oy! another month gone by

work has been less busy since the only program i've had was spring crafts and hop in your jammies. we made butterfly magnets, coffee filter flowers, and bunny puppets. it was fun! jammies had 7 kids and it was perfect for lots of participation. we did london bridges and ring around the roses and had fun animal masks and it was a blast. plus any part of work where i can wear my pajamas is a good thing! cool things - a patron gave us a check for $10,000 and crap i forgot the other thing, maybe it'll come to me.

done lots of fun things with the fam. went camping with my parents, aunt and her boyfriend. we went on a long and lovely kayak ride, watched blind side and talked by the fire. it was relaxing and i read a lot and it was only and little warm and buggy. i did miss brian a lot. it was the first camping trip without him. i didn't have anyone to climb trees with (and their was a giganitc oak tree!) and only could get mom to play yahtzee with me (she got 3 yahtzees in two games!) and no one to do dishes with. i missed his sarcasm and grouchiness and his sweetness and his expertise at putting the camper up and down.

went to trey's 4th birthday party at chuck e cheese. haven't been to one since i was 11 and it was way fun! i got to hold a beautiful baby and laugh and catch up with my church friends from my teenage years and eat pizza. trey was very cute, especially with the presents. last year he wanted to look at and play with everything as he was opening gifts and it took forever. this year it was how fast can i rip this stuff open and get to the next one. karen and justin and i stopped at babies r us afterwards and i got her present. right now i'm working on the invitations for her baby shower. they are green and pink and jungley.

mom and cat and i hung out saturday. we went to the quilt exhibit at the museum and saw lots o quilts. a few lovely and a few weird. some had so much stuff on them glitter and shells and applique and embroidery. quilting technique kind of hit the back burner. but there were a few that took our breath away with their amazing stitching and colors and perfectness. then lunch at crispers and michael's (more scrapbooking stuff-i can't stop!)

i have so many projects to work on. i am furiously trying to finish cat's graduation present. it's not gonna get done on time, but hopefully it won't be too late. i'm doing karen's invites and then trying to make something for the baby. i also need to work on her pregnancy album and a much overdue baby shower book for ishu. i mean her kid turns 2 in july, so it's a bit late. i also want to make a picture book for olive's bday. i'm going to spend a few days with them around memorial day, so i can take the pics i need for it then. however, my camera is on its last leg. i hopefully can get a new one for christmas.

i went to a jewelry party at emily's last week and am going to host one at my house in 2 weeks. a good excuse to work a half day and get my house clean. i got together with the library ladies at emily's saturday and had fun laughing and talking and catching up. i also saw emily's son aidan play football that morning. so cute. 5 year olds trying to pass a football is hilarious. they even have little cheerleaders!

i am very excited about my trip to see susan at the end of may. we are roadtripping to arkansas and maybe missouri this time. never been to either state, so i'll have more to mark off on my places i've visited map. i also booked a cruise for jodi and i in december. i got way more back from the irs than i planned, so i was able to do it. it is 5 nights, 6 days, key west (i've never been!) and nassau. jodi's never cruised and she'll be finished with her pre reqs for pa school, so its a little celebration for her. it was way cheap (not that i'm paying for jodi, i didn't get that much back!)

anyway may brings me doing 4 preschool storytimes, hop in your jammies, a computer info/internet safety class for some brownies (girl scouts), working the first and last weekend, a lunch out with carrie, a planning the shower meeting with kate, my jewelry party (if the girl will ever email me!), a camping trip to payne's prairie, mother's day, aunt susan's bday, bill's bday, cat's graduation (luckily we don't have to attend, cause she isn't walking!), my susan trip, memorial day at the beach with ishu, and the premier of sex and the city 2!!

baby stuff

mom, justin, karen, kate and i headed out quite early this morning to the mecca of baby stuff. we got the gun and started clicking around the store in a counter-clockwise attack. infant care took quite a while. bottles and cups and spoons and bibs and shampoo and lotion and thermometers and nail clippers and wiper warmer and boppy and video baby monitors ($$) and breast pads and nipple butter (seriously what it was called) and burp clothes and teething rings and on and on and on. then we went to justin's favorite the car seats, strollers, bounce seats, jump ups, pack and plays, high chairs and baby carriers.

justin has expensive tastes and likes the blues and greens of the nursery, while karen is paying attention more to price and trying to get some pink/feminine stuff since it is a girl. their theme is the jungle. the nursey has a white chair rail with blue on the top and green on the bottom. sam has painted a massive tree in one corner and so far there is a monkey hanging off. other jungle animals are coming. karen picked out a brown and pink car seat, but looking at their registry online, i see that got changed to a brown and green one. the bouncer is green and brown with monkeys, the jump up is blue and green, i think justin is gonna get the expensive stroller he wants which is navy and karen couldn't find the specific pack and play she wanted. it was fun watching them negotiate. justin is also all about saving the planet, so he wanted to get all the green products. karen is of course also concerned with being green, but only if it isn't insanely more expensive. i think they compromised well.

kate had lots advice of what worked with trey, mom had the expert advice of what she recommends to her wic clients and i was the 'remember the lighter stuff gets dirty quicker' girl. then we went on to the diapers. justin picked out some green huggies. cheaper than the really green ones, but better for the environment than the regular ones. then they eached picked out their diaper bags. they both went for eddie bauer ones. karen's is green and justin's navy. on to furniture. we narrowed it down to three crib sets. cherry, walnut and knotty pine. the cherry was the cheapest, but a bit dark. the walnut had lovely craftman features, which i personally liked the best. the knotty pine was more rustic which goes with new mexican decor in their home. kate in all her brilliance noticed a 50% sign on the knotty pine one. the crib was 1/2 off when you bought the whole set (crib, dresser, changing table). plus if you opened a credit card, you got 15% off the whole set. mom and dad also had given them $300 to buy the crib (which was less than that since it was half off) so when you add it all together that got a great deal! plus the bed is one that can change from crib to toddler to a double. also its sturdy and not babyish, so it could stay with the kid forever. so in the end it was the cheapest set and they ended up ordering it.

by now we were 2/3 done, but the pregnant ladies needed a long rest and some energy. so we headed over to ted's montana grill to eat some bison. i got a philly bison burger. it was very messy and a bit bland, but i also got bison chili and it was amazing! there was some confusion between mom and my tickets and i ended up getting my meal for free! then we hit the store for round 2.

there were four jungle themes for bedding. one was jungle and sports, which looked kinda strange. one was jungle and numbers and letters, which i thought was cute and educational. the third was lots of green and light brown and just jungle animals. the fourth was less babyish jungle animals and had more and darker browns, which mom liked. they agreed on the third one and got most of the accessories with it. then to crib/nursery accessories. sheets and blankets and matresses and crib pads and changing table pads and covers for those too. onto hampers and baskets to organize (green and brown) and stuffed animals (a monkey, giraffe, and gator), a monkey light plate and elephant night light. lots of hangers, a few toys to attach to the stroller and crib. an ocean themed baby gym (they decided not everything had to be jungle. they had picked out ocean stuff and a few elmo things for the bath).

last we hit the clothes. here is where karen finally got some pink. pink and purple and white hats and sleepers and onsies. also green and yellow with animals. pink socks and white ones too. there are some pretty cute outfits but we just got the basics, because people like to pick out what they think is cute and clothes are hard to find off of registrys. all that cuteness almost makes me want a baby. not quite, but it was the most maternal i'd felt in a long time. then we turned the gun in and got a print out of the 18 pages of stuff we'd registerd for. geesh!

on the way home we stopped and got some blasts from sonic. justin paid, so i got a day of entertainment, lunch and dessert for free. what a deal! weird thing, i saw two people from home. one pregnant with her little girl was headed to the bathroom while i was testing out the gliders and the other came into ted's with his parents. granted one just moved there and the other is about to, but come on. 2 hours from home and i still can't get away from people i know. i gotta move!

having too much fun to spend time working

oh it's been so long. keeping busy as usual. had an amazing weekend in st. augustine with my roommate for her birthday. we walked up the lighthouse, had yummy seafood next to the bridge of lions, did the ghosts and graveyards trolley tour, watched men march and shoot old guns at castillo de san marcos, enjoyed a fabulous view from our hotel room and walked on the beach and all over the city. then home to go hang out with the library ladies. had a great time playing games and laughing hysterically.

i've been having huge numbers at my preschool programs. over 100 people. have my last one tomorrow. i've been working on setting up the summer program and today i got asl classes and a pet therapy dog for kids to read to. i also got my other library specialist so now i have two people to do programs with me. we are starting to get a bit more organized in the back office, i should soon have my shelves installed, which will make it possible for me to unpack about 10 boxes! it's been weird only working 1 night a week, i got so used to working late every night. with daylight savings i have so much sunlight to enjoy. its nice.

last weekend i went to orlando. ishu and i had appointments at aveda. it's a cosmetology school, so it doesn't have all the ooh la la spa comfort, but it's way cheap. i got a 45 minute pedicure for $15. plus the girl i got loves to do designs on nails and it wasn't extra. so i got cara mia crimson with a white daisy on each big toe. so cute! then lunch at crispers and shopping at lane bryant, tjmaxx, and ross. home for a nap and then people came over. justin made yummy wings on the grill and delicious sausage pizza. dan and julia brought spinach dip and made calzones to order! then scattegories and monkey bread. around 11 everyone left and the three of us started 'did you hear about the morgans?' justin was asleep in minutes and ishu soon dragged him to bed. so i ate strawberries and finished the movie myself. i liked it a lot!

this weekend karen, justin, kate, mom and i are heading to babiesrus. kate just found out she's probably having a girl too (its still a little early, but the dr thinks that's what the baby is). karen and justin want to register and since kate doesn't know what she wants to do with the nursery, she's gonna scope out some ideas. then lunch at some place that has bison burgers that justin's all excited about. only problem is i gotta be at karen's at 8am. i'm so gonna be late.

that's the big things i've been doing lately. gotta get better at keeping up with this!

fun and productivity

orlando was good. friday night justin had to do a work dinner, so olive, ishu and i went to izziban sushi. there were only three waitresses for the whole place and the bartender was also the busboy and host, so even though there were empty tables they weren't sitting people. my diet pepsi tasted funny, so i tried sierra mist, nada, water it was. it only took 20 mintues to get that figured out. the appetizer wasn't good and one of my sushi rolls was really salty. olive was not happy to be there. she bit her styrofoam glass of water and it exploded all over the table. it took forever to get the waitress to clean it up, while olive smacked the table to make water splash. she didn't want to sit in her high chair or eat. she had her 18 month check up that day and we figure the shot they gave her was making her grumpy. she's usually so good in restaurants. after that memorable meal we met justin at home and then went to twisty treat. is was a long drive, but was very yummy.

the next day i slept in late, watched roman holiday for the first time (so good!!) and then ishu made chilli for lunch. justin cleaned the garage and prepped our greek feast while ishu and i ran errands. she had things to return and we hunted down some glassware she wanted for her birthday. we found half of them in tjmaxx and half in ross. the lines were horrible!! we got a snack at chic fil a, which i've eaten at only once, like ten years ago. the salad was good. scrapbooking stuff was 40% off at joann's so i stocked up on birthday stuff. debra and i are making birthday cards for the library this weekend.

when we got home justin had made kebabs and two couples came over. one were people from church who use to live in gainesville that i haven't seen in forever and the other a high school friend of justin's. his fiance is from amsterdam and she had this lovely accent. we had spinach dip and pita bread with hummus as appetizers and then chicken, steak and veggie kebabs with wheat pitas and baba ganuoush. i never had it before and didn't know it was eggplant. it was such a yummy meal. then we played catch phrase, scene it and scattegories. monkey bread for dessert and then i got olive all wound up before putting her to bed. once the couples left, ishu gave me a pedicure.

i slept in again! we had leftover greek food for breakfast and then they got ready for church and i packed up. ishu gave me my christmas present. she designed and made me a bag for my crocheting. it has pockets inside for the hooks and is brown with flowers. she is sooo creative. once i was home it was reading and naptime. then the golden globes in between desperate housewives and brothers and sisters.

today i met carrie at the gym and we did a stretch class and then some cardio. the class is taught by a library patron and she gave me a shout out in the class and said how much she loved acld. then we went to bageland for lunch and exchanged christmas gifts. home to read and nap and then emily came over to borrow some stamps. she had the boys with her and they were a little wound up from their playdate. they had fun writting on me with a sharpie and themselves with a highlighter. i started it my wrighting on myself. i'm such a bad example. then the squealed bloody murder in front of my apartment and were gone. they are crazy but fun!

then i got productive. dishes washed, healthy dinner made and eaten, room cleaned, apartment vacuumed, bed made and craft table organized. watched castle with the roommate. love love love that show! now catching up on email, facebook and the blogs. tomorrow we start unpacking the storage of what will one day be my library again. oh the work in store. 2am and time for bed!

a month of no blogging

been waaaayyy too long. tons of stuff has been going on. pennsylvania was great. i love spending time with my grandma. it's weird and wonderful to have an adult relationship with older people. we talk like we're friends and i found out lots of things about her life that i didn't know. the older she gets the more i want to spend time with her. i know that her good years are growing short and want to get all the memories i can with her. i got to see snow and lots of great aunts and an uncle. we also had a fun shopping day at thrift stores where i got lots of stuff for sooo cheap! i had to borrow a suitcase from grandma just to bring the stuff home.

karen's graduation was good. she was soo nauseous, but she made it through without yakking. we got some great pictures of the family and the reception afterward had yummy food. then back to work for three days and trying to get everything done for christmas. christmas eve i went to lake city and had lunch at cracker barrell with susan and her son michael. susan is my high school friend who i visit every year in alabama. we planned our next visit for late april and are roadtripping to ..... arkansas! i know you're like what, arkansas? but neither of us have been and its only 4 hours from her place. so now i have to study up on the state for some off the wall places to visit.

after lunch i went to cat and bill's. grandma was staying with them and brian and i spent the night too. aunt susan and her boyfriend gary showed up in their rv and we had a nice christmas eve. we played games and ate a yummy dinner. my aunt susan made a bean soup that was delicious! i made corn casserole and steamed asparagus to go with it. christmas morning everybody else showed up. we opened presents for 2 hours, we like to watch each gift be opened. poor karen just kind of lay back on the couch and watched. i really hope this sick pregnant woman thing gets better soon. after i put my lovely quilt cat made me (with six matching pillows!) in my car, i went back to sleep. at 4 i got yanked out of bed by bill's best friend and we ate turkey and other yumminess that cat and bill made. then i lay on the couch and watched movies with my grandma. i spent another night there since my roommate was in my bed and her mom in hers.

up early the next day to work. luckily it was slow. brian's goodbye party was sunday night. kate made awesome cupcakes with brian's name on them and i got a bunch of foods brian could eat. about 30 people were there and it was a nice send off. mom, dad and brian left monday to go to salt lake. karen and justin left monday to go on a 4 day anniversary trip in the ga mountains. wednesday finally showed up and grandma and i drove down to marco island.

we stayed with her sister helen. first day we watched the sunset on the resident's only beach. it was really gorgeous. the next day janet and larry took me around the island. we went to some indian mounds, the library (which i really, really liked!) and then on a very very long walk on tigertail beach looking for shells. after lunch we went to big cypress national preserve in the everglades and saw tons of cool birds and one brave alligator. it was so cold they where all in hiding. that night we had pork and sauerkraut and peas. tradition apparently. it was really good. i got them all to stay up until midnight to watch the ball drop. they hadn't done it in years.

the next day i stayed in bed most of the day and then went over to larry and janet's for beef stew and pork leftovers while we watched the gator game. larry and i are the only ones who lasted til the end. it was great to see the gators win big. oh how i'll miss my tebow. the next day we went to open houses, as helen is looking to move to marco full time and wants more space and a place with a water view and an elevator. we saw some small condos with amazing views and a $1 million house that was pretty spectacular. the next day we drove up the coast to sanibel and captiva. cold and beautiful, i really want to come back to captiva to spend a long weekend. we ate yummy seafood and watched the steelers at the sanibel grill. then some dairy queen outside, sooo cold! and then the vacay was over. back to gainesville. 3 hours of sleep and then i picked up sam at 4:45am and drove her and grandma to the orlando airport. then i went home and slept the day away.

back to work on the 5th. lots to do with scheduling all the programs for the march-may guide. early morning staff meeting where i had to talk. planning sandy's retirement party and doing her scrapbook. late nights. and soreness. emily and i did a bosu class tuesday night and ohh was i in pain. but at least i was at the gym. read several books. worked the weekend, which was way too busy. did a chinese new year program on sunday. kids are so cute! i had 20 people, which means it was the holidays that got numbers low, not that i suck. trips to the permenant location to look at the progress of the building coming along quite nicely. trying to figure out how some of it is gonna work. getting to know the new librarian and figuring out my new library specialist's schedule. hiring pages and an ls to replace sandy (is that possible?) gotta do an evaluation and start going through my desk and tossing stuff.

stayed in bed all day yesterday (bum!) but today went to the gym, grocery shopping, did laundry (including putting it away), and cleaning my room. this weekend i'm going to see ishu and her fam. her bday was new years, so i gotta go celebrate. 4 day weekend with working last weekend and mlk day. gotta take down christmas soon. gotta write brian and send thank you's to all the aunts i saw in penn and marco. i think that catches me up. 3am time for bed!

fun and flying

got everything done that absolutely had to get done and then shot down to o town. had a yummy italian dinner out and then went to church today and had yummy home cooked meat and rice for lunch and then chicken and fettucine for dinner. playing with an adorable little olive and giving lots of hugs and kisses!! nap and wii resort and night at the museum 2. being with the martinezes is always fun! tomorrow i fly to my grandma's!! so excited to see her and talk and be in the cold and hopefully see snow!! no internet, maybe a trip to the library to mooch some off them. i have to be at the airport in 5 hours. probably time to sleep!!

take it easy

its been an easy week. i had monday off, most of thursday and half of friday. i stayed in bed all day monday reading and sleeping. tues and wed were slow work days, mostly making decorations and games for the work christmas party. tuesday night i got all the christmas decorations out and most of it up. wednesday i got the tree up and hopefully will get the garland and lights in the window up tomorrow. i need to do dishes, wrap presents, pack and do laundry friday night and saturday morning before i go down to orlando. i'm staying with ishu and justin before i fly out monday morning. i'm watching emily's kids tomorrow afternoon so they can go get a new suv, since her husband totalled there's thanksgiving weekend. sam is supposed to get her car soon, but dad's being having trouble finding the title to her old car. after emily's kids, i'm going to watch sandy's grandson luke, while his mom goes to a christmas party. i've never watched him before, but he comes in the library a lot and is so cute!

today i did a program at a preschool and then went to work for a little bit. then i came home and washed my car. i haven't done that in forever. i took the day off to be with kate and jd, as trey was having surgery today. he didn't go in until the afternoon, so i got to take a nap and read. i went over around dinner time and hung out with them in the playroom and watched him eat lots of popsicles and ice cream. then i went to joanns and spent an obsene amount of money on yarn and scrapbooking supplies. then to publix to get ingredients for lasagna and german chocolate cake for the work christmas party and for christmas cookies. next was cvs to get my 3oz toiletries for my trip to pennsylvania. weather.com says the highs next week are in the 30s and the lows in the teens. and its gonna snow!! i'm so excited, but way glad my cousin is gonna pick me up from the airport so i don't have to drive in it.

after a yucky weekend of no tim and no gator win, this week has been good. hopefully the rest of my busy month is good too!

nothing like having a frozen butt for 3 days

so thanksgiving was great. the weather was magnificent. everybody behaved. i got to carve my first turkey. karen did two 15 pounders this year. one in the oven and one in their rotisserre (spelling?) they were both juicy and delicious. i was good and used a small plate and didn't get seconds. we played cards and justin shattered a frisbee. he and brian were playing in the front yard and he hit the tree right in front of him and that thing shattered into twenty pieces just like glass. we found pieces all over the yard. it was hilarious!

that night i went back to the parents and helped pack the camper and played some wii with brian. i also fell on the kitchen steps and skinned up my knee marvelously (i am such a klutz!) my parents don't have central heat, so i snuggled up in what i could and went to bed. around 4am i woke up freezing, with some of my extremities numb. i dragged a portable heater into the room put it on high and grabbed the quilt my mom just made for my sister (who won't get it until christmas). my mom woke me up the next morning and took a picture because i looked like an eskimo. i had borrowed my brother's hoodie and had my cpap machine on and all you could see where eyes. it was a funny pic, that i'm still deciding whether to put on facebook.

the drive was short, i asked mom questions from the life story book i got for her and heard great stories from her childhood. then brian and i played war til we got there. it was very breezy, but a beautiful cold sunny day. we set the camper up and then helped karen and justin set up their tent and watched the five mintues it took for my aunt susan and her boyfriend gary to plug in their rv. half us explored the lake, i offered to take the pups, boy do they have a lot of energy. we played minature golf and card games and then got the fire going for hot dogs. when the sun went down we all had to add layers. justin even put on a long sleeve shirt. we tease him, cause he loves the cold and usually is in shorts and tshirts for it. i acutally saw him put on jeans and a long sleeved shirt for a little bit. after hot dogs we made sore thumbs over the fire. my aunt brought the ingredients and showed us how. you take a thick stick and some crescent roll dough and wrap it around the end of the stick and seal it shut on the end. then you dip the dough in sugar and you cook it over the fire. after about 5 minutes you take it off and put pudding in the pocket. she had chocolate and vanilla and you know which one i picked. they were so good! i don't know if the sore thumb is the burning your fingers when you pull the roll off or that it looks like a fat, black tinged thumb on the end of the stick once it's cooked. it was soon too cold to even be right up next to the fire, so the adults went to bed and the kids went to the tent. karen is pregnant and having evening sickness, so she just layed on the 'bed' and justin, brian and i played games. karen hates the cold and had sealed the tent up with red duct tape and plugged in two little electric heaters, so it was pretty warm in the tent.

the next morning karen and justin made french toast and scrambled eggs and sausage. see we camp with electric skillets and microwaves. the most rough thing we do, is use the state park bathrooms and showers, at least the people not in the rv. after breakfast mom, susan and gary went exploring in the jeep, dad took a nap (his cpap broke as soon as we got there so he was getting horrible sleep), brian and i did a short hike and played games, and justin, karen and the pups went on a 5 mile hike. it was cool weather, but the sun kept coming in and out and with the hiking and sitting, we kept having to add and remove layers of clothing. kind of annoying. we played rummikub, the new monopoly card game (so fun!), and yahtzee. i got, no lie, 3 yahtzees in one game. i have never had 3. i usually never get any. needless to say, i won. after turkey sandwiches, we played more minature golf and then set up the tv for the game. yes we camp with television (it's only like 9") and this park had cable hook ups. during half time there was more golf (we love it!) and then a great win over our biggest rivals! susan brought ham for dinner and mom made some scrumptious shanty potatoes. with the addition of thanksgiving leftovers we had a feast. it was after dark by then, so it was a half cold feast but very good nonetheless. then we huddled around the fire and watched 'the holiday'. yes the tv has a dvd player. it got me in the christmas mood, which was the only thing keeping my backside warm. i was so close to the fire, i melted the bottoms of my shoes. we were all so full from dinner no one wanted the smores, except brian, but teenage boys never get full. to the camper for more games and then bed.

sunday was a bit warmer. we had eggs and sausage and grands biscuits for breakfast. then more golf. every single one of us got at least one hole in one during the three days! justin had two games where he got 3 of them. turkey and ham sandwiches were eaten and then sadly it was time to start packing up, we didn't want to arrive home in the dark. susan and gary, being in real estate and retired, create their own schedules, so they stayed another night and watched us pack it all up. rv's are so easy! brian, mom and i snored all the way home and dad had to keep us on the road all by himself. it was a really good trip, despite being really cold (i tried packing light and didn't bring enough clothes!) and justin being rather annoying (he wouldn't shut up about those crazy kids camping next to us, he was more bothersome than they were). it's the last time i'll camp with brian, which is sad, cause usually its just mom, dad, brian and me. and it just won't be as fun without him there. now that karen's done with school, hopefully she and justin can come on more camping trips. sam's new job is tues-sat, so she probably won't be able to come to many still, maybe weekends when monday is a holiday. so that's it for my thanksgiving weekend. now all the many, many things to do in december! i'm tired already.

the search for the missing phone

oh what a day! yesterday i realized i couldn't find me phone. i was at work so sandy called it, no ringing. i figure i've left it at home. that night my roommate called me phone, no ringing. not just for me to here, but no ringing at all. my phone was going straight to voice mail. so either it's dead, or i dropped somewhere, and whoever has it has turned it off. either way, not good. well like the crazy person i am i watched the dancing with the stars finale (yeah donny!) and reruns and scrapbooked (i finished another park! 2 to go) and stayed up way too late. 3am to be exact. so when my alarm went off wed morning, i of course hit snooze. at 10:10 i realized how late it was and jumped out of bed. i was supposed to be at the chiropracter at 10:15. i threw on clothes and brushed my teeth (i mean no one deserves to face my morning breath). i was only 5 minutes late (no i didn't speed, his office is down the street from me).

so that painfulness over i went to joanne's and found scrapbooks 40% off and several cute pregnancy stickers. i also got what i went in for, scrapbook extenders and a box of mounting squares (tape for scrapbooking). i also ran into people i knew and had a nice chat. then on to publix. only 4 carts left. did i mention it was cold and rainy? luckily i got the last of the dry carts. the place was packed but everyone was so friendly and nice. i had two guys make jokes about all the chex cereal i was buying (chex mix is a thanksgiving must at our house). lots of good bogo sales too. i got into a short line, amazing! as i was returning my cart to the covered sidewalk (my sister use to work for publix, and i know the pain of hunting down carts, especially in the rain) , when some guy in a big white van that i've just walked past, yells to me that i need to watch where i'm going. i wasn't positive he was talking to me, but then he said it again louder. so i ignored him and then he said hey don't ignore me. by the time i got in my car, i realized it was someone i knew, not just some crazy looney. i saw the van across the parking lot and it was a library van! one of our systems guys was driving it. now of course i felt bad, but what i was really hoping was that if he was in the area, maybe he was going to the library to fix our patron printer (it's been broken since sunday and makes for not happy customers).

so then i went to the library to hunt for my phone there and to use a phone to call people and tell them i lost my phone. no luck (except there was a systems guy there working on the printer!) i chatted a few minutes and then ran into a woman i used to work with at uf. i told her about losing my phone and said she had one in the car she was about to go donate. so i went downstairs with her and got a free verizon phone. she told me how to switch my number to it without even having to call verizon. very cool. then i dashed home to put cold stuff in the fridge and went to cat's. she'd just finished the first batch of pumpkin bread and so i started the chex mix.

then we get a call from karen saying sam has been in a car accident. no one was hurt, but it was her fault and she was very upset. karen and justin were on the way to rescue her. she had to have her car towed, cause she crumpled the front, but the other women's car was fine. it was her first accident and i felt really bad, because she of course tried to call me on my lost phone. but the lady was nice, the cop was nice, and it all took less than an hour, so it wasn't too horrible. and since i'm going camping this weekend and she has to stay in town to work, she can have my car.

back to the chex mix! i haven't made it in awhile, so i had fun bugging cat every few minutes with questions. she started working on a quilt for my grandma. we spent the afternoon quilting (she pieced and sewed and i ironed and ripped out mistakes), cooking (3 batches of chex mix and another one of pumpkin bread) and of course chatting. i also searched my car for the missing phone. i ended up with a bag full of garbage and 2 tubes of concealer (i keep losing it and buying more and then losing the new one), but no phone. bill came home and then we had a nice salad for dinner and i was off again.

i got home to an awful smell. i took out the trash and it still wasn't better, so i sprayed disinfectant and went to my room. time to search my bedroom for the infamous phone. i pulled the bed from my wall, i pulled out everything from under it. nothing. then to my night stand. several months ago the bottom of the top drawer broke and everything in the top drawer landed in or behind the bottom drawer. which basically means it was a big mess that i've been ignoring. i dug everything out, fixed the night stand, threw away a bunch of crap, and organized it. still no phone. onto the my desk. nada. then to the living room. rip all the cushions off the love seat. start throwing out things i find and announcing them to my roommate who is cooking yummy seafood dip for thanksgiving (she's coming to karen's with me). hair clips, plastic fork, bubble wrap, jolly rancher, but no phone. i start to pull cushions off the couch, when my roommate asks me if i prayed about it. silly me, i hadn't thought of that. she makes me sit down and she says a prayer that i'll find my phone. then i start in on the couch. 30 seconds later i find the phone way back in the couch. talk about prayers answered! i started jumping around i was so happy! then i had a thank you prayer and put the living room back in order.

i was in a pretty darn good mood the rest of the night. i washed my dishes (i think my meat loaf pan was causing the stench). then i started packing for the camping trip. i called tim. i've been talking to him wed nights, because there's no shows i like that night and it gives me something to do. in my night stand search i came across my headphone/mic for my phone so i was able to keep packing while we talked. i organized all my jewelry and the top of my dresser too. i was on a cleaning high or something. we had a really nice talk, last time we got too deep into religion and he got a bit upset. this time we kept it light and fun. i finally finished packing at 1:30am and said goodnight. now it's 2:30 and here i am blogging. mostly because i wanted to get the crazy day down, because i most likely won't be able to blog until sunday night when i get back from our camping trip. i'm way looking forward to it, because the high is 60 and the low 37! i love cold snuggly weather. we'll have a fire, and do smores and drink hot chocolate and play games and just have a great last camping trip with brian before he leaves. okay, time to get some sleep so i can have the energy to consume all that turkey and veggies and pie!

job no, job yes

i finally put all my laundry away!! i can see the floor in my room and walk around without running into a basket of laundry. i got a lot of sleep and watched some movies on my days off. last night i called the old boyfriend. we talked for 5 hours. he's coming to see me in december and take me to a dance at church. it'll be nice to see him again. i found out today that i didn't get the job i applied for, but i'm okay with it. i'm just wondering who did get it. the best part is that sam did get a job today!! she got a part time library assistant position. i am sooo excited for her. she needed this boost and i'm really glad she finally got a promotion. time to go pack for my overnight in orlando and finish the john grisham book i'm reading. night.

things to look forward to

this week has been draggin by. work has been kinda boring after all the excitement of the float, getting the cookbook done and the flurry of nervousness that went with the applying for a new job. luckily tomorrow i don't have to go to the library. i have training in orange park and get to learn cool new techno stuff. i do have to work the weekend, but the weather is beautiful out and there is a game in town, so maybe people will stay out of the library. best part is that with veteran's day, i get three days off in a row! and next weekend is gonna be great with time in orlando with lots of friends and family.

tonight i went to hear a friend play in the sf college jazz band. he sang on one of the songs too and he was just so cool. what it must be like to just be comfortable and confident and talented in front of so many people. anyway, it was really good. unf's jazz band was there too and they were amazing! its great to be in a town that always has something going on. if only i wasn't so busy or tired to do them. church is starting up a choir again, and hopefully i can join. they are supposed to be doing the practices sunday evenings, so even when i work weekends, i can attend. something about singing in a group, stretching myself to hit notes and hold notes and take big breaths and make a beautiful noise, is just so fun! plus i love when just the guys sing, it makes my knees weak :)

speaking of guys, last month i had a bad dream about an ex boyfriend and it really freaked me out. so i got on facebook, found him, and messaged him to make sure he was doing ok. we haven't talked in about three years and haven't seen each other in 4, i think. anyway we've messaged back and forth a couple times, just catching up with what our families are doing and the big stuff that's happened. today, he asked me to call him so we could talk. then he said he had some days off he has to use by the end of december or lose them. he's coming to town in december but has no set days and wants to know when i might be free. this message happens to come the day after i found out the date for the winter formal at church. would it be weird to see if he could come that weekend and be my date? do i want to be friends with him again? a different ex called last week and want's me to call him. he lives in arkansas and i'd be friends with him, but after an unexpected marriage proposal, i just can't go back to being phone buddies. why can't i get a new guy? wondering what to do . . .

oh crap it's after midnight and i have to be up at 6. i guess the thing to do is sleep on it.

another weekend come and gone

this weekend was good. friday night i went around my apartment and packed up stuff for a garage sale. then went to suzi's and went for a walk. then we talked and priced all our stuff for the sale. sat i went with my parents to orlando to go to the temple. once i arrived i realized i didn't have my temple recommend (a little piece of paper that says i can go in). so i sat in the lobby and read a church magazine while they did a session. the drive was nice cause we caught up with stuff on the way down. on the way back i asked them questions about their childhood. i got these books 2 years ago for my mom, dad, and grandma. they are full of 100 questions about their personal history. this way when they're gone, i can look back to it and so can my kids. i've been learning lots about them and hearing stories i didn't know. it's fun to get to know them as complete people and not just my parents or grandparents. that night i got a nap and then went to my sister's to watch the game. it was pretty tense, but we won, and my sister made her divine mexican dip, so it was all good.

sunday was church and then putting a pork roast in the slow cooker. then i had to finish some craft projects. i got carrie's present, the crosstich that has her and her husband's name and wdding date on it, finished and framed. then i finished the two scarves i made for the united way campaign. then i went over to carrie's and we had the yummy roast, potatoes, corn and biscuits. it was so yummy. then we played the game carrie got for her bday, toy story. it has all the carnival like games. my arm was sore the next two days. carrie won most of the games, but i won a couple. then the three of us played yahtzee and phase 10. brent killed us, but it was fun. monday night i finally put the sheets on my bed and got to some of my laundry. i got everything on hangers and the rest folded and put away. i can see the floor again and really need to vacuum.

i took my test today for the librarian supervisor job i applied for. it was easier than i thought, but long. my hand was killing me from trying to write so much, so tiny, since there wasn't a lot of room, or i'm just too wordy. next is the interview, but i don't know when yet. we'll see how it goes. this week i get to decorate the library's homecoming float. hopefully everything goes smoothly, looks good, and it doesn't rain. i have a program this weekend. the theme is halloween and i'm looking forward to it, but only 10 people have signed up for it. i usually have about 30 sign up and 25 show. but it is homecoming weekend. after the parade and game, i'm sure people will be tired. hopefully the library will be slow this weekend, with all that's going on.

being a lazy bum

i don't want to do much of anything lately, including blog. i had a pretty good trip with my family to the georgia mountains. too much fighting, but some good relaxing. i'm tired. i am blah since the big 3-0. my fav thing to do lately is lay in bed and read. i have totally been flaking out on my job with my dad. i finished the website class last month and haven't done one thing to spruce up the websites he has. i was supposed to work for him monday and friday this week since i had off from the library, but instead i slept in (today until 3:30pm!) and read. i haven't been to the gym either. i need some motivation to get off my butt and do stuff that's good for me.

i'm going to kate's tomorrow to watch florida beat the tar out of tennessee. that will be fun. the first two games, i was out of town or working. football games at kate and jd's are the best! maybe i'll get a free movie out of sam afterwards.

i need to get some craft projects done. i'm almost finished with a cross stitch project, that needs to be done the first of october. then i need to do some major scrapbooking. then i have to finish crocheting a blanket for my sister. its a little over half done. its for her graduation in april, so i think it'll be okay.

i also have to plan a trip to go up to pennsylvania and get my grandma. another sister is graduating in december and grandma is coming for that and christmas. she won't fly alone, so i go get her and she pays. i love free vacays! i'm trying to get one out of my parents for when my brother goes to utah to start his mission for the church.

i've got to start thinking of a halloween costume. any ideas?

being young and having fun

after many questions into my emtional and mental status from my last post, i'm here to say i'm feeling better (drugs are good) and am ready to inform you of all the wonderful things i've been doing lately.

so 2 weekends in orlando were lots o fun. ishu and justin are lovely to let me stay with them. and little olive is so funny and cute. dinner at justin's parents was delicious. i can now say that the best ribs every made are by justin's mom. we went to the craft show at the convention center. it was packed and i picked up a few things for dirt cheap, like i only spent $2.50 total. then we went to buca di beppo for a scrumptious lunch. i had gnocchi for the first time and it was great! the rest of the weekend was relaxing and running errands and i tried to play ghostbusters on the wii, but, let's face it, i'm not that good. my hands have troubles trying to do 4 things at once.

then two days of work with lots of programs at a center near downtown. the kids were older up to 12 years old, so i was a bit nervous. i took the two library interns with me. they totally didn't think i could get the older kids to do some silly songs with me. the kids loved it! the second day they wanted to do more! so it went well and the director wants me to come back in the fall for afterschool programs. i had sunday storytime today. we did the zoo. it was fun and the paper bag puppets were really cute. the weekend was not too busy, which is always good.

i went to my best friend kate's and jenifer's (her older sister by exactly 4 years) bday party last tuesday night and then stayed with my parents. brian and i played wii. he taught me star wars, again with my hands doing 4 things at once. i basically just push all the buttons and shake my hands around, and i finally beat him after like 10 games. then working for dad and getting my hair cut and highlighted, it looks mahvelus. lunch with sam and brian, fixed my broken car lights and some more wii with mom and brian. i'm really gonna miss him when he goes on his 2 year mission for the church, probably starting in october.

i finished my web class last thursday. i was taking the exam at 1am when i spilled a glass of water on my keyboard. luckily the keyboard is fine, but i submitted the exam only half done, getting a 53. i retook it and got a 100, but i couldn't get the certificate of completion because you have to have a 70 and they only except the first submission. after several emails up the food chain, i finally got someone with power and they mailed the certificate right away. now i just have to use those skills and make real websites!

so last week/weekend was all about being a bridesmaid. thursday i did laundry, gave a pedicure, and made a scrapbook of baby pics for the bride. then friday afternoon down to orlando i went. stopped by cvs first to pic up a prescription and realized i had no wallet. luckily this happened or i would have ended up in orlando with no license, money, or my temple recommend (which i needed to be at the wedding). to the church i went and decorating commenced. the men did the white lights drapped from the ceiling and we girls put on tablesclothes, made up flower vases for the center of tables, put out favors, put lights up along the walls, and arranged things. then the wedding party practiced the thriller dance we would perform during the reception. crazy! then to brent's house for sonny's and the making of the bridesmaid bouquets. back to ishu and justin's for chatting and bed.

the next morning ishu did my hair (she straightened it and it looked spectacular) then off to the temple. i was running a bit behind and so i did about 70 through orlando. the speed limit was mostly 45. thank goodness i didn't get pulled over. i made it 10 minutes before it started. got in the wrong elevator, then couldn't get out of the right one. the door opens on both ends and i was facing the wrong way. i hate those elevators that open in the front and back. i never know what i'm doing. anyway the ceremony was beautiful. then we took pictures outside. it was a gorgeous day, but about 100 degrees. sweating everywhere, we took pics for 45 minutes. then off to the church to boss people around. as head bridesmaid i did a lot of bossing around, it was fun! we did a ring ceremony and the reception was fun. brent wrote carrie a song and performed it (he's a music major, so it was good stuff) and they drove off to animal kingdom (a surprise for her). i checked their mail and left a lasagna in the fridge for their return.

after the clean up, which went way fast, i raced back to ishu and justin's so they could take me out for my bday dinner. we went to opa, a greek resturant which was awesome. the food was great, the atmosphere was loud music, a belly dancer and general craziness. i was yanked from my chair twice to dance, once all around the room, holding the hands of hot men. i also was pulled onto a table and sang happy birthday too. what a day!! sunday to church with the 4 year olds they teach, those are some funny little kids. then a nap and home. on the way i got pulled over for doing 83 in a 70. i had another wedding guest catch a ride with me and we were talking and i hadn't set the cruise control and anyway, i got a warning! i was sooo happy. either he thought meghan was way cute (which she is) or he saw that i've never had a speeding ticket (i know, amazing isn't it?), so i'm really glad that a) i fixed my broken taillight and blinkers the wednesday before (thanks brothers) and b) i had stopped at cvs and had to go back for my wallet, lest i had no license or proof of insurance for the trooper. as soon as i got home i ran in my apt, grabbed my scrapbooking stuff and headed to suzi's, where i mostly talked and got very little scrapbooking done. it was a wonderful week, but so tiring and my feet have just recovered from all that running around and standing.

this week has been slower, but involved a lot of being lazy, my clothes are clean but still sitting in baskets, my dishes are washed, but still piled in the drainer, my room has been cleaned once, but is back to a disaster. i've been going through my stuff looking for correspondence with my great aunt louise. she died two years ago and the nursing home people got her to sign a new will that left the money to them and a church she never went to. so my aunt susan has been battling it in court and she needs proof that we had a relationship with her. i found cards and letters she's written. my dad has a box of cards and letters from us that he found in her apartment when they cleaned it out. however, he doesn't know where the will is that he took from her apartment. the one that says we get everything. that is one of my missions tomorrow when cleaning his shop. must find 2003 will. i don't think i'm gonna find it as my parents have both looked, but maybe a miracle will happen.

a friend is retiring from work and a scrapbook is in the works. i went to emily's last night to work on my pages, while she worked on her interview for a job at the downtown library. i hope she gets it, but i'll miss her so much if she goes. i did better on scrapbooking this time, it took four hours, but i got the 2 pages done. obviously a lot of talking and goofing off occurred. i'm working on getting my grandma here for my sister's graduation and christmas, so i had a nice long chat with her. and i just got off the phone with my last roommate who now lives in utah. it was good to catch up with her, especially since she just finished her first summer as a full time mom to her new husband's three girls. i also found out that she's trying to get prego. so many people doing that, one sister (soon to be two), kate, and now julie. i'm hoping that i get to see her when my brother goes to utah in october. i'm gonna try to hitch a ride with him and my parents.

okay this is a way long post and it is now 1:30 in the morning. luckily i'm just working for dad tomorrow and i'm not expected til afternoon. my bday's wednesday, the big 3-0. i only have to work tuesday and friday, so this week will probably be relaxing and fun. only 13 days til our georgia vacay!!!

playing catch up, again.

yikes its been over two weeks. i was waiting to do this at home so i could add some pics, but at home i find other things to occupy my time. the fourth of july party at cat and bill's was a great success. we played a new game, cornholing (don't know about that spelling) its like bean bag toss. i crushed my roommate and then my brother and i were a team against my brother-in-law justin and sister cat. the first game brian and i devastated them, the second game was neck in neck tying with 100 pts. cat and justin won the tie breaker, but i want a thrid game to prove who is the bestest! swimming in their pool was lovely. we had races, everybody joining in. i was the big loser of that game. i can't swim in a straight line, so i'm blaming my losing to everyone, including my mom, on that defect (she can't swim a straight line either, so it must be her fault). the fireworks were awesome and no one lost any body parts, although my mom stayed on her feet to run if need be. they were pretty big to be exploding right over our heads.

olive's bday party in orlando was sooo much fun. the drive to and from orlando was mostly terrifying and slow. rain is bad on the interstate. lots o accidents and with all the construction in o town water just sits on the road and you go through puddles and just know you're gonna crash into one of those cement barriers and kill yourself. however, the party was a success. the kids loved the pool and cupcakes. the adults loved the food, the cuteness of olive, and pummeling ishu with water balloons (thanks to me!) i'm going down again at the end of the month for a craft fair that should be way fun. and we're gonna eat at our new place bocca de beppo (spelling again) this family style italian place that is awesome! oh and of course i like spending time with the martinez family :)

carrie's bridal shower is tomorrow! filmed the groom answering questions last night and it was hilarious!! i have a lot of cooking to do tonight though. plus the missionaries are coming over and my sister and dinner must be cooked. i'm making meatloaf. oh how i love it, its making my mouth water. i've been making lists today for all the things i still need to do for tomorrow. i will not be getting to sleep anytime soon. i have to finish her present, i finished the big part last night and i think sam can help with the rest while i cook. that would be oh so wonderful. i really hope all goes well tomorrow night. that people show and carrie has fun and the bachelorette part downtown works like a want. we'll see.

i am getting behind on my web class. i had to do two lessons fast this week before they disappeared. gotta catch up this weekend. i worked for dad last friday. i scrubbed the fridge, it looks really good. we also worked on my hand me down laptop, which im way excited about. hopefully we finish it when i go out this saturday. i'm taking emily's son aaron to a bday party saturday morning (hopefully he behaves, the little rascal) and then i'm going out to dad's and hopefully free movie, transformers, with sam and the roommate. work has been good this week. i don't have any programs for two weeks and finished the booklists i've been working on, so i'm being kinda lazy at work since i'm so busy in the personal life. i did go to the gym three times last week and three times this week. i lost 3 lbs. last week, so we'll see if that continues this week. i hope to get to the gym sat night, but usually cleaning dad's shop is a workout in itself.

i think that's everything. i'm sure it's not, but enough for now. hopefully some pics next time!

weekends of fun!

i did 11 programs in the last two weeks, so i haven't had time to blog at work. the majority of them went very well, puppets and stories and booktalks, and the kids and i had a blast. last weekend i had two bday parties. my best friend's boy turned 3 and my mom got another year older too (see mom, i didn't mention you're 57 :) it was a pirate party (not my mom's) and i dressed up! and yes you get to see me in all my ridiculousness. for mom's party i made lasagna from scratch (my specialty) and a trifle (my first one) both turned out to be quite delicious. then we played much wii, where i got plowed over by my brothers, in both bowling and golf. this weekend i went to alabama to visit a friend and her two year old. we spent yesterday and today at the beach with various friends of hers. beautiful weather and i'm only slightly red. tomorrow we hit the road for a tour of ne alabama. i know that doesn't sound very thrilling, but we found some fun, cool, interesting things to do there, plus there are mountains, which we seriously are lacking in our lives.

things come in threes

last night my mom called to say my aunt has a brain tumor. i had just seen her last week and talked to her husband the day before. he told me she was feeling pretty bad, but i didn't know it was headaches. she had an mri thursday morning and they admitted her to the hospital last night. she has a large spider tumor, which means it spreads out in a spider shape. they took her into surgery this morning to get out what they could, this was to relieve the pressure on her brain. i've been on the phone with my mom and sisters off an on last night and today. it is pretty shocking. she has 5 kids, 8 grandkids, 2 daughters and 1 daughter-in-law are pregnant. i feel so bad for them. i'm scared.

my mom got a call this morning while she was trying to find out about the surgery (i found out about it before she did from my cousins on facebook, technology at work) when my brother's school called. brian was at a local camp for the senior picnic and while playing soccer crashed into another kid and hit his head on a small rock. he has a 2 inch gash on his forehead, but the bleeding had stopped. my mom had to go get him and take him to the hospital for an xray and stitches. we (mom, dad, brian, and i) are supposed to go camping for a week starting today. dad went ahead (it must be nice to be your own boss) to get a good site for us. when he got there, he found that the lake and trails were flooded from all the storms. they hadn't closed the camp, but he didn't want to set up the camper and then have to take it down again. apparently the river had risen 10 feet and was still rising. so dad turned around and came home.

so as if a brain tumor wasn't enough, a split open head and a flood were added into my crappy day. my aunt has been in surgery since 7am and it's almost 3pm. she's supposed to be out soon and i pray she's okay.

Thing 10 - Tags are Delicious

I've done tagging with photos on Facebook, but that's about it. I liked using it in Flickr to find pics I was looking for. I went and tagged all my blog posts. I used the tags: Me, 23 Things, Blogs, Mormons, Weight Loss, Travel, Family, I Love My Library, Emily, and Frustrations. If I need to find something I blogged about, hopefully these tags will do the trick. Tags are like cataloging (as the instructions said) but even better because you get to pick the keywords or language to find things. In cataloging you have to guess whether the keyword has an s or an ism at the end, for example. But since you make the keywords, you know what to type in to bring up what you want. Of course that is, if you've tagged it correctly.

Then I did Delicious. I made an account, very easy. I put about 10 sites on that I visit daily. I don't use too many sites and I am either on my work computer or home computer, so we'll see if I use it. I'm going to Alabama in April and would probably use it there. When camping I might use it, since my Dad brings a laptop, but you never know if campsites will have wireless or not. Sometimes the ranger's office will have an open signal and you can use that. I thing Delicious is cool. We have a Great Links page on our Library's website and this would be good to have on Delicious. With tagging, we would most assuredly find other 'Great Links' which could help patrons and staff. We had a staff member who use to go searching for good web sites and he would bookmark them on one of the Reference desk computers. However if you were sitting at the second Ref desk computer, you didn't have them there. So if it was web based on Delicious, then you would have traveling bookmarks. Get it, I was just talking about traveling, and the bookmarks travel too. Oh no! Dan is starting rub off on me. Help!

Thing 9 - Sliding Around

My family starting camping a few years ago and got hooked. Here is a slideshow of some of our adventures. I used Rock You, because I've used it to make slideshows on my MySpace page. I already had an account and one less new password to remember was good.

busy, fun, drama, i need a break!

so much going on lately. last thursday the girls at church had a luau party, which was loads of fun. that night my friend carrie got engaged and asked me to be a bridesmaid!

then i went to orlando for two days to hang out with ishu and justin and their baby olive. macaroni grill, shopping, playing with the babe, homemade indian and mexican food, movie watching, ikea, sleeping in, and playing the wii, made for a great weekend. ishu did happen to back into my car, but luckily its just a tiny dent and she is fine (well as fine as ishu can be :)

then a long church meeting on sunday, that was very good. thursday my newly engaged friend and i went to see her fiance(!) play in his jazz band. it was an awesome concert! lots of working out during the week. friday it rained cats and dogs, but emily and i still went to body pump and i added more weights! saturday was emily's son's bday party at 9am. yes very early for me. the party was lots of fun and messy (one child had explosive diarrhea). her son opened one gift and promptly gave it to his brother and another he was determined to open and play with. other kids started opening the rest of his gifts. then off to lowe's to buy flowers. i spent three hours preparing the beds, pulling weeds, mixing soil, planning where to put everything, digging holes, planting, and watering. squatting and bending and kneeling and digging for 3 hours left me quite sore. i jumped in the shower (i was pretty filthy) and loaded up the dessert for my dad's bday party. a quick stop at hallmark for an awesome star trek (spock speaks) bday card and then to my sister's. we had a yummy meal, with a little drama with another sister (she went to the wrong house for the party and then her radiator exploded). she took my car to her second job and we had frozen yogurt sundaes piled with fresh fruit for dessert. oh yum! then yet another sister and her husband took me by the house they just bought (closing in 30 days) and i took lots of pics and looked in all the windows. then home for washing dishes and doing 3 loads of laundry. so tired! i slept and crocheted and watched tv all sunday. plus i cooked a delicious pork roast in the slow cooker with red potatoes and baby carrots. someone should really marry me with all the domestic skills i have :) on the diet/workout front. i lost 3.5 lbs this week. that makes a total of 20.5 lbs lost!!! i'm very psyched. with my sister having my car while her's is repaired, i'm walking to work. it was a beautiful morning for it. the family camping trip is coming up friday. i'm so ready to get away from work! i'm slightly worried about not being at the gym for a whole week, but i'm bringing free weights and my yoga dvd (yes we camp in style with a tv and dvd player). plus there are lots of nature trails and a lake to swim in and we have kayaks. plus my brother is 18 and filled with the energy of the young. i'll drag him along with me (anything to escape the parents :)