Accountawhat?

Accountability... why bother? A bail out is easier - all you need is an open hand and a private jet, or if your private jet attracts too much attention, drive a hybrid. Come on, gas is cheap. Not only can you afford to request a bail out, you'd be stupid not too!

Hey, Uncle Sam, when will you "Just Say No?"

Cake Decorating!

The hubby inquired as to if I'd enjoy cake decorating classes. I said, "You betcha! Sounds like fun!" But, it gets better. I mentioned this to a friend while we were shopping and asked if this was something she would be interested in. "Oh yeah, that would be great!" So, in two short weeks we'll be learning the ins and outs of frosting at our local JoAnn's. The classes are Tuesday evenings from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Gives us plenty of time to hook up for dinner before class.

I have a co-worker who loves pink cake/cupcakes, so I'm really looking forward to creating something really special for her. She and I both enjoy the blog CakeWrecks, which was the hubby's inspiration for the class as a gift to meeeeeeeee for the holidays. I laugh my little head off when I read that blog... good times. Hopefully I never see something I create on CakeWrecks, unless it's for the Sunday Sweets, whereby she posts pictures of amazing cakes that are NOT wrecks! Ha ha, as if. So I dream in sugar, let me enjoy this little fantasy as it's completely endorsed by the American Dental Association.

It's Melting!

The worst snow in over 20 years shut the city down on Wednesday. By the next day, most of it had melted - at least in my neighborhood. We ventured out last night, and just several miles away the snow seemed there to stay. Glad I don't live in the slightly higher elevation.

I'm done with snow. Sure it's pretty, but it's even prettier when it's on a postcard depicting some place I am not!

The branches in the backyard were touching the ground they were so heavy. The long willow branches were still a bright green, swaying in the breeze amid the white backdrop. I'll admit, that did look spectacular - but all the same, I'm glad most of it has melted. Of course now there is a little lake where our backyard used to be.

While the yard was blanketed with snow and branches bowing to the ground, lots of cool little alcoves were created that our doggies liked playing in and around. They HATE rain, but snow? Sure, snow's O.K. They willingly would go out into the white stuff, but not out into the rain?! Go figure.

I'm just glad it's melting. And, if I never see snow again that would make for a very Merry Christmas!

That's Art?

I grew up in a small Midwestern town, population at the time 2,939. Football was king and art was just something everyone had to take for one quarter a school year. I loved art, maybe because I was good at it - or at least my teacher thought so - maybe because it's such a personal and expressive experience. It seems anything can be art; basketballs floating in water, a dead bird attached to a painting, a canvas painted green, just solid green. With that said, art is apparently something you can't screw up. How fantastic! Of course, getting people to take your art seriously and to pay millions for it? That's a secret for just a select few to know and the rest of us to scratch our heads about.

While walking through the various exhibits at LAMCA I saw some pieces that resembled some of my earlier attempts to paint, my very unsuccessful, early attempts. It amazed me to see a painting, of what to me appeared to be a couple of ladies enjoying afternoon tea outdoors. The setting was lovely and it included a dog, what more could I ask for? The dog of course seems to be an extortionist. He was scratching his ear with a back leg in a manner I've never seen before. I have dogs, I've watched them so some pretty unusual and some very nasty things, but never witnessed anything like in the painting (and would prefer not do, as I'm sure if my dog could do that, she would need medical attention). Oh, and, one of the women at the tea party looked as if someone had just dragged her out a river, dried her off, and plopped her on a chair. Her body was facing the tea companion across the table, but her face was squared off toward the viewer of the piece. This made the face seem distorted and bloated in a bizarre and unpleasing way.

I recall painting in high school and sometimes my work had that unfortunate look about it and I tossed it out, frustrated that I couldn't paint. And, now, 15-20 years later something similar is hanging on a museum wall?! Crazy, not my idea of art, but then again, it doesn't have to be. That's the beauty of art, it lies within each of us to determine what is or is not art. No right, no wrong, just different interpretations and levels of appreciation. I look at that distorted painting of the ladies and the dog and think, "Abomination!" while someone else may exclaim, "Brilliant!"

There were some pieces that I truly enjoyed. It was wonderful to walk about and take note of different styles and find some that resonated with me, pieces I'd actually want on my wall (if I could afford them!). I'm so grateful to have had this experience. I usually sprint through museums while my hubby could spend what seems like hours studying a single item. Thus, we don't often go to museums together. My attention span is very short, his is not. However, part of what made this trip so magical was having a third party, an informed and trained, third party to guide us. She really made this so special. Her insight, knowledge of the pieces, the artists, the installations... wow! I actually want to go back and check it out again, see other exhibits we didn't make it to.

I remember that evening feeling so alive. Like I was part of some special club because I had experienced art, had glimpsed into another world, had new viewpoints to ponder.

Headless Bird Wonder

The other morning I let the dogs out, just as I always do, but this time they weren't at the door scratching to get back in. This worried me. The dogs rarely want to be outside for more than a few minutes.. I feared the worst, that they ran away. Sassy came a runnin' as soon as I turned the door knob, Karma however, was very busy. I went to see what she was up to. I didn't like what I discovered. Karma was munching on a headless bird that was also missing a wing. It was completely disgusting and not how I like to start my mornings. Ugh. But Karma was the happiest I've ever seen her. She did NOT want to give up her prize. She clamped down on that poor creature intending to never let go. Eventually she did of course, unwillingly. For the rest of the morning both dogs stared out the door, whimpering and whining. I refused them, mean mommy that I am. Luckily for me the dogs have a memory like an Etch A Sketch. If only I could erase from memory the sight of Karma chomping on that poor bird.

Thinking of you, wish you were here

I was contemplating if I should send our next door neighbors a postcard saying, "Thinking of you, wish you were here!" But, we finally got to chat a bit with them yesterday afternoon (after the tree hugging escapade). Haven't seen them in a while. They have three daughters in school with lots and lots of extracurricular activities, so getting together can sometimes be difficult. It seems they don't have anything planned for the 19th or 20th so hopefully we can get together then.

Saturday Night

Dinner with our friends was fabulous! My goodness, it was like going to Grandmas, the food just kept coming. Dish after dish was placed on the table. I was amazed at the variety offered as well as how wonderful each dish was. They're vegetarians so I figured, "oh pasta, I like pasta." Well, yes, there was pasta but also a berry appetizer, a couple different salads, a pizza type dish, out of this world potatoes, bread... there was so much I can't even remember it all. But wait, there's more! We took a little break to play a board game and then had dessert. And it happened again! Their gigantic dinning room table was covered with a bevy of spectacular desserts: lemon chiffon, apple pie, raspberry tarts, candy cane cookies, and probably some other options too, but even I, Ms.-I-love-dessert-more-than-life-itself, couldn't indulge in it all. I was defeated. It was a good defeat, one I'll cherish forever. It was a such an enjoyable evening I can't wait to do it again. The hubby and I were trying to figure out the proper waiting time before inviting them over again. We entertained them the week before, they invited us over this past weekend... next weekend would probably be too soon. And, now the holidays are quickly approaching. I fear we'll not get together until after the new year. Oh well, it'll be something worth looking forward to!

Tree Hugging

I don't know what the hell we were thinking. I climbed to a crook in the willow tree and pulled off some small dead branches. The hubby fetched a hand saw and I cut through a large branch, diameter about 10" inches or more. While hugging the tree I sawed away. Didn't take as long as I would have thought, but long enough. I'll be feeling that tomorrow! What possessed me into thinking, "yeah, I have what it takes to trim a willow tree! Let me at it!" Oh right, I looked out the window and saw the hubby with a ladder. "Hmm, no good can come from this. What is he doing?" I investigated and discovered that he was going to trim the tree with a borrowed tool from neighbor Dan. Why Dan ever thought we could be trusted with such a thing is beyond me. Not wanting the husband to hurt himself I said I'd *help*.

"Shall I dash inside, grab the cell phone and call 9-1-1 now or wait until you're injured?" I asked. "Gee, thanks for your vote of confidence." Hey, what can I say, I'm an optimist. Now it's true, my hubby is very gifted and talented, intelligent, witty, a wonderful provider, a great husband and my best friend - but a tree trimmer he is not. Nor am I. Fortunately our little foray into the unknown was without injury and we both escaped unharmed.

Hopefully the next time we get a bright idea to do something so stupid we'll think better of it and instead call a professional.

There are others?

Saturday night we invited a couple over to enjoy a home cooked meal. (The hubby's home cooked meal.) Conversation was lively and fun, the food great, and it was a thoroughly wonderful evening. They've invited us into their home this coming Saturday and I'm very excited! It's great to know we're not the only ones our age that don't have children by choice. It's very hard to meet other couples without children. All of our friends have kids of varying ages and trying to have a conversation when kids are around is like trying to bake a 20 lb turkey in an Easy Bake Oven.

Baking

My maternal grandfather was a baker. I never saw him as that, he was always just this old guy, with thick glasses watching baseball games on the TV and cheating at over-sized crossword puzzles. My mom would tell me of times, when she was about my age, how she'd go to the bakery with her dad and he'd show her how to make rolls. She needed both of her hands to create one roll and it often was a big blob, whereas her dad would roll dough in each hand and turn out two perfect rolls in seconds. My mom would get so upset, not understanding how his were perfect and her roll was not. He explained that he spent everyday making these, that over time and with lots of practice she too could to the same. Thing was, to the best of my knowledge, she had no interest in that and so never pursued it.

My mother hates cooking, at least that's the impression I've always had. When Christmas time grew near and it was time to bake cookies and decorate the tree my dad would take my brother and me to a museum or other such place for the day so mom could have the house to herself. I never learned to cook or bake from my parents. It was something I discovered on my own.

My first attempt in the kitchen was Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. This was a complete failure. I added the cheese powder to the water when I first started boiling it, then the noodles. I noted it was time to drain the water, and there went all my "cheese sauce" down the drain. The noodles were naked and pathetic. I was undaunted by this and grabbed a bunch of Kraft cheese slices and unwrapped them from their clear little envelopes. They didn't melt as I had hoped so I had a rather globby mess of noodle goo. My brother Zak, about 9 or 10 at the time, was astute enough to point out, "That's not how mom does it."

My second attempt at "cooking" was when I was about 13. I tried making chocolate chip cookies. Mom was NOT home that Saturday, I don't recall where she was, just that I had to finish my chocolate chip cookie experiment before she returned. I gathered all the necessary ingredients and began my first baking endeavor. I unwrapped the butter stick and melted it in the microwave, then I added the eggs. They stared frying in the butter. I thought, "oh boy, this isn't good." Somehow I knew that wasn't quite right. I tried removing the fried egg from the melted butter, but it was useless. I think I just continued on as if nothing had ever happened. Needless to say the cookies didn't turn out. If my mom ever wondered what happened to the butter or eggs she never said anything to me. Either I covered my tracks well enough or she took pity on me.

My mom, who hates to cook, can make Macaroni and Cheese and cookies, but me, a twelve year old kid, couldn't even manage that. I learned that you have to read the directions all the way to the end. There aren't any shortcuts when learning to cook or bake.

I left the kitchen wizardry to my mom for the next eight to ten or so years. It wasn't until I was living on my own that I attempted to cook or bake. Single, living alone in a $350/month rent studio apartment, where I was completely responsible for the groceries, I once again gave cooking a chance. Recalling my two previous kitchen experiences I decided baking just wasn't in the cards for me. I tried my hand at pasta. I figured enough time had passed that now I should be able to boil water, cook some noodles, and enjoy them without having to toss it in the trash. Fortunately it worked out. I discovered that pasta is very forgiving. You can test it along the way. Try a piece as it's tumbling about in the roiling water. Crunchy? Let it boil some more and try another piece in a minute. Not crunchy? Great! Soggy, uh oh! But, with time and experience, like grandpa said, you will get better. He was right, I did.

However, it was several more years before I attempted baking. Still single I figured baking would be a cheap source of entrainment. Basic staples like butter, milk, eggs, flour, sugar, and vanilla aren't too expensive to experiment with. I had an old cook book with a banana nut bread recipe. Not sure what inspired me to try it, but I did and was successful. Again, reading the directions all the way to the end is key. I baked banana nut bread so regularly, out of habit more than anything, that I developed a great intuition for how the batter should be. I began trying different things and found that as long as the batter has the consistency of being just a bit sticky, not runny, not stiff, somewhere in the middle, it will almost always turn out - assuming the oven temperature is even and accurate.

Now, over twenty years after my first disastrous chocolate chip cookie experiment I still enjoy baking. My chocolate chip cookies and various breads usually turn out perfectly. I like to think I inherited something from my now deceased grandfather. I only wish I had this interest in baking while he was still alive. I'd love to ask him about his baking experiences, what kinds of mishaps he had in the kitchen, what his favorite item to bake was. For me, it's a variety of different mini-muffins. It used to be banana nut bread, but then I tried an apricot, white chocolate chip, macadamia nut muffin that's really fantastic. Then, I made some lemon blueberry muffins and I think, "No, these are my favorite!" But, it doesn't really matter what I bake, it's actually the process and the smell from the oven that I enjoy, and of course sharing baked goods with friends and family.

Rain

It rarely rains here, so when the weather folks report a 30% chance of rain I ignore it. 30% are you kidding me? Why bother reporting such a thing? However, this time they got it right, it's actually raining. Not a MO, TN, or WI rain which I'm used to, no this is a soft, light rain that seems to linger. A pretty rain. A rain I enjoy, but one which terrifies the dogs! Oh how they wanted to go outside this morning, only to realize to their horror that the ground was wet?! They slinked around as close to the house as they could, attempting to stay dry. Finally they gave in to their bladders demand to be relieved and mustered up the courage to set a few paws on the slick grass. I'm amazed they survived it. Now Sassy's cuddled up next to me on the love seat and Karma's sprawled out at my feet, while Jordan attempts to lay on me, which makes typing difficult. Ginger's watching all of this with complete indifference. Oh to be one of my pets! If only for a day. Rain or not, I think it would be just splendid to experience a day in the life of one of my goofy dogs or cats.

Museum of Tolerance

Last week I went to the Museum of Tolerance as part of the Diversity Committee at work. I'm still struggling to find words to express what I experienced. The hands-on exhibits were great at getting one involved with the issues we're facing today and from our collective past: child slavery, the history of the world good, bad, and indifferent, and the Holocaust, among many other exhibits.

We only had time to really explore the Holocaust exhibit so that lingers more freshly in mind. I thought I knew about the Holocaust, I read about it in text books... but to experience it through the eyes and words of the survivors, to see actual displays of items that belonged to survivors, this truly brings it to life. At one point each of us was handed a small plastic card with a child's face and name on it. This card worked similar to an ATM card, when slid into the computer it brought up more detailed facts about the person. At the end of the tour I slid my card into a different computer and this time I received a print out of the personal information on the child. I asked the tour guide how they came to know this information about the little boy who's card I had. He was murdered with millions of others, how could they know anything about him? The guide explained that surviving family members in the states had provided the photo and other records.
It is sickening to think that this adorable seven year old, Bronislaw Honig, was murdered simply because he was Jewish. It's something I'll never be able to comprehend. 3,000,000 Polish Jews were murdered. 1,100,000 Russian Jews. I don't recall the exact numbers of the other groups that were exterminated, but the rough total is 6,000,000. SIX MILLION people murdered.

During one of the exhibits a screen played various images while a woman described what she witnessed. She was visiting a relative who had just given birth to a baby girl. Then many trucks arrived. Men from the trucks evacuated the patients from the hospital and drove them away. Visitors were turned out onto the street. A final truck remained with an open bed. A window from above was opened and a small object was tossed into the truck bed. This woman and others on the street weren't quite sure what they were watching until another, then another and another baby were tossed from the window. The people on the street, upon this realization began to scream and cry. They were completely helpless and unable to do anything but breakdown.

How any human being could treat another in this manner, toss it out like trash, is abominable. And yet such atrocities are happening today. Countries trying to do an ethnic cleanse, cocoa farmers enslaving children, terrorist attacks, the trafficking of people... the list of atrocities seems endless. I don't know what the answers are. I don't know how to stop it. I'm still in a state of disbelief, shock.

Trader Joe's to the rescue!

We had plans to go to LACMA (Los Angles County Museum of Art) with a friend who is an Assistant Curator there, but the fires made passage unreasonable. We weren't willing to take the detour routes, we'll go another time. Instead we invited our friend (the curator - she was already in the area) over for dinner. This of course meant we had to figure out what to make on short notice as we originally planned on dining in LA.

Trader Joe's to the rescue. We went there for inspiration and left with a meal waiting to happen. The hubby made gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, arugula salad, and butternut squash apple soup. It was all divine. For dessert we wanted to do chocolate fondue with TJ's marshmallows, biscotti, and apple wedges for dipping. However, we ended up with a chocolate fondon't. It just didn't turn out right, but that's ok because we had the foresight to also purchase TJ's Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels which are amazing! We ended up having a fantastic dinner and leftovers for lunch today. Yum. Thanks TJ's!

Voting by mail

What a fantastic idea! But, even better is that I actually voted via mail - weeks ago! No standing in line, no wondering why this guy is letting a bunch of strangers vote in his garage, no worrying that I'll be late to work. Wish I had known I could vote by mail years ago, what a time saver. Now, hopefully it doesn't get lost in the mail.

Desert Rain, Weekend Thoughts

It rained most of yesterday, which was nice. The grass is all glistening and clean, which of course the dogs do not approve of.

Today the sun is back, which I'm all for! I don't mind a day or two of cloudy skies, but days, weeks, months of bleak, dark skies just puts me in a bummer mood.

Yesterday, to celebrate the rainy day, we had pajama day. It was fabulous. And, with Day Light Savings Time ending the extra hour of sleep was much appreciated. We even showered and managed to leave the house before 8:00 am?! On a Sunday?!

Hopefully the Packers beat the flaming thumbtack dudes, that would make this a perfect weekend.

Junior High - Oh My!

A friend from junior high e-mailed me something I wrote when I was 11 or 12. Too dang funny. It included something about Tom Cruise?! Don't worry Katie, he's all yours.

Gosh, I can't believe she still had it after all these years. Makes me wish I had something similar to share in kind, but I don't. Until recently I wasn't ever the sentimental type.

FOUR Minutes!

I finally got around to making my dreaded doctor's appointment. It was scheduled for 4:00 pm. I arrived on time, filled out the necessary paperwork and then waited, and waited, and waited. At 4:45 the nurse called my name. I was weighed, my blood pressure was taken, and I answered a few questions. Back to the waiting room to wait. 5:17 pm I was called again and left alone in a small room with the examining table facing the doorway. Who designs these rooms?! Anyway, the small little curtain hanging from the ceiling really doesn't provide me with a great sense of privacy, but hey, I'm not here for a lesson in dignity. Anyway, I continue to wait for the doctor, this time basically naked except for a sheet and a thin little half rob that exposes more than I care to show. Finally at 5:30 pm the doctor sees me. At 5:33 she's finished, by 5:34 she leaves the room. Four minutes! The whole freaking thing took less than 4 minutes! I waited an hour and a half so she could spend less than 4 minutes addressing my needs and concerns. Ugh. I left disgusted and frustrated. Can hardly wait to go through all that again next year.

Paper #2

"Robert Hass in Sun Under Wood often uses simple, everyday scenes, yet his poems are artistically complex and rich with allusion and connection. Find two poems about mothers / motherhood written in English in the past 100 years and write an essay explaining why they fit especially well with the themes in Hass's book. Include the poems with the essay."

This is my next assignment. Seems pretty basic. Hopefully I can find a couple of poems that I understand. I'm sure I'll select something that I think is perfect, only to learn AFTER I've turned in my paper, that the poems weren't about mothers / motherhood or connected in any way to the themes in Hass's book, but instead about about alien space invaders that eat tiny tuna sandwiches with the crusts cut off and find them so terribly distasteful that they blow up the planet and whew, now I don't have to worry about my paper because I'll be space dust.

Is it really any wonder that I can't write a paper? Jeez with the attention span of a gnat I'm lucky I can even dress myself! Oh wait, I haven't, I'm still in my pj's and robe and red framed glasses.

Foggy first paper

I earned the highest grade in class for the first paper: B-. Better than a C, but not by much. Ugh, who am I kidding?! Gotta kick it into high gear if I'm going to do well in this course. Unfortunately I'm as dense as a holiday fruit cake when it come to this stuff. I read a poem and think, "Oh, that's lovely." Then, when we dissect the piece in class I think, "WTF?! Syphilis, that was about syphilis? What the hell did I just read? How, I, ... um... but, wait, ... really? Oh, yes, I see it now. Hmm, syphilis. Well, um, that was the day. Those early years must have been a bitch. Yeah for modern medicine." See, dense like London fog. Oh, that's just my subtle reference to the poem:


London

I wander through each chartered street,
Near where the chartered Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.

In every cry of every man,
In every Infant's cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forged manacles I hear.

How the Chimney-sweeper's cry
Every black'ning Church appalls;
And the hapless Soldier's sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.

But most through midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot's curse
Blasts the new-born Infant's tear,
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.

William Blake, 1794


Sooooooo painfully obvious AFTER the fact. When, oh when, will this stuff make sense to me. I worry that it never will. Sure, sometimes a rose is just a rose, but what about ALL the other times when it's not. How will I know the difference? How many times will I have to read the same piece over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over before finally, finally a little light peeks through and the spiders retreat and I see it for what it is. Oh, that's lovely. London fog.

Red Frames

I went a little wild and selected red frames. I usually go for the quite librarian type in tortoise shell specs, but no, no, not on this occasion. Keep in mind the hubby likes the librarian tortoise shells, but claims to really like the red, so why not? They're only glasses. I like em', they're fun. In fact I've been wearing them more often than usual. I've found I'm quite lazy when it comes to my morning and evening routines. I like not having to mess with contacts: cleaning them, popping em' into my eyeballs, peeling them off at night... yeah for glasses!

Photo Op: That's Paula on the right. She's my partner in crime at work. Paula totally rocks. We're a great team and she makes work fun! Fun! When Monday morning whacks me upside the head it doesn't even hurt thanks to Paula's cheerful disposition, wonderful sense of humor and fun-loving spirit.

The "Holiday Gifts" sign in the background is for a work event held in October. Don't ask. It's a "sales" thing, those crazy sales people. The photo was taken on 10/15/08. And what's up with my bangs? Wish I knew! But hey, aren't the frames fantastic? They really help detract from bad-hair days - or at least that's my hope.

Glasses

My left eyeball has buggin' something fierce! As a result I've been wearing my glasses. I usually don't wear my spectacles because my eyes are very sensitive to light and the "transitions' eyeglasses tinting doesn't ever get dark enough to do me any good. These past few days it was cloudy and overcast which seems to have helped. Today though, we have an eye appointment, so hopefully they can figure out what's causing my eyeball pain. The contacts were brand-spanking new out of the package, so I dismissed that as the problem. Perhaps I misdiagnosed it. Guess I'll find out soon enough.

Now back to my regularly scheduled life

We've returned from a spectacular week in Wisconsin visiting friends and family. We had amazing weather, no rain, rarely was it overcast, and temps were in the 70s and 80s. Humidity wasn't even that bad - just in our hotel room?! Not sure why that was.

The hubby was kind enough to indulge my desire to visit my old stomping grounds. We had a wonderful day walking about Madison, my favorite city on the whole planet! We drove around the square (the capitol) and past two of my old apartments. Then we parked and actually went into the capitol, something my better half had never done before, which really surprised me. Wisconsin's capital is beautiful. Full of marble from all over the world, an incredible cupola with painted scenes, in fact all the ceilings had lovely paintings and artful details, and some portions had tiled mosaics. Just an amazing work in and of itself.

After wandering around the capitol we walked State street which starts at the capitol and finishes at University of Wisconsin Madison. State street is full of interesting shops, restaurants, coffee houses, and of course pubs! We only visited a coffee shop and paid $5.33 for TWO drinks, that's right TWO beverages! In California $5.33 would barely be enough for one specialty coffee drink.

We strolled through part of UW-Madison's campus, which is gorgeous. We ventured onto Union Terrace (pictured here). We also sauntered into the Rathskeller (also pictured below) which is a really, worth the trip if you're ever in the area. It's always dark in there no matter the time of day. Whenever I visit it I feel like I've been transported deep into Germany's past.

After our walking tour of Madison we went to little Waterloo to visit a friend of mine from 7th grade (Jenny). She looks the same as she did in High School! Her husband too. It was nice to meet her daughters. Her son, now 9, was just a baby the last time I saw him. He looks just like his father. The girls are sweet and it was great to see Jenny's dream come true. When we met those many, many years ago she always knew what she wanted: attend Edgewood College for nursing, be a nurse, get married, have children, raise them in Waterloo... and she's doing exactly that. I'm very happy for her.

From Waterloo we headed west on Hwy-19 to Watertown to see the folks.

At the family farm, which is not farmed by my folks, but rather just a lovely home in the country with fields surrounding it that are farmed by actual farmers. We played several games of the new and improved Clue board game. That was quite fun, then it was time to head back to the hotel for much needed sleep.

Other fun events of the trip have already been noted in detail by the hubby, check them out (not in any particular order): corn maze, Miller Park, Old World Wisconsin. Aside from our "adventure" at SFO, it was a fantastic trip!

Class is underway

I'll be missing two weeks of class to travel to Wisconsin to visit family. The trip was planned long before I could anticipate my class schedule. I'm bummed I'll be missing two sessions, but hey, that's life.

My first paper is due 7:00 pm the day I return, plane should hopefully land around 11:00 pm, thus I'll turn in my paper before we leave. It's a relief to be able to travel without having an assignment hanging over my head. However, it's been too long to remember when I last wrote an essay for a grade. It'll be interesting to see what grade I earn.

Back to School

I have yet another week of waiting. My class doesn't start until NEXT Wednesday! Ugh, I'm not the patient type.

I'm excited about taking this course.

A woman I work with attended a class taught by this professor and complained that he's "a wanna-be editor... can't hack it in the real world... not helpful..." and some other such crap. She followed this up with, "I think the highest grade I got from him was a D. You know I'm better than that, you've read what I've written." Um, yep, and it seems to me you received the appropriate grade. This person has written things like, "...skillfully knowledged..." which I'm still trying to figure out what the hell that means.

Anyway, once she told me what a difficult professor this guy was all I could think was "sign me up! I want to take HIS class!" And, I will. I can't wait. Just seven more days.

Dinner in Studio City

Last night we dinned on some kick@$$ pork tenderloin, corn on the cob, green beans, and baked beans. Our friends had outdone themselves. It was a wonderful meal and the company was excellent. I even managed to drink TWO glasses of wine?!

We ate on their roof-top. It was spectacular. They've planted lots of colorful flowers in pots all about. It created such a lovely atmosphere. Makes me want to do the same.

We were fortunate that the drive to and from Studio City was quick and easy, little traffic (by LA standards). The weather was perfect. Cooler than I'm used to and of course more humid, but enjoyable all the same.

Fur, fur, fur

I don't want to vacuum, but that fur isn't going to vacuum itself up. Guess it's time to sell the critters on eBay. Wonder how much we could get for them.

Even with the cats shaved, it seems the dogs go into shedding overdrive, to make up the difference. Ugh.

I shouldn't complain, our place is much smaller than our previous abode. That took over two hours just to vacuum! I could probably knock out the task in half hour if I do it quick and dirty. If I do a full-out move all the furniture and get into every little nook and cranny it obviously takes longer. Hmm, today I'm feelin' quick-n-dirty is the way to go.

Kind Karma

While living in TN we adopted a sweet little doggie named Fran. Due to her good fortune and luck we re-named her Karma. This name is more appropriate than I ever imagined it would be. Unlike Sassy, who definitely lives up to her name, Karma is typically the patient, well mannered dog of the two.

Yesterday while putting her doggie beds in the guest room closet, her favorite little spot, Karma couldn't wait and was all over them before I could arrange them properly. A short while later I noticed Karma laying on the floor facing the dog bed with a look of longing in her eyes. "Karma, what the heck? Why aren't you ON your bed?" A quick glance into the closet and I had my answer: Jordan.

Jordan is our "Matrix Kitty" that literally will bounce all four paws off a hallway wall as she races towards insanity at speeds usually reserved for jets. Jordan was all curled up, happy as could be on Karma's bed and my darling little doggie didn't want to disturb her. That's just the way Karma is: good natured, patient (when food is NOT involved), and very loving. If only we could teach Sassy to be more like this!

Lucky?

I've never thought of myself as lucky. Sure, I've been enjoying a winning streak while learning and playing Cribbage with the hubby, but that's just a game. At work we have lots of raffles and other such things and I rarely win. But today, I received a voice mail from Trader Joe's informing me I had won! The spousal unit and I take our bags to TJ's and for months I've been filling out the little ticket. In fact, I just filled one out on Saturday wondering, "does anyone really 'win' this? And, if so, what?" Answer: $25 smackaroos off your next purchase. Sweet! I'm thinking it's time to stock up on weekend breakfast fare. I LOVE TJ's various frozen pastries/tart thingamajigs.

Of course I've been lucky-in-love with regard to the hubby. He's better than chocolate, ice-cream, chocolate ice-cream, better than new socks or new shoes, better than the ocean, the sun warm on my face, better than sleeping in on the weekend, better than 'that new car smell'. He's the best thing to happen to me and everyday I'm thankful that he continues to share his life with me. Not sure if that's "luck" or not, but I'll take it, whatever it is.

Shopping

The hubby went on a little shopping spree this weekend. Two new suits, with shirts, ties, socks, a pair of shoes, and suspenders. I encouraged him to do this and am quite pleased he did. He'll look dashing in his new duds. Then, as if that weren't enough, he went a little crazy at BevMo buying up booze.

I went next door to Michael's to spend my gift card from the Mom & Dad G (thanks by the way!). I had $8 and change left over?! I don't even know how this could have happened, but I'll be sure to spend that by next Sunday.

Today I went shoe shopping with a friend. What fun! I like shopping. I like shoes. Thus I LOVE shoe shopping. I'm just bummed I couldn't find a pair of shoes I liked. No worries, there are more shoe stores, so maybe I'll try again tomorrow.

Work Woes

I have breasts, therefore I'm supposed to like shopping. Actually, I usually do enjoy shopping. I find grocery shopping fun. Shoe shopping?! Heaven! Clothes shopping... yep, like that too.

Shopping as part of my job, not so much. When I first started this position and was given a company credit I thought, "Woo hoo! This is going to be great." Well, that wore off quickly, very quickly. Shopping on someone else's time with someone else's money isn't so pleasurable. It's work. It's time consuming. I go to Subway, Chronic Taco, Starbucks, Jamba Juice, Target, Wal-Mart, Ross, Best Buy, Circuit City, BJ's, Olive Garden, AV Mall, Kohl's, and other various places as needed to ensure our employees have gift cards to their favorite places. I prefer to purchase these cards online, however, some of the Supervisors NEED the gift cards RIGHT NOW and to multiple places. And they always want some that are only for $5, which most companies do not offer online.

It's a huge waste... but hey, it's my job so I deal. Well, actually I vent a lot, then deal. I've tried to limit the number of times I go out shopping to just once a week, but met much resistance. I've asked that if I do go shopping can it be for $25 or more to make the trip worthwhile. Seems silly to send me across town to purchase a single $5 gift card to Bronze Buns. No, seriously, I've done that.

I've never worked for a company that seems to live by the "We don't pay you to think" mentality. My screen saver now has this creeping by whenever it times out: WDPYTT. This is to remind me to stop saving the company money, stop working smarter, just work. It's very difficult. I don't like it. I hate being so wasteful, but that is our culture so I try to comply.

I've talked to my supervisor several times about this and other issues. I explained that the cost of my driving all over town is crazy, especially with gas prices being what they are. That I don't like having hundreds and hundreds of dollars in gift cards on me. That expenses for our quarterly celebrations are out of control. And hey while I'm on a rant, what's up with the guy sleeping on the job. Her responses:

"Well, we really need to have a variety of gift cards for our employees. I know it seems like a lot of driving, but..." I don't remember what else she said, I kind of zoned out. Talking to her is like trying to explain statistics to my dog.

"If you're worried about being mugged why not carry the gift cards in a separate bag. We can replace the gift cards and if someone tries to mug you, you can just give them the bag with the gift cards." Great idea, can't believe I didn't think of that! Then I could re-purchase all those #%!!$%@^&^@@ gift cards again the next day.

"We used to spend a lot more on our quarterly celebrations! They used to purchase T-shirts, goodie-bags full of all sorts of things, decorations, big elaborate meals, etc. Thousands and thousands of dollars. We don't spend quite that much anymore." Oh, I didn't realize we used to spend A LOT MORE. Thanks for clearing that up. I know we just closed a facility, so we may as well spend the money like we're Bill Gates, cause it'll be at least several more weeks before they close our doors. Hey, you know what else is just as relevant, I used to get an allowance, but I don't anymore and that sucks. Hey, can I have a $5 gift card to Wal-Mart?

"I know he sleeps on the job an it can't be helped. When a customer puts him on hold he usually wakes up right away. He falls asleep in my meetings all the time, but, you know, these things happen." Oh, silly me! Yes, these things do happen. I can't wait to start catching up on my cat-naps at work. What a relief knowing I don't have to spend my eights at work awake anymore. I wish HR would have covered this in Orientation.

I report to Sponge Bob Square Pants. Ugh.

I've talked to SBSP's boss, as his office is four feet from my desk. SBSP's office is in another part of the building. I see the Big Boss a lot more than I see SBSP and have a better working relationship with him due to proximity. When I mentioned my concerns to him he listened and we tried to figure out a solution. We thought maybe my counter-part and I could report to a different supervisor, but the most logical person is attendance challenged. Another logical person is heading up a big project and just is too overwhelmed right now.

In fact we used to report to a different supervisor because SBSP is so conflict adverse that my predecessors took advantage of that. Then that supervisor started working the night shift, so we got stuck with SBSP. Sigh.

Perhaps I need to shop for a new job? Maybe when I redeem my $5 gift card to Subway I could fill out an application. Did you want to make that a combo?

Yoga

I've started taking yoga classes. It's been many years since I've attended. I like it. I leave feeling great and then about a day later it hits me! I'm just a little tender and sore and yet it feels wonderful. Mainly I just want to be more flexible, tone up everything that's floppy, and hopefully lose a little extra that's hanging around my middle. Of course, the benefit of being relaxed and serene is fabulous too! As well as actually sleeping at night instead of shifting about.

Excel

At work more and more employees are being asked to use Excel. Unfortunately a great many of them don't know what Excel is, much less have any experience with it. My answer, "let's train them!" Surprisingly enough after I complained for weeks and weeks the powers that be finally said, "OK, go for it." Also, one of our Team Leads is certified to teach Microsoft and has taught many, many classes. I knew she was all for training our employees Excel so together we created a handy-dandy guide and instructor outline.

We've taught four separate classes so far. Some employees were thrilled to be exposed to Excel, others were indifferent, and a few who already know Excel were concerned it would be a waste of their time... but we managed to show them a few new tricks.

It's so fun to be able to do more than just my typical work duties, and it's a great opportunity to be of service to the employees in a different capacity.

The Team Lead I'm working with is great. She's provided some excellent feedback to help me improve and is very supportive. I even learned some new things about Excel!

We're discussing expanding the training to also provide classes on Word and possibly PowerPoint - assuming that the powers that be agree. I suppose if I nag enough eventually they'll say yes to get me to shut up. Ah the power of persistence!

My New Best Friend

I realize billions of others have already discovered Pandora Radio... but it's new to me! I found it and now I love it. Too fun. Why didn't I find this sooner? It's incredible that I can listen to all my favorite tunes on my laptop and not have to save it on my computer. Crazy neato! I'm still a novice, but as I play with it more and figure out how to manipulate all the cool things it's capable of I'm sure I'll love it even more than I do now! Happy sigh.

Wisconsin

Come September we'll be flying the friendly skies to visit our families in Wisconsin. I'm excited, it'll be fun.

Of course, since we both have family to visit we'll be walking a tight line - making sure to spend quality time with everyone.

In our attempt to be fair, we've decided to stay at a hotel. And, hotels usually have good water pressure and a helluva lot more hot water for my long showers. Plus, Internet! I'm sure I'll be back in class so I'll need a decent Internet connection to keep up with my schooling. Staying at a hotel will allow me to do school work without guilt. Besides, all the beer, cheese, and frozen custard will leave me feeling guilty enough for weeks!

A

I earned an "A". Yeah! So happy. Good thing, because over the weekend I purchased the Cuttlebug before receiving confirmation of my grade.

School's out and now I want a Cuttlebug, but first, the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I completed my final exam Saturday morning. There was one question I mulled over for at least 30 minutes or more?! I just couldn't remember the whole formula and I finally gave up. I feel very confident that I did well with all the other questions.

When I left the class room I pulled out my notebook and looked over my lecture notes regarding the formula I couldn't remember. I was so close! This is what I couldn't remember:

90% confidence interval = [- 1.645/n, + 1.645/n].

In English:

X bar (that's the x with the line over the top it) = point estimate.

Standard Deviation is the letter that looks like an o with a little tail on it.

Square root is just that, the square root of "n". n = sample size.

90% interval = 1.645

The margin of error is: 1.645 times the standard deviation divided by the square root of n.

Read out loud, the formula reads as:

X bar minus 1.645 times the standard deviation divided by the square root of n to X bar plus 1.645 times the standard deviation divided by the square root of n. That's the "interval part." So a final answer would be something like: "A 90% confidence interval is calculated to be 18.8 to 48.0 months."

Good times. I remembered the 1.645 and that I needed to do something with that number, but the "what to do with it" eluded me! I knew the sample size and the point estimate, but putting it all together was beyond my abilities that morning.

I'm not too upset with myself for not remember this, as I only need a 70% or higher test score to earn a final grade of an A, and I'm pretty sure I did.


School's out for the summer and now I'm going to enjoy myself! I think there will be some card-making in my future. There's a new toy I really, really want: a Cuttlebug. Once I have my final grade in hand I'll check with the hubby regarding our finances and see if I may reward my schooling efforts with a cute little Cuttlebug. It does dry embossing and die-cuts. It uses its own brand of die-cuts as well as those of other manufactures. It has a five star rating. My friend at work LOVES her little Cuttlebug. I've been eyeing it for sometime now, but wanted to wait until I completed my Statistics class.

Unfortunately I'm not a very patient person and Joann's has my new little buddy on sale, RIGHT NOW! Oh the agony of having to wait for my final grade. But, I've made it this long without it, what's another couple of weeks of waiting? Hell, that's what it is.

Oh well, such is life. At least the hubby is feeling much better. In fact, he wants to go see the "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". We spent all of Saturday afternoon (before his violent vomiting began) watching the first three Indiana Jones movies. I'm looking just as forward to this next installment as he is. Should be fun, Indy usually doesn't disappoint. I just hope the hubby's really up to it. It won't be much fun for him if he has to dash off to the men's room!

Ill

The hubby had chicken the other night. I ate my usual bowl of cereal, which I'm glad I did. My poor baby however suffered horribly as result of what we're guessing to be a bad case of chicken.

He woke up at 2:30 am to empty his stomach of all contents. This woke me up too, but at least I wasn't in any physical pain as he was. I felt terrible for him, but there wasn't anything I could do. He returned to bed and tossed and turned. He remained in bed pretty much all day yesterday and all night.

I tried to be a good wife, bought him so bananas, juice and other "stomach friendly" foods. I made him tea, various light meals, and tried to comfort him, but I'm just not cut out for this type of thing. I can be a "good wife" for about 24 hours, which thankfully, is just about how long this lasted. Any more than that and I doubt we'd be on talking-terms. He's much better at this sort of thing than I am.

My mother wasn't like TV-moms. When I was sick as a child (all two times it happened - pink eye in the second grade and chicken pox in the seventh grade) she gave me the prescribed drugs and pretty much left me alone on the couch to watch TV. Brought me a little food here and there. I'd have rather been at school! Being sick and staying home was worse punishment than being sick at school.

No, there weren't any soft murmurings about "hope you feel better soon. Is there anything I can get you or do? Would you like to play a game." Nothing, just a cold shoulder and if I was lucky, "you're going to school tomorrow whether you want to or not." Are you kidding? I WANT to go to school!

So, I guess the cycle continues. I'm nice to the hubby for about a day trying hard to be like the TV-moms, kind, gentle, caring... then I revert back to what I know and just go about my business hoping like crazy he'll be all better soon.

I realize when we were married I said something to the effect of, "...in sickness and in health..." but really, who ever thinks about the "sickness" part? Not me, I rarely get sick and fortunately the hubby rarely gets sick. If we keep it that way, we'll be fine. But, there are things out of our control and that worries me.

I hope we're never tested, I hope we never have to deal with a true sickness. I doubt I'd be any good at it. Goodness, I can't even imagine being a mother?! As my poor hubby was retching the other night all I could think was, "thankfully we don't have children!" Kids get sick ALL the freaking time! They cry, they have many, many needs. More than I think I could ever fulfill. I'd be a horrible mother. "Quit your crying or I'll give you something to cry about!" "So you have a big pink, puffy eye, want a matching set?" Yep, I'd be an awful parent. I best not ever venture down that road!

Singing it loud and proud!

There are birds, lots and lots of birds! Singing, lots and lots of singing. I love it!

3:00 am outside there's a bird chirping. Even now at 5:31 am, while the sun still sleeps, my feathered friends converse.

It's so wonderful. When we lived in the McMansion with the bare backyard we didn't have these lovely songs. Our current yard is clearly very inviting! Lots of mature trees, shade, grass, dirt, apparently everything a bird could want. I think we should get a bird bath and maybe even a bird feeder or two. The hubby worries that the seed would spread across the yard, which it probably would, but big deal. Can't put a price on happy birdies!

The cats enjoy watching the birds through the windows. We don't allow them to go outside. Karma seems indifferent and Sassy loves to chase them when they land in the grass.

Me, I just treasure the music.

http://greenandgold.uaa.alaska.edu/podcasts/pictures/birds.jpg is where I found the picture. Isn't it cute!

I'm a copy cat

Ppod has this same template and I liked it so much I thought I'd change mine too. Thanks Ppod for the inspiration. I miss you!

Stats

I only have three classes left... sigh. I'm really enjoying this course. The idea that it's coming to an end soon is sad. Of course, being able to sleep in on Saturday will rock!

I attempted a Stats class online with University of Phoenix (twice!) and it just didn't make a lick of sense. I take one course at a community college and whamo! I understand the concepts and the formulas. I blame my professor. He's brilliant. He's dedicated. He puts much thought and care into each lesson plan. He rules. Dr. Sieger, I'm going to miss sharing Saturday mornings with you.

All done!

We did it! I started on the garage, and just as I had hoped, the hubby came to help. We spent most of the day clearing everything out of the garage. I vacuumed, then we hosed it down. Ate a little food and then headed back to finish up.

Fortunately we have a large, paved and covered side yard. We put EVERYTHING there which worked out great, in fact, many things destined for the Vietnam Veterans of America are still hanging out there. The only items allowed back into the garage are items we need and want.

I've scheduled a pick-up for Tuesday, April 15. A truck and driver for the Vietnam Veterans of America will haul away all the items we no longer need.

Today was filled with lots of hard work, but at least it's done. And, upon finishing our neighbors were out waiting for us with beer! What better reward could we ask for? Well, a hot tub, but aside from that... what a great way to end a long weekend.

Don't mess with me

I have conquered the carpet ink splotches that Sassy hath bequeathed me! Ha ha, I rule.

Hopefully I'm as successful with the love seat. The cover is tumbling about in the wash as I write.

Now, onto the garage... good times. With any luck by the time I finish (or pass out, whichever comes first) the love seat cover will be not be singing the blues!

Spots be gone!

Yesterday we purchased an outdoor Windex product to clean the windows via the garden hose - no drying with paper towels, rags, or cloths needed! It seemed to be working great, I was so pleased.

When I went indoors to clean I noticed a lot of spots and dirt splatters. Ugh, I was no longer pleased. I returned to the great outdoors with proper tools in hand, only to discover that the dirt and spots were between the glass panels!

Arg, oh what to do? I may be "handy" but I wouldn't dare trust myself to reseal our windows, and I honestly don't even know if that is an option. When this happens, what is the best course of action? Replacing the windows? Sure, if we win the lotto.

I did a little bit of The Price Is Right price checking and golly... windows are expensive. I already suspected as much, but yowsers! And, as if that weren't enough, last year when On The Spot Blinds provided us with an estimate to replace/update our window blinds he measured all 13 windows and hardly any of them seemed to be "standard". How lucky we are to have "special" windows! I can't only imagine the cost of replacing them.

The handsome fella at Lowes explained that I could replace the windows myself... yeah, like that's going to happen. I'll pay the extra $154 per window to have a professional install it, if it ever comes to that.

Is a big box home improvement store the best way to go, or someone who only does windows? How do I know whom I should trust if I were to get estimates? Is wood with aluminum clad exteriors the best option? Pella claims that wood insulates 1,100 times better than metal, which makes sense, and I really don't want all aluminum it looks cheap and ugly to me (and it's what we currently have). That leaves vinyl, which is low maintenance, and I'm all for that! Also, vinyl is the middle ground; a little more than aluminum and a lot less than wood.

Pella offers the "Vivid View" screen, which in the brochure looks amazing, but in real life... I haven't a clue. Superior, which I'm told is just that, superior, is the ideal way to go when money isn't an option (oh if only!). There's Peach Tree, but whenever I hear Peach Tree I think of Atlanta drivers and I'm plagued with horrible visions. And, the cute dude at Lowes said that Peach Tree's quality didn't justify the big price tag. I know there are many, many other options out there, but again, which is the best?

Superior does offer Full Lifetime Warranty for as long as we own and reside in our home. This includes labor, glass breakage, glass seals and vinyl - pretty much everything is covered. So, if the neighbor kids get carried away and a stray ball finds its way into our living room, I just call Superior and they make it all better. Of course, that peace of mind costs an arm and a leg. I happen to really like my arms and legs.

Years ago when my folks replaced all of their windows they took out a second mortgage to do it. Um, hmm, we've only lived in our home for about 6 months so a second mortgage probably not an option.

Sigh, hopefully I'm making this into more of a drama than it really is. Perhaps it's not as bad as I fear. I admit, my knowledge of all things windows is very limited. Maybe there is a very easy and inexpensive solution to my dirty, spotted windows.

The pen is mightier than our carpet

My sweet Sassy decided that since she lacks opposable thumbs she would chew a pen. Her paws, the carpet in the guest room, and the fabric love seat in the office all have splotches of blue. Tomorrow I'll do my best to wash away the blue... tonight it's cheese and wine! A much more preferable activity than cleaning. I do fear, however, that the pen may be mightier than our carpet, guess I'll find out tomorrow.

Priorities

Today after work I stopped off at CostCo. It's on my way home, in fact, I'd have to go out of my way to avoid it. I hate CostCo, it has inconvenient hours and long lines. These are things within CostCo's control. The small, screaming children... probably not, but all the same, they annoy me.

Today there was a child about 2 feet tall and certainly weighed less than a sack of bulk flour. This itty-bitty kid was wandering about. This can be dangerous as most customers pack and stack their carts so full as to not be able to see where they are going. The mother of the little girl seemed disinterested in her child's safety, understandably so when busy eating free food samples. It's good to have priorities in life, however messed up they may be!

This adventure was just another reminder of why I dislike CostHole. I'll continue to avoid it for the foreseeable future. That's my priority.

The Other Boleyn Girl

Yesterday we saw The Other Boleyn Girl. I was very disappointed. It's such a wonderfully rich tale and to have taken poetic license to the limits that they did was frustrating. I'm familiar with the story, so to have seen this spectacle and how history was so discarded was unsatisfying. The costumes were amazing and the scenery was beautiful, but these were about the only redeeming qualities of the movie. If historical accuracy is something that interests you, then this film will not deliver. Watch The Tudors; it's just as lovely with its attire and settings and follows history much more closely. Of course, it also has the advantage of being a series on Showtime and thus is not bound to the time constraints of a typical flick. The actors are believable and the storyline engaging. For about $30 bucks at Wal-Mart you'll get your money's worth.

Lawn Mower Luck

My hubby's bad luck with lawn mowers continues. A change in climate and time zone has not abated the situation. We purchased a new push mower yesterday and today the Hubby assembled it, fueled it and then when push came to shove, he lost. He thought he may have broken his toe, but it seems he only bruised it. Whew, crisis averted. Tomorrow he gets to try again with another new push mower. May the Lawn Mower Gods have mercy on his soul.

The $6 Dollar Car Wash

"Excuse me ma'am. My friend and I, we're starting a business for the summer. We're washing cars for $6.00 a car. We clean inside and out. He gets $3 and I get $3 so that's $6 total. We'll be washing cars on Thursday since I don't have a change of clothes with me today and he can't do it tomorrow because he's going to watch the Clippers. So Thursday we can do it. We're trying to earn money for stuff. I want to buy a new amp and shoes. See, my shoes have holes in them."

Well darn, how can I possibly say "No" to a sales pitch like that?! I even offered up the hubby's car, so I'm in this for $12 bucks. The kid assured me that they're "really good".

Notebooks

Yesterday I found seven notebooks in the backyard. I looked them over and discovered that the fella that they belonged to took what appears to be excellent notes. He drew colored diagrams and has neat, precise handwriting. Fortunately he also had his name written on the covers of each notebook. I looked up the last name in the phone book and noticed two entries, the second was close by so I called that number first. A woman answered and seemed alarmed, or at the very least, curious as to who was calling for her son. I explained that I had his notebooks. "Oh thank God!" was her reply.

Evidently the young fellow set his backpack down and left it unattended for a moment. Someone stole it. Some of the contents ended up in my backyard. As to the backpack, text books and whatever else was contained within, I do not know what happened to those items. I just hope they're returned to the young man who owns them.

Mother and son arrived shortly after the phone call and retrieved the notebooks. They were both very relieved and grateful. I was just so pleased they were in the phone book! If someone had found my items I'd want them back. I was happy to have helped.

Math = Fun!

I wonder what the upcoming weeks will bring for me, but for now, I'm loving my Stats class. It's fun?! FUN?! Math fun. Crazy, never would have thought it possible. I blame the professor, it's his fault I like it. He's passionate about the subject matter and uses real life examples that I can truly relate to. He's just a happy fellow who seems to love teaching. His style of explaining and working out the problems is easy to follow, it makes perfect sense - even when I'm at home alone working on the problems!

Yesterday was the first of 10 quizzes. When I looked it over I realized, "Hey! I know this stuff?! Wow! I'm going to pass this quiz!" What a great feeling. I don't recall that ever happening in math before. Not even in elementary school with the "simple" stuff. Math has always been my worst subject. I managed to get by, but I didn't ever really understand or "get it" until now. As I live my life I'm finding that many of the things that teachers spat at me are finally coming together and forming a big picture that I can make sense of. As a child things were discussed and I just did what I had to get by. Now I enjoy it and "getting by" isn't good enough, I want to really understand it so I can apply it.

The world needs more Dr. Richard Siegers teaching math!

Math = fun. A crazy formula that I know finally believe!

Thinking good thoughts

I've been frustrated with a co-worker for some time. After looking at the situation from several different angles I've concluded that it's a waste of my time to be angry. I'm now thinking good thoughts. Instead of letting things get to me I'm focusing on what I do like about this person. The list is short, but I'm working on making it longer.

3 Day Weekend

I've been very busy at work these last few weeks helping HR interview and hire for 3 new classes of 7 - 9 people per class. Fortunately in the AV there are many, many people looking for work! We had over 300 resumes for 23 positions. 16 of the 23 job openings are for a 2:00 pm to 10:30 pm shift. I was surprised to find so many people interested in working such hours. I suppose work is work. If those are the hours it's better than being unemployed. The other shift we hired for is 6:00 am to 2:30 pm. That's a very popular shift and more people are interested in those hours... but it also pays less than the mid-shift by over 75 cents an hour.

I'm just relieved that we've managed to fill all of the positions, and as a reward to myself, I'm taking Monday off!

Statistics

Years ago I attempted (twice!) a statistics class online with the University of Phoenix. I've since left UOP in hopes of attaining higher education from a place that actually expects its students to perform at a higher level. Enter: AVC (Antelope Valley College).

AVC is local, has a very nice physical campus, and it's super affordable! My text book cost almost as much as the class itself! It's convenient to get to and from, it offers a wonderful selection of classes and offers them at times when I can actually attend.

Last Monday (2/4/08) I sat in on my first lecture at AVC. The statistics class is from 6:00 pm to 10:05 pm. I'm usually in bed by 8:30 - 9:00 pm, so I knew it was going to be tough, but hey, that's life. Until... I heard there was a Saturday morning class from 8:00 am to 12:05 pm. Today I attended it (same professor) and liked it much better than the Monday night class. It's held in a different class room with very comfortable chairs (this is important when your ass is planted in it for FOUR hours!). Also, the clock in this room works and it has tables instead of a tiny little desk-like surface which only accommodates a couple of items at once.

I added the Saturday class and dropped the Monday class. This process was quick AND painless. The more I deal with at AVC and discover, the more I like it. Perhaps I'm just a physical and social being so a live campus is just more exciting than sittin' in my pj's conversing online with some 19 year old who knows next to nothing about the subject matter cause he or she doesn't have any real life experience to relate to, like I encountered at UOP. Perhaps it's just the newness of finally going back to school (again!) and doing something with my life. Perhaps its none of these things. Whatever it is, it's good to be back in school and on a path that will serve me well.

By the way, my professor, Dr. Richard Sieger, is amazing! He is a little bouncy when up at the white board, but a lot of fun and very passionate about stats. I couldn't have found a better teacher if I tried searching for one. I'm so, so very pleased that I'm actually looking forward to the next class?! And, to use the word "fun" to describe statistics was something I'd never have done before taking Dr. Sieger's class.

Bring on the numbers! Can't wait to make another histogram! Woo hoo it's data grouping time! (Hmmm, wonder if I should seek medical attention?)

Screamin'!

The wind is screaming. All night I could hear it and it seems it will continue all day. In fact, it's so loud I can barely hear any vehicles driving by.

The dogs won't even go out in it?! Crazy animals. I don't much like the wind either... but come on girls, you have fur coats. My poor baby is running to the store, I said I'd wait at home. Guess I'm no better than the dogs.

Hubby needed to purchase a few things to watch The Game later today. I'm staying home to stamp my little heart out. Maybe make some chocolate truffles and other baked goods, depends on how motivated I feel.

I was invited to watch the Heads on Fire Guys (that's what the helmets look like anyway) play some other fellas in tight pants, but it's just not my thing. I'd rather have a pajama day and hang with the critters.

While the wind screams on, I'll be in my PJ's, toasty warm, stamping cards, maybe even do some baking, as the doggies and kitties sleep. What a perfect end to the weekend.

Rain

My first winter in the AV was very dry, hardly any rain fell. This year there has been a steady supply of the wet stuff. Not the earth pounding sheets like we had in TN, but a soft, gentle falling of drops. It's quite pleasant. The nearby mountains have been generously sprinkled with snow, even the foothills, it seems, are receiving their fair share.

I HATE snow. However, even I must admit it is pretty on the mountains. I sure as heck don't want any of it creeping down to the streets I drive on. My experience is people don't drive very well in dry conditions, so wet rainy or snowy streets is just a wreck waiting to happen. Especially when people are sooooooooooooooo busy talking on their cell phone, or worse, texting while being inconvenienced with having to drive.

With all this rain I'm expecting a spectacular spring filled with poppies and other beautiful wild flowers. Last spring we drove out to a park to experience the local beauty of our environment, only to find a lot of dirt and three tiny poppies hanging on for dear life. The winds in the AV can be quite violent, ripping plants out of the ground and depositing them far, far away.

Looking forward to being overwhelmed by gorgeous orange expanses as far as the eye can see. Bring on spring, I'm ready for warmer days!

Garden Gnome Giuliani

Too cute to be prez, but hey, with that forehead he could power a sundial in our backyard! Actually, he looks more like one of Santa's little elves. Either way, the dude keeps pandering for votes and it's pissing me off. Not that making him into an elf/gnome was any hint of my disdain.

Too simple

My hubby can litigate complex legal issues but a damp blanket in the dryer is beyond his area of expertise. When encountering such an incident he concludes, "Ah, yes, the best way to handle this is to put the clean, yet damp, blanket on top of the dusty, dirty dryer." Way to go honey. Next time, please leave it in the machine and let it finish doing its thing. Then, when it's completely dry, remove, fold, and place in the dresser draw in the guest room. You can do it sweetie, I believe in you.

Damn it's cold out!

It's windy and cold. Of course, that's to be expected in the desert. And, drinking cold beer, while standing outside talking with the neighbors doesn't help. But, I wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to to hang with our friends.

Herman's feeling better

Poor ol' Herman (all of 2 months old) was very, very ill. He kept giving me the Blue Screen of Death and just dying for no reason. We did some stuff (OK, the hubby worked most of the magic) and now Herman's back. I just hope he's here to stay. I don't want to lose everything AGAIN?! I didn't save much, but that's not the point. I was foolish enough to think that a new computer wouldn't crash 5+ plus times in just 10 weeks time. Very frustrating.

Now I know better. Well, knowing better and actually doing something with said knowledge are two very different beasts. I like to think I'll be more responsible this time around and back up my data, but lets face it, that's unlikely, I'm lazy!

A People Loving Macedonian Dwarf

Thanks Pam for the inspiration to try this. How fun!

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