p.s.

oh, and by the way, consider www.haikuoftheday.com a 5th website I visit daily. I also have her book.

suggestion and duh-leer-ee-us musing

Hi.

ummm.....

go to www.haikuoftheday.com and if you want, donate to her school supplies challenge.

hmmm.....

I'm tired.

Think I will take a bath, shave my legs so I can wear a dress tomorrow, then go to bed. Gotta paint my toenails too...the pink peeled off my left big toe already.

Just thought of something....
gonna try it...

"thinc eye wil taek uh bath, shayv mie legz sew eye kan where uh dres toomorroh, then goe two behd. Gottah paynt mie townales to....thuh peenk peeld ahf mye lefd big tow allreddy.

not sure why I felt the need to do that. signing off now.

Four!! Four!! and one five...

Four jobs I have had in my life -

pizza and sides maker at Smokey's Pizza
cashier at adult store
selling Cutco knives
waitress at Shari's Restaurant


Four movies I could watch over and over -

Breakfast Club (that one guy started my love of bad boys...oh yes, Judd Nelson)
Willow (Val Kilmer is hot even in a dress)
Fifth Element (Bruce Willis. Mila Jovovich with orange hair. Really, need I say more?)
Serenity (see note on number 2 of TV shows)
yes, an honorable mention. Anything with Johnny Depp. YUM.


Four places I have lived -

White Salmon, Washington
Hope Peninsula, Idaho
Vancouver, Washington
Forks, Washington (are we noticing a rain-filled theme here?!)


Four TV shows I love to watch
(I don't watch TV, so will list shows that were on TV at some point that I loved.)

CSI – Las Vegas. As if there were any other real CSI!
Firefly – curse those foolish morons who cancelled it!!
Sex in the City
That 70's Show


Four places I have been on vacation-

Disneyland (how typical is that?)
Hope Peninsula, Idaho – Pend O\'Reille Lake (every year for the first 16 years of my life!)
Surrey, Canada (Yay Tania and Simon!)
Alaska – Inside Passage (Cruises are the BEST)"


Four websites I visit daily -

http://www.gmail.com/
http://www.gofugyourself.com/ (well, maybe not daily, but is quite humorous)
http://www.damomma.com/ (Motherhood Is Not For Wimps)
http://szorrolt.spaces.live.com/(That's my mom!)


Four of my favorite foods -

California rolls – the kind with the tiny orange roe
Steak (med rare) and potatoes (with lots of butter and salt, and a hint of garlic)
Freshly shelled peas
Dark chocolate covered vanilla Haagen Dazs. Aawwww yeah. (if you bring me this, you can do no wrong.)


Four places I would rather be right now -

Somewhere with roller coasters.
ummmm….
hhmm…..
Friday. (I'm pretty content, really)

A day of good things - expanded

Okay, will talk more about this, now that it's not late at night.

Hair cut!
This is fairly self-explanatory. Kaia was mad that I cut it, she wants to grow hers out, and wants me to join her. So I gave her a whole talk about how we make our own decisions about our own bodies.

New meal plans!
I am going to make some week-long meal plans so that we eat better. Gonna write the recipes down- all three parts of the meal - on cards, and then I can take the cards to the store when I shop. Also, I am going to have Kaia help me with dinner more often.

Possible short-distance move!
This is FAR from definite, but we are going to look at a house that isn't too much more a month than our apartment. It still only has one bathroom, but has an extra room and a back yard. And I think a big kitchen. All new appliances. Will update later.

Pink toenailsÂ…..
Again, self explanatory. although..Somethingg about me? I hate going out in public with bare toenails that aren't painted. It does happen, I'm not that anal, but I will notice it all day. funny thing....I rarely paint my fingernails.

Yellow star cookie cuttersÂ…..
These aren't new, but Kaia had them out and I decided that this weekend she and I will make cookies. I need to get a rolling pin though. That's why I haven't used them for a long time...rolling out dough with jars sucks.

OooooÂ…next up, a hot bathÂ…Â…
One of my favorite ways to warm up, to relax, and just one of my favorite things.

ack! have just noticed time!

quickly....conversation had by Kaia and I in car today. She sings her own songs the whole way back...about 10 minutes to home, she says....

"want to hear another song?"

I say....
"sure, darlin'"

"which one? the light one? or the road one? or the sunrise one?"
"how about the light one?"
"are you sure you don't want the TREE one?"
"okay, the tree one"
"no, YOU pick"
"the light one, then"
"or do you want the tree one?"
"okay, the tree one"
"the light one?"
"FINE. The light one is fine!"
"or the tree one? which one, mom?"
"the light one"
"the light one and the tree one are the same one."
"how convenient"

please?

my time without a laptop did horrible things....and one of the worst is that it got me out of the blogging habit. and now I don't know what to write about....

ask me a question? anything! I need ideas here people!

how about this? what if I promise to answer ALL questions completely truthfully? could get me in trouble, couldn't it? But I will! couple rules....well, one. please ask no question that the answer could hurt someone's feelings. thank you.

your turn.....

My screen is wiggly!! It's a bit sick-making. Our flat screen went bonkers, and we are waiting for the replacement one.

I am cleaning today! My house was in desperate need for it. Quite disgusting really. I am not even close to done, but there is definite improvement.

Kaia has SO many clothes! Well, pants at least. and she doesn't even wear pants!!! They were all sent to her by a relative who doesn't see her very often, and is unaware of her distain of all things pant.

She has just told me that she can't clean because she has hiccups.

My house is a sauna. I need to bring the fan downstairs or something. oooooo!! I have another fan in the back closet...wonder how accessible it is? Will wait and have Mike get it out...there are spiders back there!

Alright, better get back to cleaning, the darn house won't clean itself! thank the gods for coffee.....

So sometimes I want to blog about something, but since people I know (and love) read this, I can't since sometimes it's about them and it's bad. Then I think, well, that's good, because really, I shouldn't be ranting on about bad things.

(and don't, anyone out there, assume this is about you. Most likely it's not. It's a pretty obscure person in my life that brought this up, though at OTHER times it may have been about you. but not this time. )

so here is a list of one good thing about each person in my life, starting with family and moving outward. and please know, there are of course many other things good about each of you, this is simply one, chosen for my own reasons.

My mother - She has taken something that owned her, and thoroughly beaten it. and she is shining.

My father - if I needed him to, my daddy would come all teh way up and give me a great big hug. Even though I have never in my life called him "daddy".

My brother - My baby bro is one of the only people I would let touch a gun in front my daughter, let alone teachher how to use it.

My sister - she is going to ROCK as a pharmacy tech.

okay, that's that section...will do more later....

Kaia is sick today. Not horribly, but she woke up last night with stomach cramps and threw up at about 1 o'clock am. She didn't have a fever then, but does this morning, just a slight one. She says she feels fine, but I told Mike to only give her a little food and see how it goes. Too bad I have to work, so he has no way of going to get 7-up or anything for her. Poor girl, I hope it doesn't get worse.

An Adventure!

I'm really excited! My aunt Carol has offered me a job!! Guess what it is?! Contributing to a text book for English as a Second Language classes! I am helping to write the lesson exercises at the end of each chapter. I come up with true/false, multiple choice, short dialogues, and fill-in-the-blank questions. So far I've only done one, but she was happy with my work, and I get to do it!!
Wanna know something else cool about it? My name will be listed with all the contributors to the books! I might get a copy of it (I hope so!) and so I would have a text book with my name in it! How fun is that?
AND I do get paid, which is also very nice.
I'm going to be doing it mostly at night, after Kaia goes to bed, so that I can still have special time with her.
Wish me luck! I hope I can live up to Carol's expectations! The first chapter was a lot of fun, and it will get easier as I get used to it, so I know I'll have a good time.

school supplies!

I remember school supply shopping with fondness. All the potential in the blank paper, the rainbow of unused crayons, all in order for the only time in their existance. An unripped binder, and a pencil pouch that usually ended up empty. The NEWNESS of it all. and, this is important...the VAST ARRAY available for my perusal.

Today we went shopping for Kaia's supplies. She's only in kindergarten, so the list was short. Seemed to be missing some things I deemed necessary (crayons!!) and had things I didn't feel parents should have to supply (paper plates) but I was excited about Kaia's first supply outing.

Kaia was mostly excited about the need for a back pack. We'll start the saga there.

In the town we live in, there is really only one choice for this sort of shopping. There is another town a few miles down the road, if needed, but I really didn't feel like driving there, so to S. we went!

Back pack. First, Kaia said she wanted a "my little pony milkshake one like Zoe!" I had my doubts that we would be able to get that specific this late in the game, but told her we'd look. The first place we looked, in the regular back pack sections, led to ziltch. I did find out Kaia's MAIN requirement, which I really should have guessed. Pink. PINK. The back pack, to be at ALL acceptable, must be pink. ponies and milk shakes are optional - in fact, fall FAR behind this major requirement.
Deciding we would have to find the back pack elsewhere I heading to the school supply section figuring the rest of the list was quite simple.
There, we found BACK PACKS!! PINK ones! and one particular, perfect pink one! (no cartoon characters, yay!!!) That done, Kaia happily hugging her pink pack, we moved on.
to the next hurdle.

the list said:

24 #2 pencils sharpened

okay, that doesn't seem hard. pencils are easy to come by, right? and I do remember them starting to sell sharpened ones.
....pens......markers..........more pens............crayons.........pens..........highlighters.............

no pencils. none! what was this!?

finally, after getting on my knees, I found them on the bottom shelf, way in the back. of course. everyone was after pencils. oh, and they weren't sharpened. so you will find me at work tomorrow, sharpening 24 pencils.
(one more note on pencils...why do they still specify #2? You have to go to an art store to get anything else)

alright! pencil requirement mostly filled! NEXT!

5 glue sticks (Elmer's)

this, too, I thought, should be easy. I am very familiar with Elmer's brand glue, and have frequently saw, and purchased it, in stick form.

however. though this store did have approximately two miles of choices in size, shape, and color of Elmer's glue in bottles, they apparently had made a very lucrative deal with Scotch brand. There were numerous stands extolling the virtues of Scotch brand glue sticks. Scotch obviously wanted no competion, therefore there were NO Elmer's glue sticks to be had. and remember how we needed 5? Scotch proudly sells their glue sticks in packs of two.

After deciding the teacher could either deal with scotch brand or kiss my ass, I surveyed the rows and rows of binders. Kaia's list asked politely for

one 2" 3-ring binder

they had 1.5" ones. and were quite proud to show off their immense collection of 3" binders for our purchasing pleasure. but....I don't see....wait....and there, on one shelf, in a lonely cardboard box, that only appeared after long minutes of searching, sat TWO remaining 2" binders. Eureka!

After that, the 3 boxes of baby wipes, 2 stacks of paper plates, and 1 box of gallon sized ziplock bags were easy.

short...need to get to work!

hello! I am putting forth the appearance of energy and excitement in hopes it will fool myself into turning true. That was an odd sentence.

Kaia starts kindergarten Wednesday! My gosh. She already goes to pre-school all day, so it shouldn't be much different, but it just amazes me that she's starting real school! She's THRILLED and can't wait to begin.

weekend--good and bad

This weekend was a good mixture of good times and bad. I spent most of yesterday cleaning, and Mike and I cleaned out the two storage closets in our house. I organized a craft supplies cupboard for Kaia, and found some activity books for her. Got all my laundry done, but not put away.

Saturday evening Andrea picked Kaia and I up and after a brief grocery store stop we went up to her house. Mike had some work to do as well as helping William move. He came out later, fairly late. We had wine, and beer, and laughter. I fell asleep first, before I would have liked to, but couldn't help it! Can't stay up as long as I used to....

Andrea and I had planned to go riding this morning, but I woke up with horrible cramps. (TMI!? go elsewhere then...) Tylenol, Advil, and a heat pad took their sweet time fixing issues, and the only Advil available was cold and flu, so had nasty flu medication in it that wiped me out..........but I did read a good Dean Koontz book - Life Expectancy, which was really good. (Andrea, which part do you mean was the nasty part? I wasn't sure...)

I really was looking forward to riding, she and I don't get to go often.....I think we've gone once? with kids? can't recall...anyway, really want to do that soon.

Still very tired, didn't accomplish a thing today. Made artichokes for dinner...that's right, not with dinner, for dinner. Mike and Kaia also had chips and salsa. Not gonna win any healthy food choices awards today.

Gonna drag my ass upstairs and bathe my child, then head to bed. Wish me warranty luck at work tomorrow.

my daughter: "It's not okay to laugh at people right mom?
me: "right...."
my daughter: "not at midgets either...."
me: "midgets are people honey"
my daughter: "I know that mom"

Gardening Log Entry One

okay, so this post will reveal my absolute lack of gardening common sense, but since I have learned from these mistakes, it's okay. So here are the notes on my first attempt at gardening.

I bought some soil. (notice the "some" specification. I paid no attention to how much, just bought a small bag. I did hedge my bets and get Miracle Grow with added fertilizers)

I decided to plant lettuce, as has already been discussed, and then put the seeds in the fridge to help promote germination, as suggested in my container gardening book. (note the "seeds". not "some of the seeds" which would have been smart since lettuce can grow well into fall, so multiple sowings would have been an option.)

After the 7 recommended days chilling, I decided to PLANT! I got out my soil and the three planters. First realization -- three 12" pots will NOT be filled with one (small) bag of soil. okay, not to worry, says I, I will do one pot. I dump in the soil.

All of it, first of all, does not even fill the one pot. I decided not to worry about that, and then, after strewing the seeds over the soil, realize I did not save any soil to spread on top. sigh. okay. so I dig a bit out of the sides of the pot, and gently spread it over the top. Have to do this three times, making some interesting blank spots in the pot, come sprout time. Also, I spread about half the seeds, vaguely recalling the book saying that I should plant more than I need, and can thin later, with small scissors, to avoid root damage. Proud that I recall this information, I spread seeds liberally. LETTUCE seeds. More on that later, but I'm sure you can come up with a good reason to leave space between the seeds.

I spray (not pour! another tip from my Book) water into my first pot, and proudly set it on my back porch, and look at it with glee. This pot will hold lettuce!! I will produce my own food for my family, albeit nutritionally devoid salad filler. oh well, it's food! and I am growing it!

I go out the next morning and dutifully spray more water onto the soil, as yet devoid of tiny green shoots. I do the same the next morning. How long does this take anyway?!

The next morning, Eureka!!! Tiny green leaves peeping up at me! But what's this? Oh damn damn damn. I forgot to turn the pot, since the soil is about 6 inches from the top, it creates it's own shade, and one side has received no sun, therefore no cute little green leaves. I turn it, in case they are still hopefully waiting under the soil, alive but very small, and go to work.

The next day, I decide to put the pot on the front porch. There is sun for longer out there, and lettuce needs (my vast knowledge, *ahem* the Book *ahem*, tells me that lettuce needs lots of sun, as well as continuously moist soil) more sun time.

The side that initially did not receive sun is a lost cause. The other side has sprouted many, many hearty green shoots that I have suddenly remembered need room to be lettuce heads. Time to do the first thinning. This morning, I took my little scissors out and started cutting. and cutting. I then decide this may work better when the plants are bigger, and I can tell which are the best ones. There are still quite a lot of green shoots, and the pot can hold what....3? 4? lettuce heads. and because I had to throw away the rest of the germinated seeds, since I had no more soil, that will be the entire lettuce crop this year, unless I buy more, and this packet of seeds was hard enough to come by! I think I need to start seeds, then transplant them when they are larger, next year, then I will have time to think about all my options.

Hey, with all this, I am just proud that those fragile little sprouts are still alive. Though as yet, very un-lettuce like. which may be good thing, since I will have to tell them that when they do begin to resemble real lettuce, most of them will have to die.

I am a gardener! I am so!

:-)

the new policy

I'm feeling....not depressed....not .....anything....tired. very tired, in a not-wanting-to-sleep-kinda way. I'm glad it's Friday. The company I sell phones for just changed a policy, and it's already kicking my ass. 4 people today who got really pissed off, for very valid reasons, and there is nothing I can do about it. This policy is my LEAST favorite thing right now. I dread having someone come in and say "yeah, I just bought my phone a few months ago, and it's not working." because folks, my only answer, though I cloak it in niceties, can be "sorry, you are SCREWED". the problem is, I really am sorry. but there's not a damn thing I can do about it.

biased?! nah...

you wanna know two things my daughter can do?

an underwater summersault (somersault?! I have never written that before...)

a backwards roll...sometimes

yep, my daughter is cool.

Katharine

I have to brag about my baby sister for a bit. She has worked at the same restaurant for....6 years? umm..hold on...a bit of calcuation...she's 22...23?....worked there since 15...16? so ...wow, 6 or 8 years....anyway-- she's in school now to be a pharmacy tech. Tonight she received two awards, one for perfect attendance and one for maintaining a GPA above 3.8. She is a very smart person, always has done well in school, and I am so proud of her for taking this step. GO KATIE!!!

when she was in kindergarten, no exageration, I taught her math - addition, subtraction, multiplication...I think she was in first grade when she tackled division....she was balancing my mom's checkbook in first grade.....

she's wise-cracking and occasionally cynical - yes, Katie, OCCASIONALLY, I think you aren't as cynical as you think...okay, fine, she's often cynical, but in a good way....she's funny, and wise, and has more tank tops than anyone I know. She's loyal, and tough. She's very determined, and will follow through on her promises. She's the type of person who has the perfect manicure, but will, without hesitation (though possibly a grimace), get her hands in the mud if needed. She's an awesome Aunt for my daughter, and will be the perfect summer vacation shopping partner with Kaia in a few years. She's taken on a surprise step-son (yes, Katie, I said step-son, he is so!) with grace. She's a blond, blue-eyed, five-foot-four Goddess.

She's my baby sister. and I am so proud of her.

Fire

This entry may seem strange, because it's a happy memory, but doesn't seem like it...in fact, I'm not really sure why it's a happy one, but it is.....


When I was very small, I would get ear infections often. We had no insurance, and no money to go to the doctor, so my mom's usual treatment would be warm oil on a cotton ball placed in my ear, which did help.

One time, the infection was really bad. Oil wasn't helping, and my mom knew I needed to see the doctor. She bundled me up and put me in the car. It was night, and we had to go into town to the urgent care clinic.

On the way, we stopped at an intersection. Only a few blocks away, an entire building was on fire, and flames towered above us. As it was nighttime, there were not many cars on the road, and my mom pulled over so we could watch. I snuggled up with my mom. I'm not sure how long we stayed to watch, but when it was over, she asked how my ear felt. It didn't hurt! We drove home instead of to the clinic. I was 5, my daughter's age right now.



maybe I do know why it's a happy memory. I was with my mom, and it was just the two of us. My brother must have been born at that time, possibly my sister, which would have made me 6....my mother's marriage was probably not going well, and so must have been a bit hectic around the house. Watching a tragedy that was not ours, from the safety and stillness of my mom's arms -- would have been calming almost.....also, I doubt that I understood the enormity of the tragedy of a burning building...I remember being awed by the hugeness of the fire, and the chaos that wasn't being controlled....There must have been firemen there, but I don't remember seeing anyone. hhmmm...maybe still shouldn't be a happy memory...but it is.

Kaia's Words

Today, as we head out of swimming.....

"Mom, you are the best mom I would want!"



In the car on the way back.....

"Mom, I want you to have a boy baby, so I can marry him"

umm...nevermind

we are not moving. Various reasons. But this is good. Mike will be able to finish his degree, and he is re-arranging his schedule so that the classes that are easier to do online will all be in the final semester, so if we are lucky, and he gets a job offer from his internship next summer (and if he gets the internship!) then we'll be able to move next year.

I planted my lettuce! I only bought a small bag of potting soil, enough for one pot, and germinated all the seeds without thinking about it, so there will only be one sowing in one pot. Oh well, it's a good lesson to learn, and this being my first attempt at gardening, I'm not too worried about mistakes!

Have a wonderful week!

silverwood and the inscrutibility of children

Silverwood was awesome!! Tremors is their new roller coaster, and I have realized I am a roller coaster junkie. Ariel and I plan to travel around the United States riding on famous roller coasters. Kaia had a blast, and hung in there from open to close, 11am-10pm! She is almost fearless, though the other roller coaster there, Timber Terror, did scare her. She went on a lot of rides that I would of been terrified of at her age!

Ariel went home today, after a wonderful visit. She's such a sweetheart.

On the way home today, after dropping her off at the airport, Kaia was eating chips and drinking a caramel steamer. She suddenly stopped, and says "I don't feel good".

"I'm sorry" I answer.
She says, "you remember that time when I threw up?"
"yeeess......" I say, looking for somewhere to pull over....
"I don't feel that sort of sick."
"oh, good" I say, getting back up to speed.
about 30 seconds pass.....
"mom? NOW it's that kind of sick!"
"OH!" I say, at 65 mph.
I grab a plastic bag that had held our lunch, and hand it to her.
She grabs it, and immediately throws up in it.
Poor girl....I pull over and clean her up.
I get back on the road. In a few minutes, she says-
"I feel much better now!"
"oh good!!!" I say....and was just about to offer her a drink of water to clean out her mouth when she picks up her nacho cheese chips and eats one!
"ick!" I say. "Kaia! You just threw up! Don't eat any more!"
"Why?" she says...."I'm hungry!"

sheesh

SILVERWOOOOOOOOOOB!!!!!

Despite recent events, we have a really fun weekend planned. Anyone heard of Silverwood? It's a theme park in Idaho, very very cool. It has 2 really awesome roller coasters, water rides, and other totally cool stuff to do. Along with 6 other people, we four are going up this Saturday...well, actually, we're driving up tonight, and going to Silverwood tomorrow.

It's been years since I've been there, and I'm really excited. The only rides I can't go on are the ones that spin you around, those make me sick now (drat adulthood!!)

gonna take lots of pictures, and have a blast.....

you wanna know what's Evil? I mean actively malevolent and atrocious and EVIL?

Cancer. You will never convince me that it's simply cell mutation and, though deadly, completely without conniving, scheming bone-deep rotton Evil.


Mike's dad has cancer. He was diagnosed awhile ago, and initially with lung cancer. He began chemo, and was feeling surprisingly well.

He went in for tests to see how it was doing and got both and bad news. The lung cancer has shrunk, but a completely different kind of cancer had invaded his lymph, adrenals, and bones.

He continued with chemo, a different kind this time. He started to feel nasty after treatments.

Today, this morning, he had a seizure. After hours of tests, an MRI showed It had travelled again. Into his brain.

He's resting right now, still in the hospital, under observation. Please, keep him in your thoughts, prayers, or whatever avenue you use for good vibes. Also keep his daughter, Ariel, his wife, Shaun, and his sons, Mike and Steve, in your thoughts.

They all need strength.

Test Taken Early 2006 for my Interpersonal Communications class

Jung Typology Test

Wow. This was really cool! My result for this test was

ESFJ

Extroverted Sensing Feeling Judging

For extroverted, it said I am only a slightly expressed extrovert. I agree with this, as I feel I am naturally an extrovert, but my childhood made me introverted. I am actively working on getting out of that shell, and have been for years. As the test said, I have slightly succeeded.

There were two descriptions available for this Type. Reading both, I was amazed to see phrases I have used to describe myself! Other parts were not as accurate, but overall, it was true.

One of the descriptions called this Type a Provider Guardian. As this, it states correctly that I take control of the well-being of those in my care. In my situation, I am in charge of finances in my family. I also insist on going to all doctor appointments with my daughter, even though my husband is quite willing to take her if I am unable. I will only schedule them at times I can take her, though. I also try very hard to make sure we all eat right, and get exercise, though I tend to neglect myself and concentrate on their health.

I am always happy to help out friends and family at any time, and will do anything in my power for them. I am in sales, but only because I know my boss, as I am not good when forced to sell things. As the description stated, I feel personally responsible for what I sell, and do my best to find what’s right for the customer, not what will make the most profit.

As it also states, I do not deal well when emotionally hurt. I am always surprised and hurt when others treat me or someone else badly. If someone hurts someone I love, I get very angry, and I will show no mercy. Hurt me, and I will dissolve into tears.

I am, as it says, quick to like and dislike, and stick to those initial reactions. If I like someone, they are allowed faults, if I don’t; I am very judgmental about them.

There were a few incorrect things, but not many. I am not able to “approach others with ease and confidence”. I am not as worried about germs as the description said. Though I am aware of danger, and I am vigilant, though I don’t believe I am “hyper-vigilant”. I also do not have a black and white view about everything, but some things, yes, there is no question.

This was a very interesting test to take. It was very accurate and made me laugh in many areas. It didn’t tell me much I don’t know, but while writing the above paragraph about “black and white” thinking, it made me realize I am like that more than I realized!

hey folks...

hello.

I am content.

I am with my family....so nice...

I have had dinner....tacos! yum!

I have just made my own blueberry ice cream. no, that's not quite right. I softened vanilla ice cream and added blueberries, and it's re-freezing right now. mmmmmmmm.

We have plans to go to Silverwood Saturday. It's a theme park in Idaho, very cool. I have many happy teenage memories of that place.....silverwooob!!....walking our ducks.....talking about nothing much while spinning furiously.....8 times on the Corkscrew.....in the front.....open cockpit bi-plane!

Life is good. Life. Is. Good.

sending happy vibes to all you people out there...may your Wednesday night be as happy as mine.

tidbits for your reading pleasure...or whatever.

On the job...
Mike has decided to continue with his degree online after we move. It will take him a bit longer, but he will eventually have it.
We are currently negotiating moving expenses with the company. We will hopefully still be able to afford to move over there to take this job. Keep your fingers crossed.
We are going over on the 18th to look at apartments...I SO hope we can find something we love.

On family...
My sister in law, Ariel, is visiting us for a week. She's almost 15, and I just can't help smiling while talking to her, hearing her teenage way of speaking, and remembering when I sounded like that. She's an awesome person, extremely motivated, and is already planning her career in sports law. She is also on an award-winning basketball team, is first-chair clarinet, and has never received less than a "B" in her entire life. I am in awe just hearing it all.

On friends...
Life can be surprising. I have a friend...well, now he's a friend, that I didn't really like for the first 3 or 4 years I knew him. There were times I wanted to like him, but he really wasn't always a nice person. I won't go into it all. Anyway, I haven't talked to him, except for a few brief conversations for about two years. He got a divorce, and went to Kuwait. I happened to talk with him online a few times recently, and he's completely turned his life and attitude around! It's awesome, because I've discovered that underneath the asshole exterior (that is no longer there), he's a really interesting person. I'm really looking forward to having him as a friend now. If you'd told me that would happen two years ago, I would have laughed in your face!

On work....
It's so odd to be leaving a job that on one hand has been my favorite one so far, and on the other, has been one of the most aggravating. I am just not a sales person. Working for John has allowed me to be a good one, but I think, and yes, this will sound very silly, I think I am too sensitive. It seems to me that in this business, you have to have a very tough mind set. Yes, it's important to try to solve issues, and to give the best customer service I can, but there comes many a time where the situation requires me to let it go, and I sometimes have a hard time with that. I take things very personally, whether I am fighting FOR a customer, or WITH them. And I hate not being able to solve every problem. and I really don't like dealing with the more dense people. What I DO like is working for John. I love the atmosphere here, I love the people I work with. I love it when I can solve a problem for a customer, and they leave happy. I love working a job so long that I know quite a bit about how to solve those problems, though I know far less than is knowable in this industry. It's also bitter sweet, (though admittedly more sweet) knowing I won't be doing this type of work again. While I will still work with the public, I won't be doing customer service, which I have been doing for the entire 14 years I've been working. ooo! Will post a work history at some point...
anyway. It's just daunting, in both good and bad ways, to think of all the changes that will occur in the next few months, and years.

the news!

the good...

Mike was offered a job at a company in the Seattle area. After MUCH deliberation, we have decided to accept it. This means he will be working in an environment he loves, doing what he loves. I will be starting school for real, rather than just a couple online courses each quarter, and getting pre-req's for the Ultrasound Tech certification.

the bad....

Mike will be withrawing from school. Though he may go back someday, it's not in the plans right now, for various reasons I won't go into.

I will be leaving two of my best friends, Andrea and John. Andrea and I have been friends for 19 years. We've gone through rough spots, but mostly really good times. John I haven't known for as long, but I count him among my lifelong friends. He's also my boss, which is another not-so-good thing about leaving, as I really like working for him. I will definitely be making the effort to see them and their wonderful kids often. Andrea and I have already agreed we need to get together every summer.


so that's it. Stay tuned for my month of moving plans! I have a lot to do, but I really love this kind of challenge.

oh, and of course, Mike came home this weekend, and I am SO glad that we are a family again!!

I am still in suspence. So you, too, will stay in suspense. Well, some of you. I called a few people last night with my maybe-news.

On to other things for now.

My husband is COMING HOME!! Tomorrow, ToMORROW!! (i love ya, tomorrow....sigh)

It'll be SO NICE to have my family together again. Kaia is beyond excited.

now to clean the house.....

stay tuned! more tomorrow! keep fingers crossed that the RIGHT thing will happen...whichever thing that is.....

(i'm excited)

decisions....so hard to make when they affect so many people. it's out of our hands now, in a way. will they accept it? or not?

I'm torn. won't go into details now. too many what-if's and maybe's. will wait until I know more. send those what'smeanttohappenwillhappen vibes for us, k?

UP all night

actually, not really, but there used to be a late night show...or actually it was a group of shows...by that name....about 6 or 7 years ago....wow....hosted by what's his name...parrot dude on Aladdin with a really annoyi...Gilbert Godfreid.

I just watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Comedy. Sort of. Action. Sort of. Murder mystery...yes! it was good, whatever it was. Has Val Kilmer (yummy in Willow and Real Genius) and Robert Downey Jr. (not really yummy in anything, but vaguely cute. In a you-know-he's-been-in-rehab-too-many-times-in-real-life-to-really-be-sexy sort of way) And some blond chick.

I really should be getting to bed, and will. In a contemplative mood. One of those moods when you stay up late by yourself, and run out of things to do, and are all alone. And have just finished watching a movie that would be fun to talk about to someone. Provided they had watched it too, of course.

no, I am not drunk. This is how I converse late at night. or when I am feeling a bit....well, yes, this is how I talk when I am drunk too....well, when I am tipsy. When I am really drunk I don't know how I talk, as I am usually drunk at the time.

Bought lettuce today, as planned. My mesclun plans (mesclun is a mix of one or more lettuces with one or more other greens) went down the drain, as the offering of seeds at the store was less than satisfactory. Can you guess the only kind that was left?! Can you!?! (not you, John, you already know). Bet you can guess. Iceberg. Sigh. oh well. Yes, I did get it. I am growing lettuce dammit! Even if it's the vanilla of lettuces. I have the seeds cooling in the fridge as we speak....figuratively of course....the "as we speak" is figurative! why would I have them figuratively in the fridge?! How is that even possible? anyway, focus here, I haven't got all night. They need to stay there for 7 days or they'll be too hot to germinate. Then I will plant them in my miracle grow potting soil mixed with- oh Andrea! I found out the generic name for those water crystal thingies!! hydrogel crystals. yes, cool, huh? anyway, I will plant them soil mixed with those, and I can't lose! As long as I water them. of course I remembered that bit.

Happy Tuesday night folks.

Updates on all subjects

okay, so yesterday I was bad. Kaia and I spent $10 at the pizza place. But we got to spend some time out together which was nice.

I also bought potting soil, but that is a good purchase. Tonight I'll be buying lettuce seeds to grow my own salad fixin's! I am more excited than I feel it really warrants, but that's a good thing, maybe I'll actually stick with it! Just kidding, I know I will. I'm learning so much just from reading, and am really looking forward to learning so much more from actually growing the edibles! Kaia's gonna help, and have her own container, she's excited too. Gonna start her with radishes because they grow faster, keeps kids interested. Mom is checking out the barn for gardening supplies, since one of the main goals of this project is to save money. The other being to eat more healthfully.

Kaia's swimming teacher said she's at the top of her class....not only Top, but "way ahead of the others" !! She's younger than all of them too, I think. She should be in the next class up, but I messed up when signing her up. The good part is she's with older kids this session, so even though she not progressing like she would in the next level, she is doing more things, and she's gaining confidence and pride in her abilities. (like she needs more confidence - if she knew what "president" meant, she'd think she could do a better job.....well, with our current prez, she probably could, but you get my meaning.) Next session she'll move up a level.

Mike is coming home!! This Saturday! Which means two things.....I get some lovin' Saturday night, and some sleepin' Sunday morning! What a wonderful life I lead... we are also going to clean off the patio for my garden, and continue clearing the house. Get rid of all that clutter! Get rid of all those unnecessary, unloved things! CLEAR IT ALL OUT!!