Mmmmmmm.....cheese....
Recently I found that I am allergic to dairy.
A few things have happened since I've stopped eating dairy, including the soreness and burning in my legs going away, all my bathroom issues disappearing (I won't go into detail here...you're welcome!), better sleep, waking up in happy moods and losing 45 pounds.
Like how I just slipped that in there? I'm serious - since I've stopped eating dairy, I've been loosing weight without trying. My body feels like it's resetting or something. No big deal. :P
However, lately - just like the past few days - I have been missing dairy. Like with a fiery passion!!!
For example, I saw a kid eating a bagel with cream cheese the other day and I just wanted to rip it out of her hands, lick all the cream cheese off, then hand it back like nothing happened. What the hell is going on with me?!! That is the kind of passion and desire that I usually only reserve for chocolate and cookies, not for dairy!
OMG NACHOS!
Chips seem empty and lonely these days. I actually miss the plastic-like blob of cheese that happens when you make nachos in the microwave at home. Try going into a restaurant and ordering nachos without the cheese. I can just hear it now, "You mean...you want nachos - without the cheese? Like chips..and stuff?" *sigh* That just sounds so sad, but yes. This is my life now. Have you ever ordered pizza without cheese? The looks I get are as if I just asked to have somebody killed when I order pizza without cheese. I mean, I understand these looks - I'd give them out too if I worked for a pizza place. What is pizza without cheese?
How will the toppings stay on the crust?
THEY DON'T.
Trust me.
Don't even get me started about trying to find something to eat at a Mexican food place!
Also, dairy is in EVERYTHING. And, it goes by many different names. I have to look even more carefully at labels. Now I'm the annoying one in the grocery store blocking the isles for too long reading every little ingredient on labels. I've gotten to the point that if the food has more than, like, eight ingredients, I don't buy it. I just don't, I'm too lazy!
I know there are a lot of alternatives for me out there, and I should be happy. I can eat vegan brownies, cupcakes, and drink almond milk and coconut milk - which I actually prefer over cow's milk anyway. There are even alternative dairy products like yogurt and ice cream, all of which I am happy about and use! However, where is the alternative carrot cake with cream cheese frosting?!
Am I ever going to get to taste my FAVORITE cake again?!
Showing posts with label Adulthood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Adulthood. Show all posts
9.05.2013
7.21.2013
Renaissance Fair
The hubs and I went to the Renaissance Fair today. It was hot! I came prepared, with my Polish skin, plenty of sunscreen and a parasol! :P I'm happy to say that I did NOT get burned this year! Go me!
I wish I had thought the parasol through though, because on the way out I got charged an "umbrella tax" and I had to kiss a guy dressed as Zorro on the cheek to leave. He wasn't bad looking, but not as cute as my Zorro. And he was kind of sweaty. I used to work Ren Fairs as a member of the Peasant Guild, so I should have remembered about the shenanigans.
I got myself a beeswax candle and a "Hello Sweetie" pin that I shall wear FOREVER AND ALWAYS!
We also got henna tattoos.
We let the artist choose the designs and paid a flat fee. She put glitter on mine! :)
There were A LOT of people.
The Irish dancers told bad jokes between dances and often asked for audience participation.
There were vendors, food, games and actors.
(At the time of this photo, everyone was watching the joust - there were people, I swear!)
There was hay. LOTS of hay.
Here was the queen watching the last joust of the day. I bet she was hot in all that heavy, and beautiful, garb!
The fair was held in a new place this year. There was actually a nice breeze and natural shade. Everyone seemed pleased - and not melting!
We had a lot of fun! The hubs wore his Doctor Who shirt and got lots of funny, random comments from random people. One girl got really close to us, whispered, "DON'T BLINK!" and then faded back into the crowd. LOL
Now that we are home, I'm going to go close my eyes for a bit..or maybe watch something on Netflix while the hubs works on homework. Hope you all had a great weekend! :)
(That picture was just for you Mom! Go ahead, gag away! :P)
7.17.2013
Marriage
So, I was meandering about the internet last night when I heard this sound. It came from my bedroom where my husband was sleeping. He was snoring, but that wasn't the sound I heard. What I also heard was:
My husband farting.
In his sleep.
And it wasn't a small little quilt ruffle, it echoed!
This got me to thinking about all the things I didn't know about being married, specifically the living together aspect of the relationship. I mean, I've lived with my family and with roommates, but living with my husband is SO different! So, here is a list (I LOVE lists!) of the things that I wish I somebody had told me about before I got married. (Not that it would have changed things, but it would have been super nice to know!!)
1. "My" and "Your" stuff, space, time and life CEASE to exist! Everything becomes "our," "we," and "us." I find myself writing in the proverbial "we" all the time in regards to making plans - but it's not proverbial anymore. I really mean that I have to check "our" calendar to make sure "we" don't have plans so I can schedule an outing with a friend. I no longer sleep in my own room and every space is now shared space. I never really understood my mom's desperate need for her own room until I didn't have one of my own anymore. The stuff I brought into the relationship is no longer being used by just me. Somebody else is sleeping in my bed, sitting on my couch, using my dishes and freaking SQUISHING MY PILLOWS!
*ahem* Moving on.
2. Boys are really gross. *REALLY* gross. I should know this, I grew up with a boy. My brother's teen years were spent in a room that was dark and smelled weird. His socks were found in interesting places and sometimes I had to forage a path just to get through to my room. But he is my brother. Living with a different boy that I didn't grow up with is weird and gross in an entirely different way. Thankfully my husband doesn't come with the bathroom grossness that some boys come with, and he's pretty tidy when it comes to piles of mail. But the other day, I walked passed the bathroom and he was holding my cuticle scissors up near a pimple. I caught is eye in the mirror, cringed alot little inside, said, "I DO hope you wash that when you are done. WITH. SOAP." and walked away. He also leaves used tissues everywhere, has potato sized earwax, clips his nails everywhere but over a trash can, puts on clothes that were previously on the floor, uses dirty silverware, doesn't seem to have a problem with dirty dishes piling up for weeks and, if I wasn't there to remind him that it's been a while, he would probably never change the sheets! Oh and the farting thing, he has been known to scare my cats with his farts! And it they just don't stop, even in his sleep!
3. Both of us are from completely different worlds. We may only be two and a half years apart in age and we grew up in the 80's and 90's. However, his 80's and 90's were completely different from mine. He didn't do the same things, listen to the same music or even wear the same type of clothing. He loved high school, I hated itwith the furry of a thousand fiery suns!! Okay, a bit dramatic there. Anyway, the only things we bond over from our childhoods are television shows. We are constantly having conversations about our childhoods where we have to stop and explain something to each other that we thought the other one experienced. That book, Men are From Mars, Women are From Venus, it is so true!
3. Privacy all but disappears. Remember #1 about "your" space being now "our" space? Yeah. That includes places that were very private before, like bathrooms. The husband tried in the beginning to use the bathroom with the door open, I put a stop to that. That door stays CLOSED. No exceptions. No excuses. Except...that it happens. One day, while using the bathroom you will forget that the new package of toilet paper is still in the place where you left it, behind the couch, and not in the bathroom where you ABSOLUTELY need it. And you will have to call for your husband to bring it to you. When that happens, he will see you (DUN DUN DUUUUUUN) on the toilet. And with that, your last private space has been officially invaded.
4. They will see you do your secret single behaviors. Remember in Sex and the City where Carrie talks about eating crackers with jelly over the sink and Charlotte talks about spending hours with the lighted magnifying mirror inspecting her pores? Those were their "secret single behaviors." Things that they would never do in front of another person, ESPECIALLY somebody they are in a relationship with. When you are married, you have a choice, you either can stop these behaviors, or just allow them to be discovered. That other person is going to see your secret single behaviors. There is really no way around this. There is NO more private space, remember?
...Oh, what is *my* secret single behavior? If I told you that, it wouldn't be a secret anymore!
5. Other people are weird. I know what you are saying, I'm just now figuring this out?! I have known this for a while now, but living with somebody really brings things into perspective. My husband does some weird stuff! His idea of doing the dishes is to stack the dirty dishes in neat piles on the counter, right in front of the microwave. He gets frustrated when the mail pile is not straight, neat and tidy but will ignore a messy bathroom for like ever. He doesn't see the problem with putting on clothes that were just recently on the floor, "What? I only wore them one day! I think..." He can't remember the type of cat food we buy and often brought the wrong kind home - until I sent him pictures of the food. Oh, and when he takes something apart that is being held together by hardware, he puts the hardware "somewhere safe." However, when it's time to put the thing back together, the hardware is lost. I can't tell you how many times this has happened! Eventually I got rid of anything that could be taken apart. No more flimsy shelving units for this family. Oh, and things don't get put away in logical places. Wires for things get put in the first empty space he can find. "Honey, where's the charger for the Kindle?" "Oh, it's in the closet in the living room." "How about the charger for your blue tooth thing?" "Oh, that's in the cabinet in the hallway." What? Seriously?! Why can't all chords just go in one container or space?!
And lastly:
6. When he is gone, I miss him. Like, a lot. Nobody told me that another person would be able to weasel his way into my life and my heart like this. When he's gone, for like more then just work or school, I feel like a puppy who's favorite person has just left the room. It physically hurts. Like I misplaced something very important and I can't find it. I spent 27 years of my life (mostly) single and happy- then he came along and ruined everything!
*sniff*
Stupid love.
My husband farting.
In his sleep.
And it wasn't a small little quilt ruffle, it echoed!
This got me to thinking about all the things I didn't know about being married, specifically the living together aspect of the relationship. I mean, I've lived with my family and with roommates, but living with my husband is SO different! So, here is a list (I LOVE lists!) of the things that I wish I somebody had told me about before I got married. (Not that it would have changed things, but it would have been super nice to know!!)
1. "My" and "Your" stuff, space, time and life CEASE to exist! Everything becomes "our," "we," and "us." I find myself writing in the proverbial "we" all the time in regards to making plans - but it's not proverbial anymore. I really mean that I have to check "our" calendar to make sure "we" don't have plans so I can schedule an outing with a friend. I no longer sleep in my own room and every space is now shared space. I never really understood my mom's desperate need for her own room until I didn't have one of my own anymore. The stuff I brought into the relationship is no longer being used by just me. Somebody else is sleeping in my bed, sitting on my couch, using my dishes and freaking SQUISHING MY PILLOWS!
*ahem* Moving on.
2. Boys are really gross. *REALLY* gross. I should know this, I grew up with a boy. My brother's teen years were spent in a room that was dark and smelled weird. His socks were found in interesting places and sometimes I had to forage a path just to get through to my room. But he is my brother. Living with a different boy that I didn't grow up with is weird and gross in an entirely different way. Thankfully my husband doesn't come with the bathroom grossness that some boys come with, and he's pretty tidy when it comes to piles of mail. But the other day, I walked passed the bathroom and he was holding my cuticle scissors up near a pimple. I caught is eye in the mirror, cringed a
3. Both of us are from completely different worlds. We may only be two and a half years apart in age and we grew up in the 80's and 90's. However, his 80's and 90's were completely different from mine. He didn't do the same things, listen to the same music or even wear the same type of clothing. He loved high school, I hated it
3. Privacy all but disappears. Remember #1 about "your" space being now "our" space? Yeah. That includes places that were very private before, like bathrooms. The husband tried in the beginning to use the bathroom with the door open, I put a stop to that. That door stays CLOSED. No exceptions. No excuses. Except...that it happens. One day, while using the bathroom you will forget that the new package of toilet paper is still in the place where you left it, behind the couch, and not in the bathroom where you ABSOLUTELY need it. And you will have to call for your husband to bring it to you. When that happens, he will see you (DUN DUN DUUUUUUN) on the toilet. And with that, your last private space has been officially invaded.
4. They will see you do your secret single behaviors. Remember in Sex and the City where Carrie talks about eating crackers with jelly over the sink and Charlotte talks about spending hours with the lighted magnifying mirror inspecting her pores? Those were their "secret single behaviors." Things that they would never do in front of another person, ESPECIALLY somebody they are in a relationship with. When you are married, you have a choice, you either can stop these behaviors, or just allow them to be discovered. That other person is going to see your secret single behaviors. There is really no way around this. There is NO more private space, remember?
...Oh, what is *my* secret single behavior? If I told you that, it wouldn't be a secret anymore!
5. Other people are weird. I know what you are saying, I'm just now figuring this out?! I have known this for a while now, but living with somebody really brings things into perspective. My husband does some weird stuff! His idea of doing the dishes is to stack the dirty dishes in neat piles on the counter, right in front of the microwave. He gets frustrated when the mail pile is not straight, neat and tidy but will ignore a messy bathroom for like ever. He doesn't see the problem with putting on clothes that were just recently on the floor, "What? I only wore them one day! I think..." He can't remember the type of cat food we buy and often brought the wrong kind home - until I sent him pictures of the food. Oh, and when he takes something apart that is being held together by hardware, he puts the hardware "somewhere safe." However, when it's time to put the thing back together, the hardware is lost. I can't tell you how many times this has happened! Eventually I got rid of anything that could be taken apart. No more flimsy shelving units for this family. Oh, and things don't get put away in logical places. Wires for things get put in the first empty space he can find. "Honey, where's the charger for the Kindle?" "Oh, it's in the closet in the living room." "How about the charger for your blue tooth thing?" "Oh, that's in the cabinet in the hallway." What? Seriously?! Why can't all chords just go in one container or space?!
And lastly:
6. When he is gone, I miss him. Like, a lot. Nobody told me that another person would be able to weasel his way into my life and my heart like this. When he's gone, for like more then just work or school, I feel like a puppy who's favorite person has just left the room. It physically hurts. Like I misplaced something very important and I can't find it. I spent 27 years of my life (mostly) single and happy- then he came along and ruined everything!
*sniff*
Stupid love.
6.11.2013
Finally! A Post!
I was helping my mom with her blog the other day and I realized that I haven't blogged here in almost a year. When I started this blog, it was a way to connect with my family and friends who lived so far away. A way to share everyday happenings with them. Now that I'm closer to family, this blog has taken a back seat. Time to rectify that!
Anyway, a lot has happened in the past year. I'm still on the never-ending, or at least it feels this way, quest for a teaching position in elementary education. I have my feelers out for this upcoming school year, but haven't heard back from anybody yet. In the mean time, I obtained a position as an Independent Study Teacher for a local high school. I really love this job, I mean A LOT! I think I could be happy doing this job for the rest of my life actually. I'm excited about this because I don't think I've ever felt this way about a job - at least not in a long time. I'm not sure what's going to happen next year as the Independent Study curriculum is going to be online, but I'm so looking forward to the challenge. :)
I also obtained a position in an elementary school as a Kindergarten Teacher Tutor. This position was fun! I got to work with two Kinder classes and pretty much got paid to play! We went on two field trips, went to the park next to the school, painted, colored, counted, added, subtracted, read, played, ate lunch, told stories, learned sight words, and just had a ball! I am hoping to continue this position next year, but these positions are filled in some interesting way that's based on funding and school politics that I'm not all together sure of. We'll see. If this position doesn't pan out, I'm already planning to substitute again. I also love to substitute, so it's a win-win for me!
I started an urban garden this year! I have many pots and containers out on my balcony. I'm hoping to get tomatoes, bell peppers, mariachi peppers, chocolate mint, lemon balm, rosemary, basil and oregano from my garden this season. I also have plans to grow celery, carrots, lettuce and radishes. Inside, I am growing sprouts in this nifty container I got at a local nursery. I've always been afraid of gardening. I just thought it was too hard to maintain. With containers, though, all I've had to do is plant the plants, remember to water them and then just wait. So far the bell pepper plant is growing two little bell peppers, the tomato plant has flowered and is getting ready to grow tomatoes, the potatoes are growing and the herbs are doing great! With container gardening, there isn't any issue with weeds either. Easy!
For some reason, maybe it's living next to the ocean again, but my craftiness has returned. I've been sewing, and crafting up a storm! The penny ball you see in the garden picture above is illustrated in the picture below. (Speaking of pictures, I've jumped on the Instagram bandwagon! :)
I glued pennies on a bowling ball I found at a thrift store for $3. Then I put it outside. Some of the pennies have come off, but most of them are staying strong. Also, the pennies are no longer shiny and have a worn patina, but that doesn't matter to me. If you recreate this project, and want the pennies to stay shiny, seal it with some kind of top coat to prevent the patina.
Have you heard of Meetup.com?! I joined this year and have never looked back. I LOVE it! I belong to a few meetups, including a craft one. I've even met some really great people and made friends that have lasted outside the meetups. I made the pendant on the left for my mom for Mother's Day at the craft meetup. This took two meetups - one to form the pendent out of polymer clay and the other to do the wire work. The heart, tiled brick I also made at the craft meetup. Eventually this will go out in the garden, but I have it sitting on the windowsill in my sewing room where I can look at it while I sew.
I made this cute teacher gift for one of the teachers I worked with this year. I just printed out the tree and the words on a regular sheet of paper. I then had the kids make thumbprint butterflies. Lastly, I wrote their names really small next to their butterfly. The teacher loved this gift! I thought it came out pretty cute, if I do say so myself! :)
I've started up my wire working again. So far, I've just made this tree of life and some other wire wrapped jewelry that I'm planning on selling at my quilt guild's fundraising boutique this year.
Oh yes! The quilt guild! I also rejoined the SLO Quilters Guild and became their librarian! This is a fun job as I get to play with books. However, the previous librarians left me and my cohort with a tiny mess on our hands with regards to inventory. Some books are in the book boxes, but not on the inventory list, some are gone but on the list, and some are just floating around in the cart with no home. We have two months until the next guild meeting. During this time, I'm going to redo ALL the library cards so they are all uniform. Right now, some of the cards are index cards, some are just card stock, where some are proper library cards. I love organizing and doing things like this, so I really don't mind. I've made a few quilt tops this year too. I don't have all the pictures, but here are a few. The one on the left is called "Birds on a Fence." The one on the right is a wall hanging I completed at a mystery quilt along.
I'm in the process of making two others, one for my husband and one for my mother-in-law. I've also got one more in mind that I hope to start on this summer.
Another thing that changed this year is the way we eat. We've cut out all dairy, a lot of processed foods, and all fast food. We have also been going to the Rutiz Family Farm and getting their Harvest Box of organic fruits and veggies every week.
Doing this has increased the number of vegetables and fruit we consume as well as forces us to be more creative in the kitchen! We don't get a choice of what is in the box week to week, which is what I love about the box. We've only had a few things spoil on us, but that was when P was away for a week. I just couldn't eat everything by myself before it went bad.
The kitties are doing great. They are thirteen now, and still going strong! They have found the garden on the balcony and love to sniff the plants and relax in the sun. Quixote has succeeded in killing one plant by chewing the leaves off. He also figured out how to get on the railing, which scares me! So now they aren't allowed on the balcony without supervision. I think they are really loving being back in California. They just seem happier and healthier. They are shedding a lot less too!
Anywho, this blog is getting pretty long so I'm going to end it here, with the cute pictures of the boys. :) My summer list includes blogging more, so there will be more updates. I hope everyone is happy and healthy!
3.18.2012
Weekly Meal Plan
So, I'm going to try this Weekly Meal Plan thing - if the snow will let me get the heck out of the driveway tomorrow to get groceries! I've been trolling Pinterest to find new, healthy recipes to try out. Since my husband is on the road, I'm cooking for one and this is hard for me...not sure why. But anyway, here is my plan:
Monday: Avocado Spinach Egg Salad
Tuesday: Turkey Wraps with Cucumber - I want to wrap them in lettuce or spinach tortilla wraps.
Wednesday: Crock Pot BBQ Chicken
Thursday: Breakfast for dinner - probably Toad in the Hole or Ham-and-Cheese Waffles or something, I haven't decided yet.
Friday: Either leftovers or maybe Darbi's with friends. I try to hang out with friends at least once a week. :)
Saturday and Sunday will be spent probably eating leftovers since the crock pot meal will most likely last forever. The original blog I got the recipe from says it will feed a family of three for two nights with a three extra lunches for the mom. See? It's so hard to cook for just one! Maybe I'll break it into fourths?
Now, here's the hard part...just for kicks, I want to do this all for as CHEAP as possible! I'll let you know how this goes. Hopefully avocados will still be on sale!
Monday: Avocado Spinach Egg Salad
Tuesday: Turkey Wraps with Cucumber - I want to wrap them in lettuce or spinach tortilla wraps.
Wednesday: Crock Pot BBQ Chicken
Thursday: Breakfast for dinner - probably Toad in the Hole or Ham-and-Cheese Waffles or something, I haven't decided yet.
Friday: Either leftovers or maybe Darbi's with friends. I try to hang out with friends at least once a week. :)
Saturday and Sunday will be spent probably eating leftovers since the crock pot meal will most likely last forever. The original blog I got the recipe from says it will feed a family of three for two nights with a three extra lunches for the mom. See? It's so hard to cook for just one! Maybe I'll break it into fourths?
Now, here's the hard part...just for kicks, I want to do this all for as CHEAP as possible! I'll let you know how this goes. Hopefully avocados will still be on sale!
3.10.2012
A Confession
I have a confession to make.
In front of all of my readers, I'd like to confess, that in my heart of hearts, my soul of souls, that I am...
A dirty hippie.
Well, maybe not so much the dirty part, but the hippie part for sure.
I see your, "Huh?" faces now!
Let me explain. I don't mean the stereotypical, pot smoking, musk smelling, no underwear wearing, dread rocking, free love giving hippie - I mean the nature lover, up-cycling, living off and giving back to the land as much as possible hippie. In my heart of hearts, I want a natural life with the smallest foot print possible. I feel now I'm too wasteful, with too much clutter and it's cluttering my mind!
But I also want internet and P is a TV freak...so we need to have technology! Maybe we can coin the term Techno-Hippie? :P Ahem, anyway..
I have a dream and in that dream, P and I live in a decently sized house, with a small garden out back, a compost pile, my cats, and simple decorations that are up-cycled/recycled/redone. I want to make my own soaps, shampoos, deodorants, lotions, chapsticks, and candles - and maybe have a side business doing this as well. I would love to figure out how to live as inexpensively as possible but still be able to comfortably pay all the bills that come with having a house.
I have ideas on how to do this (check out my "The Crunchy-Granola Life" pinboard on Pinterest by following the link at the top of my blog), but we need to make some BIG changes first. I plan to do some cleaning out, tossing, selling and giving away starting this week and I hope to document this endeavor here! Stay tuned!
LET THE DE-CLUTTERING BEGIN!
In front of all of my readers, I'd like to confess, that in my heart of hearts, my soul of souls, that I am...
A dirty hippie.
Well, maybe not so much the dirty part, but the hippie part for sure.
I see your, "Huh?" faces now!
Let me explain. I don't mean the stereotypical, pot smoking, musk smelling, no underwear wearing, dread rocking, free love giving hippie - I mean the nature lover, up-cycling, living off and giving back to the land as much as possible hippie. In my heart of hearts, I want a natural life with the smallest foot print possible. I feel now I'm too wasteful, with too much clutter and it's cluttering my mind!
But I also want internet and P is a TV freak...so we need to have technology! Maybe we can coin the term Techno-Hippie? :P Ahem, anyway..
I have a dream and in that dream, P and I live in a decently sized house, with a small garden out back, a compost pile, my cats, and simple decorations that are up-cycled/recycled/redone. I want to make my own soaps, shampoos, deodorants, lotions, chapsticks, and candles - and maybe have a side business doing this as well. I would love to figure out how to live as inexpensively as possible but still be able to comfortably pay all the bills that come with having a house.
I have ideas on how to do this (check out my "The Crunchy-Granola Life" pinboard on Pinterest by following the link at the top of my blog), but we need to make some BIG changes first. I plan to do some cleaning out, tossing, selling and giving away starting this week and I hope to document this endeavor here! Stay tuned!
LET THE DE-CLUTTERING BEGIN!
8.18.2011
The BEST Server EVER! *sarcasm*
I decided today after having to actually CLIMB onto a plastic rack at WalMart to get the kind of cat litter that doesn't actually choke me when cleaning the boxes, that I would treat myself to a nice dinner at Denny's. Okay, so Denny's isn't exactly a *NICE* dinner, but it was one I didn't have to make or work for - so it was nice for me!
At the end of the meal, my server, Daniel asked me if I was the best server I'd ever had. God I hate it when people do that to me because I get SO tongue tied with what's nice to say and what I really want to say! What I really wanted to say was this:
The Best Server I've ever had? No, Daniel, you don't even come close. The Best Server Ever would have noticed I brought in a laptop with me (the Denny's here has WiFi) and actually sat me at a booth or table close to an outlet. If you had done that, I probably would have ordered dessert and a soda after dinner instead of having to run home to plug my computer in to finish the assignment I am working on. The Best Server Ever would have brought me a LARGE *clean* glass of water WITH a straw when that was the only drink I ordered - and not made me wait 20 minutes for said straw. The Best Server Ever has straws in their pockets at all times anyway! The Best Server Ever would have asked me upfront if I wanted lemons with my water - which really isn't something exotic or anything - but if I had to ask, The Best Server Ever would have brought me new lemons, not already squeezed ones..and on an actual dish. And when I ordered my food, The Best Server Ever would have asked me how I wanted my burger cooked so I wouldn't have to send it back and not wait an additional 20 minutes for the burger to be done right. The Best Server Ever would have realized that the customers can actually hear you say, "I know man, it looked fine to me too!" to the cook about the seriously uncooked burger I sent back. The Best Server Ever would have curbed his use of the word "Ma'am" to half a million times instead of one million times when speaking to a woman who gets asked if she's a new student when she walks onto a High School Campus. The Best Server Ever would have realized that maybe some people do not enjoy you sitting down at their table to take their orders unless they knew you or were regulars to the restaurant.
So no, sorry, Daniel, you are not The Best Server I've ever had. I am friends with the best servers I have ever had - and you can actually learn a thing or two from them!
To sum things up in a way you can understand Daniel, The Best Server Ever! would have gotten a better tip.
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| Yahoo Sketch created by my friend Vicki and I about a different Denny's story. :P |
The Best Server I've ever had? No, Daniel, you don't even come close. The Best Server Ever would have noticed I brought in a laptop with me (the Denny's here has WiFi) and actually sat me at a booth or table close to an outlet. If you had done that, I probably would have ordered dessert and a soda after dinner instead of having to run home to plug my computer in to finish the assignment I am working on. The Best Server Ever would have brought me a LARGE *clean* glass of water WITH a straw when that was the only drink I ordered - and not made me wait 20 minutes for said straw. The Best Server Ever has straws in their pockets at all times anyway! The Best Server Ever would have asked me upfront if I wanted lemons with my water - which really isn't something exotic or anything - but if I had to ask, The Best Server Ever would have brought me new lemons, not already squeezed ones..and on an actual dish. And when I ordered my food, The Best Server Ever would have asked me how I wanted my burger cooked so I wouldn't have to send it back and not wait an additional 20 minutes for the burger to be done right. The Best Server Ever would have realized that the customers can actually hear you say, "I know man, it looked fine to me too!" to the cook about the seriously uncooked burger I sent back. The Best Server Ever would have curbed his use of the word "Ma'am" to half a million times instead of one million times when speaking to a woman who gets asked if she's a new student when she walks onto a High School Campus. The Best Server Ever would have realized that maybe some people do not enjoy you sitting down at their table to take their orders unless they knew you or were regulars to the restaurant.
So no, sorry, Daniel, you are not The Best Server I've ever had. I am friends with the best servers I have ever had - and you can actually learn a thing or two from them!
To sum things up in a way you can understand Daniel, The Best Server Ever! would have gotten a better tip.
4.25.2011
Just Figuring Things Out
Sometimes you just need to type/write things out to figure it all out. A little background - my husband is leaving the teaching profession and going back into Over-The-Road trucking staring this summer. He is SO looking forward to this and I am happy for him. I, however, don't know what to do with my life. I do have a lot of different routes that are possible - all with various outcomes. Here are the possible choices for next year:
I keep hearing in the back of my head that NOW IS THE TIME to do something if I'm not ready to settle yet. I don't have any kids, my husband's kids are pre-teens and in the time of their lives where they pull away from their parents and try to start their own lives, we don't own a house or have any sick relatives to take care of *KNOCK ON WOOD* so now really is the time!
- I stay at my current position as a teacher here in Whiteriver, but in 4th grade instead of 6th. However, the school district does things their own way, I am not being paid what I'm worth nor do I like the population. The administration is also constantly telling me two different solutions for one problem - they just don't agree. The work required of me is above and WAY beyond what should be required of a teacher and there are only a few bright stars. I have to be "mean" all the time and be constantly on the kids to get them to do the simplest tasks. Also, parents are not involved in their childrens' lives so it is hard to get any kind of support. Teachers are not respected and an education is not valued.
- Look for a teaching job in the Pinetop/Show Low area - of which there is only one posted so far but I know of two possible others. I know that the school districts in Pinetop and Show Low pay less that here in Whiteriver, but they are closer to were I actually live so I'd be saving in gas and being able to sleep in more. :P
- I look for a job as a teacher in California and *hope* that I get one. My mom has been telling me that the Baby Boomers are starting to retire this year and I might be able to find a job pretty close to home. However, the cost of living is super high and we'd have to go without any extras until my husband is done training and being paid as a regular driver - or a trainer.
- I attended school (I have been accepted to a Master's Program) full time and substitute part time here, but not in Whiteriver - I would sub in the Show Low and Pinetop area. The Master's program I have been accepted to is for a Masters in Library Science. Working as a children's librarian would really be the ideal job for me. Or maybe something along the lines of curriculum director or something. I often thought about being a classroom management or a reading specialist too. I'm not sure.
- Join my husband as an over-the-road husband and wife trucking team. For this to work, we'd have to be owner-operators, or leasing the truck so we can take the cats with us. We would have to sell our cars, put everything in storage and not have a home base for a while. We *would* be able to bank everything after expenses. Doing this, I can see us paying off all our debts within a year/year and a half and maybe being able to buy a house after a couple of years. As team drivers, we would get first choice of routes, we'd get the longer routes and we'd be able to choose whether or not we even want to drive. So, we could, in a sense, drive somewhere, take a week off then drive somewhere else. We would get paid to travel! We both have friends and family all over the country and could finally see them more than once in a blue moon. With WiFi all over the place and the hotspots that are out through the wireless companies, I could also go to school since my program is all online. It would be a MAJOR adjustment but would also take away all the little things like dishes, house work, rent and utility bills. I know we would still have the truck expenses, credit card bills and all the other bills that follow us. But it might be worth it to come out of trucking debt free and with enough savings to put a down payment on a house. Also, buy that time, the economy might have turned around and there might be teaching jobs in California for me.
I keep hearing in the back of my head that NOW IS THE TIME to do something if I'm not ready to settle yet. I don't have any kids, my husband's kids are pre-teens and in the time of their lives where they pull away from their parents and try to start their own lives, we don't own a house or have any sick relatives to take care of *KNOCK ON WOOD* so now really is the time!
4.05.2011
Random Thoughts
Good afternoon. I am home sick for the second time in a row. I am not sure what's wrong, I feel sort of in the middle of getting horribly sick and not being sick at all. And, I have given whatever this is to my husband - great. Anyway, lately I have been wrestling with where I fit as a quilter, sewer, hobbier, etc. In the past I have gone through so many hobbies, picking up something, being all gung-ho about it then loosing interest in it quickly. I'm not sure if it's a growing up and discovering yourself thing, lack of inspiration or that it's just the way I am.
Right now, I can count on two fingers the things I am interested in as hobbies. One is baking. The other is quilting. For some reason or another, these two have stuck around to the point where I actually WANT a mixer for baking AND I have taken the time to put together a room for quilting.
Which brings me to my random thoughts. (Bear with me, the threads that hold these thoughts together are thin and frayed!) First, I am not attracted to traditional quilts like these - except maybe the double wedding ring, the compass star and the hexie flower. Don't get me wrong, traditional quilts are beautiful and I always appreciated the work put into them! Anyway, sewing together blocks that are all the same except for their colorways (btw, if you Google colorways and click images, you get shoes!) doesn't really inspire me.
Also, I can't seem to be able sew a straight line to save my freaking life! I want that foot for my machine that guides your fabric and helps you sew a straight and even 1/4" seam - but they don't make one for my machine.
So, what does inspire me? Well, I'm trying to figure that out. As for quilts and fabrics, I love working with scraps, charms and small pieces. I love the look of these scrap quilts. I also love the look of the "wonky" quilts like this one from Blue Elephant Stitches and this one from r0ssie blog. I came across my first string quilt when I came across a post from Wendy from Sewing in the Wendy City who was guest blogging over at Sew We Quilt @ Stash Manicure. Then I discovered the work of Crazy Mom Quilts who just makes EVERYTHING seem so simple to make. Even her "simple" quilts always look so beautiful!
So...I seem to be attracted to quilts that don't NEED to be sewn with straight lines; ones that look scrappy, bright and like a jumble of ideas in fabric. However, I think I'm stuck. I feel that if I go in the scrappy, uneven direction then I won't be respecting the traditions of quilting. Maybe I also feel that if I don't learn the basic, fundamental, traditional blocks of quilting then I won't be seen as a "quilter?" I mean, I can appreciate the beauty in traditional quilts, really I can! But when I *TRY* the blocks, or look at quilts that are "traditional," my brain gets bored.
Then there is the fabric. So many of the quilt blocks out there seem to showcase the fabric in beautiful ways. Like the 9 patch. 9 squares of fabric sewn together that show off the good choices of fabric you made when you picked out fabric for this quilt beautifully! How can I justify taking a chunk of fabric I payed $7.95 (OR MORE!) a yard for and cutting it up into scraps?!
I don't know. I feel the inspiration just bubbling at the surface! What is blocking me? Am I over thinking here? And by over thinking, could I be stifling my creativity?!
Right now, I can count on two fingers the things I am interested in as hobbies. One is baking. The other is quilting. For some reason or another, these two have stuck around to the point where I actually WANT a mixer for baking AND I have taken the time to put together a room for quilting.
Which brings me to my random thoughts. (Bear with me, the threads that hold these thoughts together are thin and frayed!) First, I am not attracted to traditional quilts like these - except maybe the double wedding ring, the compass star and the hexie flower. Don't get me wrong, traditional quilts are beautiful and I always appreciated the work put into them! Anyway, sewing together blocks that are all the same except for their colorways (btw, if you Google colorways and click images, you get shoes!) doesn't really inspire me.
Also, I can't seem to be able sew a straight line to save my freaking life! I want that foot for my machine that guides your fabric and helps you sew a straight and even 1/4" seam - but they don't make one for my machine.
So, what does inspire me? Well, I'm trying to figure that out. As for quilts and fabrics, I love working with scraps, charms and small pieces. I love the look of these scrap quilts. I also love the look of the "wonky" quilts like this one from Blue Elephant Stitches and this one from r0ssie blog. I came across my first string quilt when I came across a post from Wendy from Sewing in the Wendy City who was guest blogging over at Sew We Quilt @ Stash Manicure. Then I discovered the work of Crazy Mom Quilts who just makes EVERYTHING seem so simple to make. Even her "simple" quilts always look so beautiful!
So...I seem to be attracted to quilts that don't NEED to be sewn with straight lines; ones that look scrappy, bright and like a jumble of ideas in fabric. However, I think I'm stuck. I feel that if I go in the scrappy, uneven direction then I won't be respecting the traditions of quilting. Maybe I also feel that if I don't learn the basic, fundamental, traditional blocks of quilting then I won't be seen as a "quilter?" I mean, I can appreciate the beauty in traditional quilts, really I can! But when I *TRY* the blocks, or look at quilts that are "traditional," my brain gets bored.
Then there is the fabric. So many of the quilt blocks out there seem to showcase the fabric in beautiful ways. Like the 9 patch. 9 squares of fabric sewn together that show off the good choices of fabric you made when you picked out fabric for this quilt beautifully! How can I justify taking a chunk of fabric I payed $7.95 (OR MORE!) a yard for and cutting it up into scraps?!
I don't know. I feel the inspiration just bubbling at the surface! What is blocking me? Am I over thinking here? And by over thinking, could I be stifling my creativity?!
4.04.2011
Look What I Made Monday!
When we moved in January, we moved into an awesome condo that has great windows. I love all the light the windows offer, however, one set of windows in our stairwell looks right out to a kind of busy road. I knew in January that I wanted to cover these windows but didn't want to block the light coming through them during the day. While putting together my sewing room, I found this fabric that my mom sent me.
She found this fabric for $1 a yard at a discount store in Solvang, CA and bought yards and YARDS of it. She made curtains from this fabric for her walls of windows in my parents' master bedroom and the result was bright and airy.
So since this fabric worked so nicely in my parents' room, I thought it would be perfect to use for our windows. I think the result is beautiful!
I kind of cheated and didn't sew any seams in the panels. I just cut two 91" lengths, clipped them with these cool curtain clips and strung them on tension rods since the window casings are wood - and we are renting. I also kept the selvage edges since the selvages are kind of neat looking. My husband got into the action and opened and clipped on those those neat clips for me. They are so hard to open even though they are some kind of fake metal! The hold on to the fabric really well though.
I might take them down and seam the bottom, but to be honest, I'd rather leave them raw in case I decide to switch them out and use the dot fabric for something else. I don't see me needing to do that any time soon though since I still have a couple of yards of that dot fabric left!! :P
I can't believe it took me so long to do this project. It only took about 20 minutes when I finally got to it and it was fun! Tell me what you think! :)
2.17.2011
I feel like such a failure
I am behind on ALL birthday gifts this year. I have them all, just never doled them out.
I haven't even sent out our holiday cards - and it's almost the end of FEBRUARY! I rushed to get them shipped so I could send them out in time. They are currently sitting on my mantel and mocking me as we type.
I joined Block Swap Adventures and just realized that the block needs to be in the mail by the 25th, and it's the 17th....and I have no idea what to make!
I haven't even made anything since the Christmas gifts. My sewing room isn't even unpacked!
I lost two of my class' postcards for like two weeks until I opened my teacher's edition that I have been using ALL week and there they were! The kids keep asking if they got to their destinations...*sigh*
I have been meaning to do a token turn in with my class and haven't in three weeks...
Lesson plans are due next week too...I have no idea what I'm doing regarding lesson plans...
I suck these days...
1.29.2011
So I haven't blogged in a while
It's been about a month or so since I have blogged. I wanted to blog at least once a week, but life has gotten in the way. Since my last post, I have moved to a different city, started a new job as a 6th grade teacher, made a couple of new friends, gone through a an infection of pink eye (P had the pink eye, but I went through it with him!) and so far have evaded whatever the sickness is that has been going around the school. *knock on wood!* I haven't unpacked my sewing room yet so I haven't made anything lately, but I did buy a cute new lamp for above my cutting table so I can actually see what I'm making when I do get around to making something. My mom (who now has her own blog!) sent me some adorable black and white fabrics she found while cleaning out her sewing room so I'm kind of inspired - but so tired! I want to make a string quilt for our bed in black and white since both P and I decided we wanted to do the bedroom in black and white to kind of go with some black and white posters of the Eiffel Tower I have. I have had these posters for a while and have always put one above the bed since it's one of my dreams to see the Eiffel Tower one day. :)
Anyway, the reason I came here to blog is to let you know about a giveaway Linda over at Stray Stitches is having. She is celebrating 400+ followers and is giving away some lovely fabrics. Since I have little to no stash, I am kind of apprehensive about advertising this giveaway because she already has over 150 entries, but the prize is too pretty not to share. So pop on over, say hi and enter her giveaway! As for me, I am going to go cuddle on the couch with a kitty and watch some yummy cakes being made on TLC. Mmm...cake! Happy Saturday everyone! :)
Anyway, the reason I came here to blog is to let you know about a giveaway Linda over at Stray Stitches is having. She is celebrating 400+ followers and is giving away some lovely fabrics. Since I have little to no stash, I am kind of apprehensive about advertising this giveaway because she already has over 150 entries, but the prize is too pretty not to share. So pop on over, say hi and enter her giveaway! As for me, I am going to go cuddle on the couch with a kitty and watch some yummy cakes being made on TLC. Mmm...cake! Happy Saturday everyone! :)
12.22.2010
An Awesome Story + Wish List Wednesday! :)
The only reason I am able to bust out a blog right now is because it's SUPER slow at work. Today is my last day here anyway, so they can't really do anything about me blogging at work. :P
Anyway, there is a lot going on here in my world. First, I got a teaching job on the reservation in Whiteriver, AZ. I'll be teaching 6th grade at an awesome school with an awesome principal! I'm sad to leave this wonderful job here though. Everyone I have had the pleasure of working with has been wonderful and this is, by far, one of the best places I have ever worked. But, the budget is all crazy and I didn't know if there was going to be enough money for me to work here next year. So, I ran across this teaching job and couldn't pass it up even though it was for this year. I mean, I have gone through ALL the education and was really tired of feeling like I wasted my time (and money!) by not having a job in my chosen field. This was my chance! And I took it. :)
The only problem was that Whiteriver is 2 hours away from where we are now. This meant that if my husband couldn't get out of his teaching contract in the middle of the year, that we would be long distance. Again. We actually met on eHarmony and spent the first two years of our relationship long distance. But now it was different because we were married - newly married - and didn't really want to be apart. So he hmmmed and hahhhed for a couple of days until I quietly reminded him to just look at the job openings for the Jr. High. Sure enough, there was a 7th grade English Teacher position available. He applied for it and was told that the teacher currently in the position hadn't passed her teaching exams yet, was going to take them again so P would have to wait until they knew if she had passed or not. But, they wanted him to come in for an interview anyway. So he went. Two days later they were calling him to offer him the job! YES! We won't have to be long distance again! :)
After we got hired in Whiteriver, we told our prospective bosses that we would be leaving and they were both really stressed out about finding replacements for us on such short notice. However, everything has been working out so far. My replacement happens to be the person *I* replaced when I got hired here. She was planning on retiring but after only a few months she realized that she really couldn't afford retirement and was looking for another job. That's lined up already, she is coming back on 12/27/10 so there won't be any down time here. P's replacement happens to be the daughter of one of the ladies that work in the office at his school who was really down on her luck and desperately looking for a job. She is highly qualified and can step in a week after break. P only has to provide one week of substitute lesson plans and then he's gone from that school! He's looking forward to there being more support and resources available to him in his new school. He's also happy that he only has to teach and plan for one grade level and one reading intervention group. I am nervous and excited all in one. I can't wait to attack that classroom and make it MINE! I have all these ideas for classroom management, a bunch of positive reinforcement ideas and just ideas to help all my students be the best they can be! :) I'm also really excited to be stepping into my chosen carrier. I guess there is a reason for all those years of waiting for something to happen. I think I was supposed to wait until Whiteriver was ready for me. It feels like we are both being pushed there by cosmic forces since everything is just lining up so nicely.
Except for housing. We already gave 30 days notice at the place we are living now and currently we don't have a forwarding address. There is teacher housing on the reservation available for the teachers, but it's full. I even called the district to double check this and they haven't called me back. We tried to get into this awesome house on Saturday but even though we got along great with the owner’s wife and her dog, and it looked like we were for sure getting the house, two days later her husband told us that we couldn't move in because of our cats and the bad tenant that had lived there before who had animals. Oh well, on to our second choice - a four-bedroom town house for like WAY cheap. They require a pet deposit, but we can handle that. So, we applied but the woman who takes care of the rentals wasn't in the office yesterday so we are playing the waiting game again. In the mean time we heard back from one company who said they had two places that were okay with our pets so we might go back up tomorrow and look at those. We did see one place that we could move into right away but it was old, dinghy and dark...it just didn't feel right. I guess it would be okay for short term, but I don't want to move that many more times in our life. Especially if we have to do it ourselves again. :P So we are hoping on the town house or there being some place just as nice to look at tomorrow.
Oh and did I mention we both start January 3rd?! Yeah. We have less that TWO WEEKS to pack AND move AND unpack AND put our classrooms together! Sheesh! Also right in the middle there is Christmas. We got invited to Christmas dinner and we are supposed to bring deviled eggs so we have to make those at some point...one thing at a time...one thing at a time!
I just want to ask, and I don't do this very often, but if you could just pray to whatever god/goddess/being you believe in - or if you don't believe in anything just send out some positive energies toward us during this stressful time. Everything is just working out so nicely so far, just help us keep the flow going regarding this situation. We need to find a place to live this week so focus on that for us if you can. Thank you all so very much!
You are all invited over for dinner!
It might be in a cardboard box though... :P
And on to this week's Wish List Wednesday! Last week I asked for more time, and that was to finish out my Christmas presents and get them out. I'm happy to say that I got that time and the presents should be arriving at my parents' house today via UPS. Yey! This week I have been having a lot of problems with my kitties getting fur balls and leaving presents for us all over the house. I think it's the changing weather. They don't know if they should be growing their winter coats or shedding them! Also, most of the places P and I have been looking to move into have all had light carpeting. Who would be so stupid as to put light colored carpeting in a RENTAL?! It just shows everything. So, because of the light carpeting, and the kitties, I would like to wish for a Bissell Spot Bot! It's like a handy dandy little portable carpet cleaner. It's also lightweight and will even fit on stairs. You just fill it with cleaner and water (I plan on using warm water and vinegar), place it on the stain, push a button and it does all the work! Whoo hoo!! It even comes in RED! SEE?!
*DROOL* Perty huh? Okay, that's enough of that. :P I do really love it though. I have heard that the only thing people have problems with is that the reservoir is small and it leaves a lot of water in the carpet after cleaning. But that handy dandy hose there is supposed to suck the water back out of the carpet so I'm not sure what the issue is. Anyway, that's my Wish List Wednesday! Can somebody say, "Housewarming Present?!" :P
I think I'm going to start a "Blogs of Note" section that lists some of the blogs or even websites I come across that I find interesting enough to share. Here's today's:
I'm not sure if my sis-in-law over at Lilac Barries is doing a WLW this week, but go check out her blog anyway because she's kind of all sorts of awesome. :) Also, check out Rants From Mommyland. The ladies over there have a wonderfully heart warming blog entry called There's Something About Target... that will make you tear up and smile from ear to ear! If you didn't know about this blog already, Hyperbole and a Half has a new blog entry called The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas that had me laughing so hard my stomach hurt last night! I love her stories, she is a great writer. :) Last but not least, Moda Bake Shop has an advent quilt project up. A great project for next year since Christmas is like 2 days away. I think it's adorable and the pockets go together so easily!
And that's it for today - I know it was a lot. :) I should blog more often...
Anyway, there is a lot going on here in my world. First, I got a teaching job on the reservation in Whiteriver, AZ. I'll be teaching 6th grade at an awesome school with an awesome principal! I'm sad to leave this wonderful job here though. Everyone I have had the pleasure of working with has been wonderful and this is, by far, one of the best places I have ever worked. But, the budget is all crazy and I didn't know if there was going to be enough money for me to work here next year. So, I ran across this teaching job and couldn't pass it up even though it was for this year. I mean, I have gone through ALL the education and was really tired of feeling like I wasted my time (and money!) by not having a job in my chosen field. This was my chance! And I took it. :)
The only problem was that Whiteriver is 2 hours away from where we are now. This meant that if my husband couldn't get out of his teaching contract in the middle of the year, that we would be long distance. Again. We actually met on eHarmony and spent the first two years of our relationship long distance. But now it was different because we were married - newly married - and didn't really want to be apart. So he hmmmed and hahhhed for a couple of days until I quietly reminded him to just look at the job openings for the Jr. High. Sure enough, there was a 7th grade English Teacher position available. He applied for it and was told that the teacher currently in the position hadn't passed her teaching exams yet, was going to take them again so P would have to wait until they knew if she had passed or not. But, they wanted him to come in for an interview anyway. So he went. Two days later they were calling him to offer him the job! YES! We won't have to be long distance again! :)
After we got hired in Whiteriver, we told our prospective bosses that we would be leaving and they were both really stressed out about finding replacements for us on such short notice. However, everything has been working out so far. My replacement happens to be the person *I* replaced when I got hired here. She was planning on retiring but after only a few months she realized that she really couldn't afford retirement and was looking for another job. That's lined up already, she is coming back on 12/27/10 so there won't be any down time here. P's replacement happens to be the daughter of one of the ladies that work in the office at his school who was really down on her luck and desperately looking for a job. She is highly qualified and can step in a week after break. P only has to provide one week of substitute lesson plans and then he's gone from that school! He's looking forward to there being more support and resources available to him in his new school. He's also happy that he only has to teach and plan for one grade level and one reading intervention group. I am nervous and excited all in one. I can't wait to attack that classroom and make it MINE! I have all these ideas for classroom management, a bunch of positive reinforcement ideas and just ideas to help all my students be the best they can be! :) I'm also really excited to be stepping into my chosen carrier. I guess there is a reason for all those years of waiting for something to happen. I think I was supposed to wait until Whiteriver was ready for me. It feels like we are both being pushed there by cosmic forces since everything is just lining up so nicely.
Except for housing. We already gave 30 days notice at the place we are living now and currently we don't have a forwarding address. There is teacher housing on the reservation available for the teachers, but it's full. I even called the district to double check this and they haven't called me back. We tried to get into this awesome house on Saturday but even though we got along great with the owner’s wife and her dog, and it looked like we were for sure getting the house, two days later her husband told us that we couldn't move in because of our cats and the bad tenant that had lived there before who had animals. Oh well, on to our second choice - a four-bedroom town house for like WAY cheap. They require a pet deposit, but we can handle that. So, we applied but the woman who takes care of the rentals wasn't in the office yesterday so we are playing the waiting game again. In the mean time we heard back from one company who said they had two places that were okay with our pets so we might go back up tomorrow and look at those. We did see one place that we could move into right away but it was old, dinghy and dark...it just didn't feel right. I guess it would be okay for short term, but I don't want to move that many more times in our life. Especially if we have to do it ourselves again. :P So we are hoping on the town house or there being some place just as nice to look at tomorrow.
Oh and did I mention we both start January 3rd?! Yeah. We have less that TWO WEEKS to pack AND move AND unpack AND put our classrooms together! Sheesh! Also right in the middle there is Christmas. We got invited to Christmas dinner and we are supposed to bring deviled eggs so we have to make those at some point...one thing at a time...one thing at a time!
I just want to ask, and I don't do this very often, but if you could just pray to whatever god/goddess/being you believe in - or if you don't believe in anything just send out some positive energies toward us during this stressful time. Everything is just working out so nicely so far, just help us keep the flow going regarding this situation. We need to find a place to live this week so focus on that for us if you can. Thank you all so very much!
You are all invited over for dinner!
It might be in a cardboard box though... :P
And on to this week's Wish List Wednesday! Last week I asked for more time, and that was to finish out my Christmas presents and get them out. I'm happy to say that I got that time and the presents should be arriving at my parents' house today via UPS. Yey! This week I have been having a lot of problems with my kitties getting fur balls and leaving presents for us all over the house. I think it's the changing weather. They don't know if they should be growing their winter coats or shedding them! Also, most of the places P and I have been looking to move into have all had light carpeting. Who would be so stupid as to put light colored carpeting in a RENTAL?! It just shows everything. So, because of the light carpeting, and the kitties, I would like to wish for a Bissell Spot Bot! It's like a handy dandy little portable carpet cleaner. It's also lightweight and will even fit on stairs. You just fill it with cleaner and water (I plan on using warm water and vinegar), place it on the stain, push a button and it does all the work! Whoo hoo!! It even comes in RED! SEE?!
 |
| Isn't it just cute?! |
I think I'm going to start a "Blogs of Note" section that lists some of the blogs or even websites I come across that I find interesting enough to share. Here's today's:
I'm not sure if my sis-in-law over at Lilac Barries is doing a WLW this week, but go check out her blog anyway because she's kind of all sorts of awesome. :) Also, check out Rants From Mommyland. The ladies over there have a wonderfully heart warming blog entry called There's Something About Target... that will make you tear up and smile from ear to ear! If you didn't know about this blog already, Hyperbole and a Half has a new blog entry called The Year Kenny Loggins Ruined Christmas that had me laughing so hard my stomach hurt last night! I love her stories, she is a great writer. :) Last but not least, Moda Bake Shop has an advent quilt project up. A great project for next year since Christmas is like 2 days away. I think it's adorable and the pockets go together so easily!
And that's it for today - I know it was a lot. :) I should blog more often...
PS - did you know that there is a spell check option in the top right hand corner of the composition box? I didn't! And all this time I've been cutting and pasting my blogs into Word to check the spelling which really messes with my formatting...*shaking head*
12.15.2010
Wish List Wednesday
So, on this loverly Wish List Wednesday - my wish is for more time.
*On a side note, I just saw my "waffles" label while labeling this post...guess what's for dinner? (Now I can add the waffles label! Awesome!)
12.02.2010
Finally a REAL post!
But first, I have to shamelessly plug something I found online that I feel is really awesome! I found this offer on one of the blogs I read called Sew Dang Cute Crafts. Right now, Canvas People have a great deal of $55 off a photo canvas - just pay shipping and handling. If you choose an 8x10 canvas, it is free! The shipping and handling is kind of pricey, but I think it's worth it. I used a really cute picture of my wedding for my canvas. I also emailed everyone on my email list that I think would appreciate the deal and now I am letting you, *all* my readers, know about this too. :) Just in time for the holidays!
Secondly, I would like to do my Wish List Wednesday, Thursday Edition! (Thanks for my sis-in-law, Lilac Barries, for doing a Wish List Wednesday and reminding me about blogging!) I would like a digital picture frame so I can up load the cutest pictures of my wedding and take them to work with me. Something like this:
LOL! I love the expression on that kid's face! :) With a digital photo frame, I can show off lots of pictures w/o taking up that much space - and I can change the photos out when I feel like it. Some of these frames come with remotes, which I don't think is necessary. The last thing I need is another remote to keep track of. The price isn't bad - the cheapest one I saw on Amazon was about $30 before shipping. The reviews say it can only hold 10 pictures, but why would anyone want more than 10 pictures in one slide show? I get kind of bored after that anyway. :P So there's my Wish List Wednesday on Thursday!
Anyway, on to the REAL blog entry! The Wedding Night Story - keep reading! It's rated G. PROMISE!
As I stated before, the reason I was gone for so long was that I went off and got married. The wedding was FANTASTIC with awesome food, amazing flowers, great cake, wonderful people and a beautiful venue. The only thing I was kind of upset about was the flies that decided to show up during the ceremony. But, once the sun went down, the weather was perfect and the reception went off without a hitch. There were so people taking pictures that I felt kind of famous that night! Well, it was my wedding after all. :P It all went by too fast...I wish time could have stopped, or slowed down so I could have spent more time with the people I don't get to see that often. However, I am really glad I got to spend as much time with everyone as I did. :) We spent time chatting, eating, dancing with the kids and just having so much fun! Everything was just perfect.
So, since the wedding was SO perfect, in the back of my mind, I was kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop - so to speak. And it did. The ceremony lasted into the night, 9 or 10pm, and we didn't get out of there until late. We spent some time packing up my things at my parents' house then went off to the first stop of our honeymoon in San Luis Obispo. We were going to spend our first night in a hotel there then go on up to Morro Bay for a few more days. Well, here is where the other shoe dropped. We arrived at the hotel very late, which didn't have an elevator by the way, checked in and went to our room. Our room was on the second floor and poor P carried two big bags up the stairs. We get to our room, open the door...and BAM! We were hit with a wall of cigarette smell (coming from a non-smoking room none the less!). I reeled back and said, "We can't stay here" and we promptly went back down stairs with the big bags and asked for another room. There were no rooms available. So, we asked for a refund but since we reserved the room from an online company, we had to call them to get the refund. Since it was so late, nobody was there to issue the refund so we had to wait until the next day. Fine...but where were we going to sleep?
By this time, it was..oh about 1am and everyone we knew in the area were hosting other people and didn't have room in their houses - or asleep and unreachable. So, we went next door from this horrible hotel to the Courtyard by Marriott. I know swanky...and if the story stopped here, it be awesome but it wouldn't be a story! So, we walked in, stood there waiting for another family to check in - which felt like forever since around this time at night, and after such a long day, time seemed to slow down to annoyingly snail-like slowness. We finally get to the receptionist and tell her our sob story about how this was our wedding night and the hotel we had smelled like smoke and how I was allergic to smoke, etc... The receptionist was sympathetic to our situation and actually hung up on somebody who was holding for the VERY last room they had! Amazing right?! Well, the room was $200 JUST for that one night (even after the AAA discount she was going to give us) and she didn't tell us how much the room was until AFTER she hung up on that poor guy. I felt bad for the guy because we could not afford that much for just one night, especially since we had just spent so much just on traveling to California from Arizona. The receptionist was nice about us declining the last room available and didn't kick us out of the reception area when we tried to find another room.
After we declined the room at the Hyatt, we had to find another place to stay. So, we go on the phone with this really patient guy with Hotels.com. We tried to get another night at the Inn at Morro Bay, which was the hotel we booked in Morro Bay for our honeymoon, but the hotel was completely booked. Since it was SOO freaking late by that time, the guy from Hotels.com had to physically call hotels instead of book them online, so he put us on hold and proceeded to call other hotels in the area. We also gave him a price point of under $100 to remember while he was asking about rooms.
During our time on hold, I decided to thank the receptionist for hanging up on the guy and let her know that we appreciated that she didn't kick us out while we called pretty much her competitors in the area to get a cheaper room. She was really nice about the whole thing and we got to chatting. Come to find out, she was once a flower shop owner that my Mom used to work for back in the day. Crazy huh? Small world!
Anyway, around that time, P finally got back in touch with the guy from Hotels.com who had found us a room in Santa Maria at the Historic Santa Maria Inn. Now, if you're not familiar with the central coast of California, let me educate you. :P Our wedding was in Arroyo Grande at the Gardens at Peacock Farms. We went from Peacock farms north about 10 minutes to Grover Beach. From Grover Beach, we drove north another 10, 15 minutes to San Luis Obispo where that smelly hotel is located. Santa Maria is a little over a half an hour SOUTH of San Luis Obispo, and an hour SOUTH of Morro Bay. And it's 1am...after one of the longest (but one of the best!) days in our lives. But, the distance doesn't matter because this room was the ONLY room on the central coast - that was reasonably priced. So, we decide to take it out of shear desperation and start moving on out. We thank the receptionist one more time and she gives us some free refreshments to help us with the drive that seemed like a trek across the world by this time. She also reminds us that it's not really that far away and that now we have a story to tell (which we do!).
We get to the hotel...and it's BEAUTIFUL! The lobby is clean, full of historic furniture, lovely wood trim and a roaring fireplace. We check in and the receptionist gives us a late check out because it's about 1:30, 2am by the time we get there. As we went up to our room, we encountered a drunk guy waiting for the elevator. He reeked of alcohol and stumbled into the elevator before us. I didn't want to join him in the elevator since he smelled so bad and I was afraid of being thrown up on, or worse, having to talk to a drunk person, so we waited. The elevator went up a few floors and then stopped. We waited a few more minutes and then called the elevator back down, figuring he had gotten off to stumble to his room. When the elevator came back down, guess who was still there? That's right, the drunk guy! When the doors opened he was in the middle of taking a header into the wall of the elevator. I think I shrieked a little which woke him up a bit and he pressed the button to go back up. We waited for the elevator again, this time a little longer to ensure that he got off. After a few more minutes we called the elevator back down...and he was still there. This time, he was right on the other side of the doors and when they opened, he stumbled out, almost right into me. We let him go and grabbed the elevator before he could orient himself back to the elevator. The elevator smelled like alcohol, but luckily we were only on the 2nd floor. We FINALLY got to our room and pretty much crashed right away. When we finally got to sleep it was around 3am. When we woke up in the morning, we opened our presents, ate wedding cake for breakfast and lounged around until check out.
I would highly recommend the Historic Santa Maria in to anyone! The beds were very comfortable and the bathroom was clean with a nice hot shower. The only thing that was kind of disorientating, especially that late at night and being so tired, was that the building was old and the floors were slanted.
Kind of an amazing and funny story huh? Aren't you glad you kept reading?
And that was our Wedding Night Story...and yes, I have made people blush when I tell the story and start off with that title - which just adds to the awesomeness of it all! :)
Secondly, I would like to do my Wish List Wednesday, Thursday Edition! (Thanks for my sis-in-law, Lilac Barries, for doing a Wish List Wednesday and reminding me about blogging!) I would like a digital picture frame so I can up load the cutest pictures of my wedding and take them to work with me. Something like this:
LOL! I love the expression on that kid's face! :) With a digital photo frame, I can show off lots of pictures w/o taking up that much space - and I can change the photos out when I feel like it. Some of these frames come with remotes, which I don't think is necessary. The last thing I need is another remote to keep track of. The price isn't bad - the cheapest one I saw on Amazon was about $30 before shipping. The reviews say it can only hold 10 pictures, but why would anyone want more than 10 pictures in one slide show? I get kind of bored after that anyway. :P So there's my Wish List Wednesday on Thursday!
Anyway, on to the REAL blog entry! The Wedding Night Story - keep reading! It's rated G. PROMISE!
So, since the wedding was SO perfect, in the back of my mind, I was kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop - so to speak. And it did. The ceremony lasted into the night, 9 or 10pm, and we didn't get out of there until late. We spent some time packing up my things at my parents' house then went off to the first stop of our honeymoon in San Luis Obispo. We were going to spend our first night in a hotel there then go on up to Morro Bay for a few more days. Well, here is where the other shoe dropped. We arrived at the hotel very late, which didn't have an elevator by the way, checked in and went to our room. Our room was on the second floor and poor P carried two big bags up the stairs. We get to our room, open the door...and BAM! We were hit with a wall of cigarette smell (coming from a non-smoking room none the less!). I reeled back and said, "We can't stay here" and we promptly went back down stairs with the big bags and asked for another room. There were no rooms available. So, we asked for a refund but since we reserved the room from an online company, we had to call them to get the refund. Since it was so late, nobody was there to issue the refund so we had to wait until the next day. Fine...but where were we going to sleep?
By this time, it was..oh about 1am and everyone we knew in the area were hosting other people and didn't have room in their houses - or asleep and unreachable. So, we went next door from this horrible hotel to the Courtyard by Marriott. I know swanky...and if the story stopped here, it be awesome but it wouldn't be a story! So, we walked in, stood there waiting for another family to check in - which felt like forever since around this time at night, and after such a long day, time seemed to slow down to annoyingly snail-like slowness. We finally get to the receptionist and tell her our sob story about how this was our wedding night and the hotel we had smelled like smoke and how I was allergic to smoke, etc... The receptionist was sympathetic to our situation and actually hung up on somebody who was holding for the VERY last room they had! Amazing right?! Well, the room was $200 JUST for that one night (even after the AAA discount she was going to give us) and she didn't tell us how much the room was until AFTER she hung up on that poor guy. I felt bad for the guy because we could not afford that much for just one night, especially since we had just spent so much just on traveling to California from Arizona. The receptionist was nice about us declining the last room available and didn't kick us out of the reception area when we tried to find another room.
After we declined the room at the Hyatt, we had to find another place to stay. So, we go on the phone with this really patient guy with Hotels.com. We tried to get another night at the Inn at Morro Bay, which was the hotel we booked in Morro Bay for our honeymoon, but the hotel was completely booked. Since it was SOO freaking late by that time, the guy from Hotels.com had to physically call hotels instead of book them online, so he put us on hold and proceeded to call other hotels in the area. We also gave him a price point of under $100 to remember while he was asking about rooms.
During our time on hold, I decided to thank the receptionist for hanging up on the guy and let her know that we appreciated that she didn't kick us out while we called pretty much her competitors in the area to get a cheaper room. She was really nice about the whole thing and we got to chatting. Come to find out, she was once a flower shop owner that my Mom used to work for back in the day. Crazy huh? Small world!
Anyway, around that time, P finally got back in touch with the guy from Hotels.com who had found us a room in Santa Maria at the Historic Santa Maria Inn. Now, if you're not familiar with the central coast of California, let me educate you. :P Our wedding was in Arroyo Grande at the Gardens at Peacock Farms. We went from Peacock farms north about 10 minutes to Grover Beach. From Grover Beach, we drove north another 10, 15 minutes to San Luis Obispo where that smelly hotel is located. Santa Maria is a little over a half an hour SOUTH of San Luis Obispo, and an hour SOUTH of Morro Bay. And it's 1am...after one of the longest (but one of the best!) days in our lives. But, the distance doesn't matter because this room was the ONLY room on the central coast - that was reasonably priced. So, we decide to take it out of shear desperation and start moving on out. We thank the receptionist one more time and she gives us some free refreshments to help us with the drive that seemed like a trek across the world by this time. She also reminds us that it's not really that far away and that now we have a story to tell (which we do!).
We get to the hotel...and it's BEAUTIFUL! The lobby is clean, full of historic furniture, lovely wood trim and a roaring fireplace. We check in and the receptionist gives us a late check out because it's about 1:30, 2am by the time we get there. As we went up to our room, we encountered a drunk guy waiting for the elevator. He reeked of alcohol and stumbled into the elevator before us. I didn't want to join him in the elevator since he smelled so bad and I was afraid of being thrown up on, or worse, having to talk to a drunk person, so we waited. The elevator went up a few floors and then stopped. We waited a few more minutes and then called the elevator back down, figuring he had gotten off to stumble to his room. When the elevator came back down, guess who was still there? That's right, the drunk guy! When the doors opened he was in the middle of taking a header into the wall of the elevator. I think I shrieked a little which woke him up a bit and he pressed the button to go back up. We waited for the elevator again, this time a little longer to ensure that he got off. After a few more minutes we called the elevator back down...and he was still there. This time, he was right on the other side of the doors and when they opened, he stumbled out, almost right into me. We let him go and grabbed the elevator before he could orient himself back to the elevator. The elevator smelled like alcohol, but luckily we were only on the 2nd floor. We FINALLY got to our room and pretty much crashed right away. When we finally got to sleep it was around 3am. When we woke up in the morning, we opened our presents, ate wedding cake for breakfast and lounged around until check out.
I would highly recommend the Historic Santa Maria in to anyone! The beds were very comfortable and the bathroom was clean with a nice hot shower. The only thing that was kind of disorientating, especially that late at night and being so tired, was that the building was old and the floors were slanted.
Kind of an amazing and funny story huh? Aren't you glad you kept reading?
And that was our Wedding Night Story...and yes, I have made people blush when I tell the story and start off with that title - which just adds to the awesomeness of it all! :)
11.14.2010
Adulthood
Hi bloggland - it's been so long. I was gone for a legitimate reason, but once you get out of the habit of blogging, it's hard to get back into it again. It's like exercising. Once you are out of the habit, it takes just that much longer to get your lazy butt to the gym! Anyway, I was away getting married and going on a honeymoon and I have a blog about that on it's way. I promise it's a good one! Today though, I want to blog about adulthood and how much I feel I suck at it. I mean, who in their right minds though *I* would be a good candidate for adulthood? You know that phrase, "I smile because I don't know what's going on?" I feel like that all the time. I have no idea what I'm doing most of the time. I act like I do but really, I'm just faking it. Does anyone else feel that way?
For example: Isn't an adult supposed to be responsible? I know that the dishes should be done in a timely manner. If they aren't they will start taking over the stove, because there is no counter space in our kitchen and we won't be able to make dinner. Oh, and doesn't there need to be food in the fridge to make dinner with? What did I choose to do instead of grocery shop this weekend? Oh yeah, nap, watch HGTV and rip the quilting out of my first quilt because I didn't like how it turned out and want to quilt it over again. I am sitting here at 9:13 at night and I have yet to get dressed for the day. What's even worse...I didn't get dressed all weekend! In my head, I didn't get dressed because there wasn't anything I wanted to wear that was clean. But did I do laundry like a responsible adult? Nope, I sat around in my sweats ALL weekend and tomorrow I will have to be creative with my work clothes because nothing is clean. I feel like a wasted an entire weekend when I could have done so much more - but I didn't WANT to do anything more to be honest!
And then there's having to work. Don't get me started about work! The whole working part of being an adult sucks. And I whine about it all the time! (Should an adult even whine?) I mean having to work is a BIG waste of time in my mind. If I didn't have to work then I could have time to do other things...like the things I didn't do this weekend. Or more fun things like quilt, read books, sleep and blog. Maybe I would even feel like going to the gym if I didn't have to work. And the job itself! I really have no idea what I'm doing there. I put things in files in the order somebody tells me to. But why? Nobody knows. And I'm getting paid for this? Well, I'm not really getting paid enough if you ask me. I often times look out the window at the sky and ask myself, "What the hell am I doing here? I'd rather be off playing!" Playing? Should an adult even think in those terms? And ugh! Getting up early to *work* (of all things!) is SOO overrated! I LIKE to stay up late and sleep in! I do my best thinking at night. I get the best ideas and execute the coolest projects in the middle of the night. By waking up early and going to bed early, I feel like I'm missing out on the times I feel my best. But adults don't stay up all the time because we have to work from 8am-5pm and be responsible or something.
I just don't *feel* like I'm doing a good job at this whole adulthood thing. I mean sometimes I feel I'm doing alright. The house is clean, the bills are paid, I'm going to the gym at least twice a week and making it to work on time every day and all is good. But then things start piling up and all of a sudden I realize I'm not as good at this adult thing as I thought...
For example: Isn't an adult supposed to be responsible? I know that the dishes should be done in a timely manner. If they aren't they will start taking over the stove, because there is no counter space in our kitchen and we won't be able to make dinner. Oh, and doesn't there need to be food in the fridge to make dinner with? What did I choose to do instead of grocery shop this weekend? Oh yeah, nap, watch HGTV and rip the quilting out of my first quilt because I didn't like how it turned out and want to quilt it over again. I am sitting here at 9:13 at night and I have yet to get dressed for the day. What's even worse...I didn't get dressed all weekend! In my head, I didn't get dressed because there wasn't anything I wanted to wear that was clean. But did I do laundry like a responsible adult? Nope, I sat around in my sweats ALL weekend and tomorrow I will have to be creative with my work clothes because nothing is clean. I feel like a wasted an entire weekend when I could have done so much more - but I didn't WANT to do anything more to be honest!
And then there's having to work. Don't get me started about work! The whole working part of being an adult sucks. And I whine about it all the time! (Should an adult even whine?) I mean having to work is a BIG waste of time in my mind. If I didn't have to work then I could have time to do other things...like the things I didn't do this weekend. Or more fun things like quilt, read books, sleep and blog. Maybe I would even feel like going to the gym if I didn't have to work. And the job itself! I really have no idea what I'm doing there. I put things in files in the order somebody tells me to. But why? Nobody knows. And I'm getting paid for this? Well, I'm not really getting paid enough if you ask me. I often times look out the window at the sky and ask myself, "What the hell am I doing here? I'd rather be off playing!" Playing? Should an adult even think in those terms? And ugh! Getting up early to *work* (of all things!) is SOO overrated! I LIKE to stay up late and sleep in! I do my best thinking at night. I get the best ideas and execute the coolest projects in the middle of the night. By waking up early and going to bed early, I feel like I'm missing out on the times I feel my best. But adults don't stay up all the time because we have to work from 8am-5pm and be responsible or something.
I just don't *feel* like I'm doing a good job at this whole adulthood thing. I mean sometimes I feel I'm doing alright. The house is clean, the bills are paid, I'm going to the gym at least twice a week and making it to work on time every day and all is good. But then things start piling up and all of a sudden I realize I'm not as good at this adult thing as I thought...
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