I'm afraid that doing this though will make the last 2 and a half months of work go even more slowly. Oh well, what are you going to do? I found out I'll be going on a work trip about a week and a half before I leave my job, so that ought to be fun.

Since I'm sure many, many of you are eager to know more about speech and language pathology, I'll give you an update after tomorrow. Oh, and after I teach my class tomorrow night and then go to sleep, exhausted from teaching intensely about the sheltered instruction observation protocol.

More later!

Some bullet points

Nothing coherent tonight, but here are some bullet points:

• I am officially disillusioned with Obama. I'd like to still think he's a little better than the rest, but he's pretty darn close to being just like all the other politicians. Maybe Nader should get a better chance next time around.

• I drove around most of rural SE SD today, and one school I stopped at was having Spirit Week. There was a poster in the hall of all the spirit days, and one caught my eye--"Cowboys and Indians Day." For real. And the description under the day was hilarious--"Remember the game Cowboys and Indians? We dress like them."

• I spent at least an hour and a half tonight picking up sticks from my front yard. More like twigs, mostly. Do you know how boring and irritating it is to pick up thousands of twigs from inbetween rocks and grass and plants? Grrr. It also tore up my hands. I should've known I'm more of a townhouse/condo girl. I need to find a neighbor kid to be a stick picker-upper. I've probably scared all the kids off though. A few weeks back someone rang my doorbell, and I knew it was one of the neighbor kids because they had been playing outside. So I outsmarted them. I knew they would come back to look if I went outside or to do it again, so I stood by my front door. As the little girl from next door came whipping around the corner, I was standing right there. I opened the door and asked her if she needed anything, and she said no. I asked if she had rung the doorbell, and of course she said no. I think the teacher voice/look worked because she hasn't been back since.

• I am not buying any Halloween candy this year. Last year my hopes and dreams for handing out Halloween candy were dashed when only 1 little kid came by. Never again. This year it's dark and blinds for anyone who tries it.
  

The Dark

This darkness is going to kill me. Not the metaphorical darkness either, but this dang getting dark in the middle of the day business. Seriously, I looked out on the lawn and thought about mowing, but it was already dusk at 6:45 tonight. Driving home from the grocery store at 7:30, it was pitch black. And for some reason, it just doesn't feel right to be all up and about doing things when it's pitch black outside. It makes my body think it's time to curl up on the couch under a blanket. Bah!

On the topic of darkness, I've been reading Kathleen Norris' latest book, Acedia and Me: A Marriage, Monks, and a Writer's Life. I like it for a couple of reasons. The first is that I can relate to the restless, always wanting change part of acedia. I get that. I also like it because it lets the reader in on things that were just sort of thrown out there in her other books. She mentioned her husband's breakdowns in other books, but you really get to know it here. Perhaps I'm a little too nosy, but with this one it feels like you know what was really going on when she wrote the others.

Since a trinity of topics usually makes something better, I'll come up with a third. Did you know that on Blogger you can have followers? And I have one! How cool is that?

Note to self: Do not ever leave keys on your desk at your adjuncting job and close the self-locking door. If you do so, you will have to use a student's cell phone to call campus security since with all the construction you can't find a public phone. Campus security will tell you they don't have a key for faculty offices, but they will try anyway. They will come and try their one magic key, but it will not work. They will tell you that maintenance has a key, but they won't be on campus until 11pm, which has you arriving home at about 12:30 AM. You will need to call the dean who gave you her home phone number, but who is now in Tennessee. You will then try the head of the department whose pod so graciously houses your office, but he will not be home either.

Then, miraculously, one of your students will know an emergency maintenance number and will dial it for you. You will talk to an understandably grumpy man who is 10 miles out of town but will ever so slightly grudgingly come back to let you in to your office. Your class will cheer when you return with your purse and other belongings, and you will be much, much more careful next time.

Check

So, a decision has been made. I'm going back to school in January! Yay! I'm super excited about it. I just applied online last night, and since I'm applying as an undergrad. to do some prerequisites before entering an M.A. program, they asked for my high school transcripts. Seriously? I'm hoping we can forego that. I kind of had forgotten that high schools had transcripts...

Anyway, so that's the really exciting news. In other news, I went to the zoo last weekend with my family, which was awesome. There were tons of exciting animals, and two giraffes getting it on. Those pictures are not blog appopriate, or at least I'd feel weird posting them.

So here's an animal that made me laugh: A bashful sun bear.

When I make decisions I feel the need to talk about them, incessantly. And right now I'm thinking about decisions...what to do in the next few months, years, etc. I think I've chosen (go back to school, again), but before I make it official I think I need to talk about it more.

Maybe it's dramatic, but making a decision like going back to school seems so much more weighty now than it did when I went back one year after college. Granted, a lot has changed since then, but now it feels like a much more final decision. It's probably because my 30th birthday is around the corner, and I'm still not sure what I want to do with my life.

That's not exactly true either, though. Teaching a college class has made things more clear...teaching is definitely my calling, it's just a matter of where and who. And as much as being almost 30 makes me feel like I should pick a path and stick to it, I also recognize there's a whole lot of time left to do different things. Someone once asked me if my family thinks I'm "flighty," and I wasn't sure how to take it. I'm still not, but I recognize why he asked.

Anyway, I suppose in total there's not much to say tonight, but like I said, I needed to talk about it.

It's back

I've been without a microwave for 3 weeks, and yesterday it came back! I should or could probably write some long reflection on how taking more time to prepare food made me more aware of where my food comes from, etc., etc., but I'm really just thankful that heating up lunch won't take up my whole lunch break anymore.

not sleeping yet...

I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to sleep right now, even though it's past my bedtime. So I'm staying up trying to get tired (in lieu of taking drugs), but it doesn't seem to be working. It may be another melatonin night...

So while I'm not sleeping, I've decided to write a bit. Not about anything particularly interesting, just things. I spent most of today trying to set up a wireless router for my brother, and again realized why I love the Mac. After 2 or 3 hours of trying to figure it out, I could not. I ended up writing the helpdesk for his ISP (they're not open on Sundays), and got an e-mail back that I had to reboot the modem. Duh. Except for one thing...I'm not sure where it is. His ethernet cable plugs directly into the wall. Am I supposed to unscrew the plate covering it? Is it hiding on the other side of the wall? I'm not sure...it will take more investigating.

I had then planned to go to my office (yes, adjuncts get offices!) and work on tomorrow's lesson plan, but my nephew was too darn cute to leave. I'll save you the "he's so cute" stories, and just say that when I kissed him goodby he said "do it again," and screamed at me out the window as I left. Ah, the affections of a 2 year old.

Even with the playing around with him, I had planned to go to an English faculty reading. But, that would have meant missing a walk with my brother and sister-in-law and said cute nephew. I couldn't do it, and the walk was something I really needed anyway. A good choice I think.

Driving back, I was pleased to be able to once again listed to podcasts on my iPod, after having the cigarette lighter fixed. Who knew that if a penny got stuck in there it would short out? Okay, maybe you did, but I didn't. And I didn't put the penny in there on purpose. I just found it that way, really. I was pleasantly surprised that the repair cost me only $1. Seriously, I don't usually get out of there for under $200. And I also learned they're not called cigarette lighters anymore, but something like "power port," or whatever. Regardless, I'm happy it's fixed. I always figured that having a phone charger in my car would save me if ever trapped out in the snow, and in order for that to work, the "power port" must be functional. I'll have to watch out for those rogue pennies though...

Anyway, I'm sorta tired now, and seeing as how I do have to get up regardless of when I fall asleep, I'm going to go find a sleeping pill and wait for the cats to get in cahoots with one another to decide what tonight's uncomfortable sleeping predicament will look like.

Class!

If my cat would stop licking my computer, I'd like to write and tell you about class. (Kitties must like the MacBook Pro too!)

Class is awesome. Basically, teaching college kids rocks. At least upper level ones who are interested in your class and what you are teaching. I've never taught a required class (or any other college class before), but I'd imagine it's different.

These kids (can I call them that?) are awesome to teach. Seriously, I think that this is what I was trying to do the whole time I was teaching middle school. In thinking about that, I've realized that I was almost always disappointed with the outcome of what I'd planned with my middle schoolers. I've been planning the same types of activities with college kids, and it works. Maybe I was expecting too much from 7th and 8th graders.

Oh, and these guys are actually interested in the topic for something other than a grade. I had 2 girls (there is only one guy in the class) come up to talk with me about topics during our breaks last week. That NEVER would have happened in middle school. Here I get to share stories and outside resources with the students, and they're interested.

These guys are also polite. Last week a girl was eating chips in class and I asked her to stop. She came up and apologized after class. This week a girl had her cell phone ring in class, and the guy (the only one) was late, and both of them came up to apologize after class. Amazing...that definitely doesn't happen in middle school. In middle school you're lucky they're not farting on purpose during class.

Enough oohing and aahing over my college kids. Let's just say I love 'em.

Me and My Boy

And all the rabbits went home...

It's been tough to write lately. Some of it's busyness, but some of it is also feeling aggravated a lot, and not really wanting to write incredibly boring or lame posts. I'm over that though, recognizing that no one is forced to read. :)

The aggravation is mostly work-related, as I am feeling like I don't really agree with what's going on there, and how the program I work for is working (or not working). So that kind of leaves me flat at the end of the day, and with a vast amount of discontent. I'm not really sure what to do with that, except maybe use it as incentive to get my butt to the gym. We shall see.

So since work is not at the top of my enjoyment list right now, I have really been enjoying my free time. I include teaching my class in there, and I'm really, really liking it. I think it's something I'd like to keep doing. I'm not sure about full time b/c that would probably involve moving again and a PhD, neither of which I'm ready to do right now. But it's definitely something I am feeling like is a great outlet. The first class was scary, and sweaty (so dang hot in the building), but the last one (my second) was really good. I know the students a bit now, and they're a lot of fun. I did have to ask a girl to stop eating chips during class, and felt a bit bitchy when she said she didn't have time for dinner, but oh well...chip eating during class is annoying.

I've also been hanging out with the family, and this weekend we went to the county fair with one of my nephews and his fam. We ate all the typical fair foods, watched a big cat show (my mom and sister-in-law thought it was going to be oversized domestic cats...it was tigers), and walked through many an animal barn. All night I wanted to go to the poultry/rabbit barn because my nephew loves bunnies. Alas, when we got there, all the cages were empty and there was sawdust piled on the floor. All the bunnies had gone home.

Here are some pictures of what they did have at thefair:


Llamas, and I kid you not, some of them were in costume.

Pigs in the swine barn. Baby pigs were promised, but not delivered.

What I can only call "farm implements," because I don't know the names of really any of the machinery. I do know that family wanted pictures taken in the machinery, but my nephew was not so into the plan.

The fair also had duckies you could pluck out of a pond for $2, and earn this incredibly loud horn. Thankfully the horn had to go "nigh night" before we got in the car.
The fair in all its glory

So I was reading Engrish.com tonight, and came across this, which reminded me of a good story from this summer. My parents took a vacation at the same time as my brother and sister-in-law, which meant they could hang out with my nephew a whole bunch. So one day they're at the park, and my nephew must have found a few other kids to play with. My parents were talking to them, and this is how my dad explained what happened next. He said "Well, I asked him if he wanted some candy. I told him he could come over to my car and I would give him some candy." At which point I shrieked "You did not!! That's totally what a kidnapper does." And my dad said "Well, I wasn't going to kidnap him. But he said he couldn't come over to my car, so I left the candy by his bike."

It might be way funnier if you know my dad, but I thought it was pretty darn funny.

random

Did you ever notice that anytime there's a computer used on a commercial or a tv show, it's a Mac? For reals, check it out.

So, more things...

I started teaching my class last night, and I was really quite pleased with how it went. I was kind of freaking out before it started, especially with a pile of copying to do and a copy machine that is also a printer, which meant my piles of copies were obscuring real professors' printouts. Not a good first impression.

Anyway, the kids (can I call them that?) seem cool. I've got eight girls and one guy, and so far all of them seem to want to be there, at least nominally. That's already an improvement from middle school. I did find myself saying things to them that only really apply if they're 12. Like I handed out post-it notes for an activity, and as I was giving them to the groups, I was saying "Please do not do anything with the post-it notes until I tell you to." I'm pretty sure now that wasn't necessary.

Preparing for my class was pretty much the bulk of my Labor Day weekend. I did get a chance to hang out with Ang and Ryan and child, so that was awesome too. Tonight I watched the last episode of The Wire. Awesome.

Random thought for today--although the threat of winter is an awful thought, cooler September weather is nice for mowing lawn.

So, things...

Things are starting, and it's freaking me out. I'll be teaching a college class for the first time this semester, and it's a little terrifying. I was wondering why I was having the beginning of the year teaching nightmares, and recently realized this is why. My brain was just mixed up and put middle-schoolers in the dreams instead of college students.

I'm also totally excited. So if any of my students are googling me and find this, know that I am totally excited and will be over the fear soon enough.

It was also an exciting day on the lake...a bunch of the family was out on the boat, and it was really hot. It might gross you out, but it was the hot kind of day where you sweat through your swimming suit in the most inopportune places. So we stopped to swim, which when well for a while. I dove in, and even got to swim with my nephew for a few minutes before he freaked out. My sister-in-law was about to jump in when she dropped the ladder on her foot and sliced her toe open.

I'm not sure if it's a well-known fact, but I'm not good with other people's blood, and wow, was there blood. It turns out the ladder sliced her toe right down the top, basically severing it into two parts. And the whole time this was going on, I was in the water, right below the back of the boat and the toe-blood. The poor girl was also in so much pain (and probably in shock) that she was coming in and out of consciousness. Let's just say it was an ordeal to get back to the house and up the stairs from the dock. My job, after getting back on the boat through the blood pool, was to keep my nephew from not freaking out because his mom was bleeding.

Anyway, she's okay, and doesn't need a prosethetic toe, as one of my brothers was joking. I have to say it did turn my stomach in knots though.

And now, more of Season 5 of The Wire. It's so good.

Summer doesn't really lend itself to writing, so here's the update. More hanging out at the lakes, and this week a few days for work at a county fair in rural SD. That was interesting...real farmers in Wranglers and boots, old creepy men, and a hot tub salesman who hand-wrote his signs.

Sometimes You Learn Something at the Grocery Store

Sometimes I learn things in weird ways. Like I occasionally have these strange but very instructive dreams, where when I wake up, I feel as though I've actually gained real insight into some kind of experience or situation. I can't really explain it, but I'm always thankful when I wake up and feel like I learned something. Very efficient.

Anyway, last night I learned things at the grocery store. I realized what I'm going to write is probably stuff that normal people know. However, I do not know a lot of things normal people here know, like how to take care of a lawn, run a lawn mower, or really anything else that has to do with the outdoors. I digress...let's just say I'd like to be more domestic than I am sometimes.

The biggest thing I learned is that you can buy just 1 piece of meat at the meat counter if you want. (I know...you already knew that) It may have to do with the fact that my family ate out for almost every one of my growing up meals, but for some reason it never dawned on me that you can buy just as much of something as you want at the meat counter. As a singleton and someone who doesn't especially love meat, I don't buy it a lot--the 12 pack of chicken breasts just doesn't seem very economical.

But I've had a bit of a grilling thing going on this summer. A couple weeks back I attempted a Korean BBQ recipe, after hearing from someone at my old church about this summer's picnic with the Korean church. The recipe I picked turned out good, so I saw a grilled pork with peaches recipe and thought I'd give it a try. But what to do with the 3 other pork chops in the package? Aha--the meat counter. I bought 1 pork chop, and the guy didn't even look at me funny. I also didn't waste any extra meat or have to spend an hour wrapping and freezing the other portions. Ingenious. And tasty.

The other thing I learned is that only Hispanics eat garbanzo beans. Seriously, not a chick pea to be found outside of the Hispanic foods section. I stared at the beans for probably 5 minutes, stumped by what I would use to make hummus if there were no chick peas...I saw every other kind of bean, including one called "red beans." Aren't most of them red? Anyway, then I was schooled by the midwestern grocery arrangement--only Hispanics eat chick peas. They also only eat imported chick peas. Who knew?

I'm going to make fun of people now

so if you don't like it, quit reading. Oh, and they're anonymous people, if that changes things for you.

My mom came up to hang out last night, and we went to one of favorite Italian restaurants here. It's been around for a long time, but they just moved into a new fancy-schmancy building that looks like it's trying to imitate the Cheesecake Factory decor, which is strange because it's an Italian restaurant. I don't know, maybe bland but gigantic and noisy wins.

Anyway, we sat outside on the patio, which put us quite close to the table next to us. As we were checking out the menu and realizing this new building also dictated a price increase, the girl across from us grabbed the oil and vinegar and started telling her boyfriend she wasn't sure she wanted soy sauce on her bread. Despite her hesitation, she dripped a little bit on her bread plate, and put the olive oil on her boyfriend's. She tasted it, but still wasn't quite sure...I laughed internally.

While we were eating our dinner, our waiter served other tables around us, also calling them things like "my lady" and "big boss." I could hear him a couple of tables behind us when a man must have asked a question about the menu. The waiter proceeded to explain what a "Mira pox" is, and I kid you not, he said "mira pox" at least ten times. Now this is kind of a snotty one, and I don't really expect your average citizen to know how to pronounce mirepoix, or know what it is, but I do have higher expectations of wait staff. Especially irritating ones who call me "milady" all night. My silly brain kept thinking "A mira pox on both your houses!"

It was good entertainent.

Blog, schmog...

So I'm still not sure I have much to say, so here's some random stuff that you may or may not be interested to know. And yes, this is the best I can come up with right now.

1) I have been craving mojitos all week. Guava mojitos, to be exact.

2) I am so not down with the bounce house my neighbors are putting up, undoubtedly for one of the ankle biters' birthdays. The kids play in the street too much. Get a backyard.

3) Have I mentioned how addicted I am to "The Wire"? Seriously. I finished season 4 last night, and I'm not sure I can wait until August for season 5.

4) I don't think I mentioned this when I first wrote about seeing Kathleen Norris. But it's stuck with me--she left. She no longer lives in South Dakota. She moved back to Hawaii, and abandoned the prairie, her roots, etc. So now when I think about how lame it can be to say you live in South Dakota, I can't think in my mind "yeah, well at least Kathleen Norris lives here too."

5) The Sioux Falls Humane Society has kickass cat/music combinations on their adoption videos. Check them out.

6) PhotoBooth is too much fun!

So, I check out the cats on the Humane Society webpage regularly, wondering when I pass the center of the catlady continuum. Anyway, today I saw this cat video, and it made me laugh out loud.

This Explains So Much...

I was driving for work today, and heard this article on NPR about the Dutch health care system, and its relation to the values of the Dutch. It seems like a good explanation of why everyone's Dutch grandmothers and grandfathers don't go to the doctor, and why my grandfather laid on the ground with a broken hip for about an hour while my grandmother tried to dress him.

Oh, and I'm glad I'll never (probably?) have a baby in the Netherlands. Drugs, drugs, drugs!

Do you really need a title after not posting for a month?

So hmm, blogging...it it obvious I've been avoiding it with pictures? I just haven't had much to say. I've been concentrating so hard on being content I didn't want to ruin the facade. But, alas, I took a very short weekend trip to northern CA and realized once again where my people are. Here's a hint--it's not in Okoboji or the Outdoor Campus.

Okay, so maybe that's a bit dramatic, it's the gins and tonic talking. Or gin and tonics? Either way, Tanqueray suckered me into the Rangpur gin, which seems a little obnoxious when you could just squeeze a lime into it.

The quick trip to SJC was superb. I saw just about everyone, hung out, ate Donna's amazing food and drank John's (superlative) drinks, and shopped for maternity clothes. The maternity world was a little overwhelming, so luckily there was a real pregnant lady shopping with me who could navigate it. I mostly made suggestions and praised good choices. I also could not avoid trying on the surrogate pregnant belly at A Pea in the Pod. It was lumpy and not at all baby shaped.

So other than the trip, there has been lake-going, most wonderful I should say. Most lake-going weekends include lots of eating out (what else in my family?), some shopping, and my favorite, cotton candy. Yes, I'm nearly 30, and still LOVE cotton candy. Deal. There is also some sunning, though with this super-white skin that includes a much too long dousing with SPF a billion before it can happen. Oh, and sometimes boat-riding is also included. Decent.

Now...more gin and tonic. I will try to be more inspired to write soon. If I'm not you'll know by the repeated landscapes of my backyard.

Here is me...

At my new favorite place...

The Outdoor Campus.

Summer at the Lake

Out for a boat rideAn Okoboji classic: Arnold's Park

Out for a walk

Meme-ing back in...

Not much blogging here lately...can't really say why, but I just haven't been moved. To ease back in though, I'll participate in the meme Ruth tagged me for.

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing five years ago?

1. I was working on my M.A. in TESOL
2. I was hanging out on the Central Coast in CA, making the odd trip to SJC
3. I was discovering the joys of TiVo
4. I was furnishing my home solely with Ikea and hand-me-downs
5. I was really digging school

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order)?

1. Get up at 4am to go outside and shut the gate that was slamming and waking me up, scared that someone was invading.
2. Get caught up on voicemail and e-mail from the long weekend...what a corporate whore.
3. Print pictures I took this weekend with my new digital SLR camera
4. Pilates DVD
5. Reassess the May budget

What are five snacks you enjoy?

1. Mangos!
2. Lately...popcorn
3. Anything with a combo of chocolate and peanut butter
4. Almonds
5. Cheese

What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Not work for money
2. Write more (free time)
3. Bribe congress to strike down NCLB
4. Buy all my friends houses at Lake Okoboji
5. Spend free time coming up with good things to do with a billion dollars

What are five of your bad habits?

1. Hitting snooze at least twice
2. Yelling at other drivers...and remembering the windows are open
3. Being messy
4. Being oblivious to other people
5. Picking food up off the floor and eating it

What are five places where you have lived?

1. San Jose, CA
2. Monterey, CA
3. Charlotte, NC
4. Haiti
5. The Midwest

What are five jobs you’ve had?

1. Pizza Ranch employee
2. Coffee House worker
3. Camp counselor/administrator
4. Teacher
5. Tutor

What five people do you want to tag?

1. Ang
2. Nellie
3. Megan
4. Tricia
5. Charity

O, Blogosphere!

There hasn't been much blogging lately...I've mostly been focused on a job opportunity, and felt weird writing about it while it was going on. It's past now...the position was offered, I declined. I can't adequately explain why, except to say that it was my intuition and a lack of peace, which seems to be one of the few ways I can really say I heard God's voice.

That whole process stressed me out quite a bit, thinking about another possible move, selling a house I love, etc. etc. Now that it's over, I am totally appreciating where I am again. This afternoon I sat on the back patio with a book and a drink, basking in the sun. I've said it many times, but I wish humans could do photosynthesis. I know there's that whole thing about Vitamin D, or is it K, but it would be nice to store up the energy sunshine brings after a cold, dark winter.

Since I'm not thinking about work, this weekend gave me time to do other things. I went to Ang and Ryan's b-day party for their little girl, gifting her with a "pasta plate." Remember when you stapled together paper plates and put beans inside to make a shaker? Same idea. It's still a loud, obnoxious toy, but I'm hoping the payback isn't quite so venomous.

I also finished sewing some cloth napkins I'd started on last weekend. I decided to reduce my paper towel use, and found some cotton fabric remnants that I really like. I'm not so into the details of sewing like measuring or pinning, so they're slightly haphazard, but functional. Pictures to come sometime soon.

As you all can tell, the list of books on the blog is pretty useless, so instead I'll just tell you what I'm reading. Tonight I finished Foreskin's Lament, a memoir by Shalom Auslander. I heard him first on This American Life, and wanted to read more. I really enjoyed his memoir, bitter and tormented as it is. His Jewish upbringing seems like a much exaggerated parallel to growing up in the biodome of N'west Iowa.

Luck

Today was a lucky day. I won an iPod shuffle at work for submitting a survey about our online benefits open enrollment (it kinda sucked), and I also found out I don't have to go to jury duty next week. I'm curious as to what might happen next.

Uncomfortable Situation

Fulfilling the promise I made when the Barack Obama headquarters opened here, I volunteered yesterday morning to make some phone calls. I think I've written before that I'm not really sure if political phone calls do any good, and I know I don't really care for them, but I wanted to do my part.

It should be no surprise to most of you that Barack isn't super popular where I live. If you're young and registered as a Democrat he is the favorite, but those who are young and registered Democrats are far and few between here. So I wasn't really shocked that most of the people I talked to weren't supporters, but their rudeness did surprise me.

I get hating telemarketers. I do too. Even so, I usually say "I'm not interested, thank you," and hang up. It's short, maybe snippy, but not mean. And, I'd like to point out that I would expected a different response to a telemarketer than to a campaign volunteer, though from my experience yesterday, that's not the case.

I was given a raft of senior citizens to call, and told that if I called anyone who was deceased, I'd get a free soda. The organizer shrugged her shoulders and said "it breaks up the day." I had a script, a list of names, and an elaborate coding system about the talk itself (refused to talk, call back, wrong number), and their presidential preferences (strong Obama, lean Obama, Clinton, Undecided). Most of my first calls were answering machines, and one nice, nice lady who had voted Republican her whole life and was now voting for Barack at age 68. She emphasized the 68 and told me her whole family was voting for him this time. I joked with her, and asked if she would speak to my family.

Another lady was undecided. She asked me how much I know about Barack, and I asked her if I could share my reasons for voting for him. She listened, then asked where he stands on abortion. I have no idea what her opinions on the topic were, but I tried to explain how I see him being pro-life in a lot of ways other than abortion.

After that, the people got mean. I called one house, and a woman answered. A man's name was on my list, so I asked for him. The woman yelled for him, and I heard him ask who it was. She replied "Your girlfriend." When I told him I was a volunteer for Barack Obama's campaign, he hung up on me. Some boyfriend.

Another lady thought that I was probably calling for her husband from the doctor's office (on a Saturday morning?) and some guy told me "I don't wanna talk, lady, I just woke up." I wanted to tell him he shouldn't have answered the phone then, but I didn't.

There was one response I got a few times, and it cracked me up. The script went like this: "Hi! my name is Bridget and I'm a volunteer with the Barack Obama campaign. How are you doing this morning?" I didn't have to read this part, and tried to sound genuinely interested.

The most common response to "How are you this morning?" was "I'm a Republican." I would say "Great, and do you know who you'll be voting for in this election?" and then they would say "I'm a Republican."

There seems to be a rule in play here that I did not know about. Republicans in South Dakota are not allowed to speak to Democrats, even if it's only to answer the question "How are you this morning?" They also must answer all questions asked by a Democrat with the words "I'm a Republican."

I grew up here, or near here, and I suppose I should have expected that response. I had hoped, however, that this election might not be so polarizing, or maybe those are just the Obama glasses I'm wearing. Regardless, I'm glad I called, and I may go and do some more again. Watch out Republicans, we just might ask you how you are.

PS: Having made these phone calls made me react much more kindly to the Nextel guy I ran into in the mall. He stopped me by saying "Hey miss, smile." I did, and he tried to be flattering...He said something like "wow, all redheads look good in green. What company do you have?" I said Verizon, and then he wowed me with incredible logic--he said "Hey, why don't you switch? I bet the Verizon guys don't tell you that you look good. I know they don't, switch to Nextel." I laughed and walked away.

This has been making me want to shout expletives all day long:

Good thing I got the grill and patio furniture out last week.

The Big Give

Has anyone else seen Oprah's Big Give? I have to say, I've only watched the first episode in its entirety. I do TiVo the Oprah show every day though, and she's spent a fair amount of time recapping the episodes, and talking with the "losers." Though these segments aren't as annoying as her constant yapping about the New Earth, I can't say I care for it.

I love shows like Extreme Home Makeover, but for some reason The Big Give makes me kind of angry. I think it's supposed to be a show about generosity, and giving back, but from what I've seen it seems more like a sales and marketing competition. The contestants run around, piling up more and more money, hoping to give away the most. Although some weight is given to what people need, the contestants seem to be judged on how much they give, not what they give and why.

Like I said, I've only seen one whole episode, so maybe I'm missing something. But to me, it looks like an exercise in being the best money hustler, and the giving is sort of a by-product of the amassing of cash. That just doesn't sit right.

Eventful

The blog has been quiet the last couple of weeks, but not for lack of activity. Last week I had a colonoscopy, which wasn't fun, but necessary. I hesitate to even say anything about it, but decided that medical tests shouldn't be embarrassing, despite where things take place. The results of the test were once again evil bacteria, and even more evil medication to kill said bacteria. So this week has been mostly focusing on not vomiting or becoming so nauseated I believe I will vomit. I should say that peppermint gum works wonders, as does anti-nausea medication, though the pills are more expensive than gum at nearly $600 a bottle (thank you, insurance!).

I also went and heard/saw Kathleen Norris speak. I was super excited about the event, the culmination of a college's day of learning in community. Though she wasn't as inspiring a speaker as I had hoped, I appreciated her speech about stability and change, and I'm now particularly interested in reading her new book about acedia. I'd never heard of acedia before, but it's apparently one of a group of ancient "bad thoughts," if I have it correct. I'm sorry I missed her morning talk, because as the girls behind me described she read a lot of poetry and talked about Brokeback Mountain. What I was not impressed with was the girl sitting near me who snapped her gum throughout the whole talk.

More inspiring, in a different way, was the opening of Obama headquarters here in Sioux Falls. It was an interesting event because as we stood listening to the SD campaign leader speak, everyone was looking around, seemingly surprised to see so many Democrats gathered in one room in South Dakota. From the looks of it, I was not the only one who hadn't seen anything like this before. Barack wasn't there, but the leader guy asked if some people wanted to share why they were at the opening, and why they were voting for Barack. One gentleman in particular was moving, talking about how the Native American people look toward the future, and that he was voting for Barack for his granddaughter whom he was holding.

Equally uninspiring was a few people spouting the usual jokes about how evil the Republicans are, and how graced we were to be Democrats, along with a high school student who went on and on about how Obama is his savior, his saving grace. But still, flawed and all, I'm hoping to volunteer for the campaign here, to get involved for once. Not that SD will probably really matter, but it's nice to feel like it might.

I am very much enjoying this episode of Speaking of Faith, titled "The Need for Creeds." One of the most interesting is this Maasai creed.

If Princess Pantaloons and Cow don't win the Humane Society calendar contest, Simone definitely should.

If you've got a dollar you want to burn, and you'd like to support me in becoming a full-fledged cat lady, click here to vote for my kittehs in the SF Humane Society calendar contest. Cat ladies unite!

Kinda like a funny kid story

I realize that my blog was much more entertaining when I was teaching, and the funny kid stories were abundant. Tonight, I have something I'm calling a funny kid story, though I'm making no promises.

I've been working with an applicant who is, well, different. When I met with him he told me he listened to a Prairie Home Companion, and collected stamps, not postage. Of course, I listed to a Prairie Home Companion, but I'm years older than he is...at least a few.

So today he sent me some questions about life in the program I recruit for. 5 pages of questions. Seriously. They were organized into categories, and a few made me laugh. As background, the program is a residential program. Here are a few of the highlights:

• Can I bring my fanny pack to wear?
• How hot does the water get?
• Can I keep a garden/plants?
  
• Will I be able to see/hear wild animals (birds, squirrels, odd dear?)
• Can I bring/order my own crafts?

These are only a few select questions...the entire five pages would be a bit too much.

Signs of....spring?

There are things I am good at, and things I am decidedly not good at. You could put all things mechanical and numerical on the "not good at" side, and this weekend consisted mostly of those items, and my attempts to overcome or bypass them.

One thing I feel pretty good at is computer stuff. I can tackle most everyday tasks, and an occasional challenge, but there is one nemesis. Formulas in Excel. For a few months I've been doing a written budget, and I have never been satisfied with a method of writing out my goals, and then having a good way of keeping track of how much is spent, and how much then left in each category. Of course I don't want to have to add it up myself, so I've wanted a program or spreadsheet, but one customized to how I do my budget. The only answer seemed to be to customize a spreadsheet myself.

I am ashamed to say it, but it took me almost 3 hours Saturday morning to get it all figured out, and probably 45 minutes of that was finding errors in the formulas...ick.

Slightly (slightly...) more exciting was figuring out how to take care of my lawn this year. Last year my parents had hired someone to mow before I moved, and so when I moved we kept that up. This year, I've been thinking that I really don't want to spend the money on that. However, I have never used a lawnmower before, and it falls under the "mechanical" category. I'm pretty sure I would mix up the gas and the oil, or break part of it off, or cut off my foot or something equally gruesome. So instead, I have decided to buy a push reel mower. The picture's of the little German model I ordered. Somehow I trust the Germans to know how to do something as orderly as mow a lawn.

Thinking about buying a mower had me thinking about spring. Today was kind of warm, at least warm enough that I shed my coat in between stores while running errands. Considering the day's warmth, it seemed like it would be a nice evening for a walk. I went out to walk the neighborhood, hoping to peek in the neighbor's illuminated windows, but it was ridiculously cold. Now that I look down at the weather in my browser, I see that it's 36 degrees and cloudy. I had no idea it was that cold....36 is definitely not walking weather.