This Can't Be My Weekend

I'm in the middle of a weekend that is not really a weekend. And I am exhausted.

For only being a four days long, the past week seemed exceptionally long, mostly because of Thursday and Friday.

Thursday I worked on campus and then went out to mow lawns with my dad, returning home around 9:30 p.m. I still had yet to eat dinner, shower, finish editing, and pack for the trip.

Friday we left town around 6 p.m. to head south for the conference. The driving only took 4 hours, but we stopped for dinner (1 1/2 hours) and there were three of us smushed into the back seat.

By the time we reached our destination it was approaching midnight and still had to edit a transcript for work.

Then I spent all day at the conference, which was extremely information and helpful, but not all that restful.

The good news: no more conference events this evening, my own bed and air conditioning.

Excitement is Building

It's hard to believe that my summer is less than two weeks away. In fact, two weeks from now I will be in a different state.

By some stroke of luck, my current job has pretty much given me college breaks back.

And I accept.

This summer I plan on making use of the free time on my hands by getting a little travel in.

The trip I'm most excited about is to Costa Rica (which is about 97% for sure happening). A week at the end of July.

YAY!

But first I'm going to fly 1,000 miles for a friend's wedding and some catching up in the land of the Rockies, followed by Cousin SE's wedding back in the home state (but nowhere near home).

Apparently I've reached the age that everyone gets married at.

Funny, I never received that memo.

I am also plotting strategery for a trip/move to Europe. That part is totally unplanned and just a hope/dream in one corner of my heart.

But a girl can dream.

Glee

FOX was selling it's new show, Glee, hard before and during the Idol finale this past week, so I tuned in (after watching what is probably my favorite show right now, The Mentalist).

I'm pretty sure I liked it. Glee, I mean. It kind of reminded me of Mean Girls, with the ultra cliche high school roles.

What really sold me on watching the show in the fall,though, was the final sequence. (If you aren't big on musical type performances, this may not float your boat.)

Enjoy! Or don't. Whatever.

Glee - Don't Stop Believin'



The lead male singer is also the BMOG for the football team, and a pretty amazing singer. Some people have all the luck.

A Day in the Sun

Today dawned slightly overcast, making me rather wary.

I was ready for my first day off in two weeks and I wanted to enjoy it outside, dang it!

Luckily the cloud burned off and as the temperature rose, so did my mood. I spent the day mostly outside, with a friend at a state park and working in the front garden with the family.

I took my camera out just to play and thought I'd share my morning adventure with a few photos. I hope you had a beautiful Saturday to enjoy outside.

We started the day off right, with a little caffeine from the local coffee shop.

We traversed over rock...

beside the beautiful ocean...

and around driftwood.

We played on railroad tracks...

climbed on water drain pipes...

and frolicked beside waterfalls.

Then I went home and hid under a chair to get some rest. Oh wait, that was the puppy.

Dabbling

I have the tendency of picking up a hobby or activity, but not really sticking with it.

Don't believe me? You need to look no further than my acoustic guitar in the corner of my room and the basket of yarn and knitting needles.

This means that choosing a new hobby that requires a significant financial investment is probably not the best of choices.

That didn't stop me from spending some money last week, though.

I've had a hankering for a nice camera for a while, and when the Canon Rebel XSi went on sale at Costco a couple weeks ago, I pretty much started salivating.

Two days later I was lugging home a new camera, with two lenses, bag and other accessories, and swearing to myself that this time would be different. I will put this to use, dang it.

The current plan is to take advantage of a much slower paced summer (right now I'm working 6-7 days a week, in a couple weeks it will be just a couple) and learn how to use this fancy new machine.

For now, all I have to show for my purchase is a bunch of pictures of our dogs, which I will not bore you with by posting here. But hopefully someday in the not-so-distant future, I will be able to share some decent pictures with you.

Only time will tell if I actually follow through this time.

Random Acts of Kindness

Twice today I received compliments from perfect strangers.

And it got me thinking. How often do I make an effort to do or say something nice to someone else, stranger or otherwise?

I have a vague memory of pushing a cart through snow for an older woman, occasionally holding a door open, or a brief smile.

But I'm pretty sure I could better than that.

I just to need to channel my inner Haley Joel Osmont. (Pay It Forward, anyone?)

--------------

On a completely unrelated note, I realized while in the shower that I was out of body wash.

I had to make a difficult decision, whether to use Gillette Body Wash or Old Spice Body Wash. (I share a bathroom with my bro, can you tell?)

I went with Gillette because the scent is a little less "male" (I mean who wouldn't recognize Old Spice) and because it provided the two-for-one deal of a face wash. Won't be getting acne on my legs.

Score.

Staying Safe

Everyday at work, walking around campus, there seem to be people selling something, handing something out, etc.

Pretty much everyone just wants to avoid contact, so I've come up with some strategies to make avoidance a little easier, whether you find yourself on a campus or accosted on the city streets. (Well, hopefully not accosted.)

Strategy #1: The Wingman Technique
This involves using an innocent passerby as cover. By keeping a person between you and the stalker to be avoided, attention is deflected the another victim allowing you to continue merrily along your way.

Strategy #2: The Ol' Cell Phone
Pretty straightforward, by talking on your cell phone or pretending to talk on your cell phone, the stalker will much less likely to bother you about whatever it is they want to bother you about. Trust me, it works.

Strategy #3: Take It and Run
Occasionally when the stalker is just handing something out, like a flyer or a coupon, it's just easier to take it. Just take it and get out of dodge. I always cringe a little at the waste of paper, but my sanity is worth it.

Strategy #4: Out of Towner
In the case of a petition or another voting-related matter, claiming you aren't a registered voter is a pretty easy way to get someone to forget about you.

I could probably come up with a few more, but I'll stop there for now. Go out and conquer the stalkers.

Maybe someday you'll be lucky enough to learn my techniques for avoiding door to door marketer-types.

Maybe.

Monday Blahs

I started out the week exhausted. Mostly because I didn't get a weekend.

Between Friday afternoon (after work), Saturday and Sunday, my dad and I mowed 26 lawns. I was also dog sitting. And I went to a wedding (which was super fun) on Saturday evening.

Needless to say, it doesn't feel like I had a weekend.

My coworker (who was the one getting married Saturday) and I were a little slow on the uptake in our first class.

I could go for a nap right now, but instead I'll settle for an early bed time. (Hopefully)

Thank you for taking the time to read the lamest post ever.

Sunday

I spent Sunday driving home from the opposite end of the state. What a way to Happy Mother's Day to my mom, huh?

But I got back as fast I could just for her! At least that's my excuse for speeding this time.

After I returned home, I spent about half an hour rooting around my room for the gift I bought her months ago. A bath pillow. I found it in a shopping bag, under my desk (of course).

There's nothing like Mother's Day to make me think of not only my mother (who I love and appreciate very much), but also all of the other women who have a part in making me who I am today.

And boy, have there been many of them. As I walked to campus this morning in the drizzle, I began compiling a mental list, but soon ran out of capacity for it.

I have been blessed!

I was met with sobering news in the past few days about one of these women, my grandmother--my mother's mom.

Grammacy fell and broke her hip.

This follows a rather disastrous turn of events less than six months ago, when she broke the other hip and then fell and broke her ankle while trying to walk on a broken hip.

You see, Grammacy has Alzheimer's. It's been ravaging her brain for a while now and with the accident six months ago, left her confused and fairly uncommunicative cerebrally, and very unsteady on her feet.

I've seen her a number of times since I returned home last fall, and on each visit I'm shocked at how much she has worsened. This past weekend, she was at my cousin's bridal shower, was really unsteady on her feet, mostly confused, and very hard to understand.

Now my mother has flown across the state to help out with Grammacy, who has become agree and volatile.

I'm not sure how to end what has turned into a rather sober post. Sometimes, life just blows.

The New Black

My bloggy friend The New Black is having a contest to celebrate 100 posts, and is giving away a few of her favorite things.

I mostly read her blog and drool over all the fabulous purchases, deals, and steals she gets. She also has some great tips, like Mypoints, for her readers.

Plus I just like hearing about her life! Check out her contest here.

Satellite Missive

Dear DirecTV,

Your timing couldn't be worse.

I don't know if you realize or not, but there are A LOT of important things for me to watch. Like the NBA Playoffs and the Grey's Anatomy finale.

But no. You had to go and freak out yesterday night, and now no one can come and fix you until Monday sometime.

This is not acceptable.

If my parents didn't have a two-year contract, our relationship would be over. Instead, we are no longer on speaking terms.

I want you to think about what you've done. It is my God-given, American right to watch TV, and I want to exercise it.

It's my satellite and I want it now!

Sincerely,
A TV Junkie

Too Much To Do

I am driving across the state Friday after work for my cousin's bridal shower, doing my duty (and probably having some fun) as a bridesmaid.

While I am mostly excited about the voyage, I also feel like I have a lot to accomplish between now and then.

I have to do laundry, get packed, buy a shower gift, get my oil changed, and hopefully get my camera--all before the clock strikes midnight.

This wouldn't be so bad if I weren't working basically the entire day today and tomorrow, and then leaving after work on Friday. And by all day, I mean 8:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. (at least for today).

Every once in a while, I wish I had planned ahead.

On an unrelated note, the breakfast sandwich the girl beside me is eating does not smell delicious.

If I was asleep

I woke up sometime before 6 this morning to a dog scratching on my door.

Next thing I know, I'm chasing the other dog outside across the cold, wet grass to get a loaf of bread back.

Thanks to my spidey-sense, the bread escaped serious injury.

Now it's two hours before I had planned on getting up and Dog#1 who woke me up to begin with is snoozing contentedly at the end of my end. Dog#2 is sleeping on the couch.

I am wide awake trying to pass the time on the internet.

If I end up making any purchases this morning, I am blaming the dogs.

The Way It Goes

It started out as a normal Monday, but by the time I reached the evening it had turned into anything but normal.

I worked (normal), had a three hour break I used to drink tea and read (not normal).

This afternoon my dad and I went to Costco (normal) and I drooled over a SLR camera (also normal).

Our next stop was a lawn, where we saw a possum (not normal), a baby possum. At first I thought it was a rat, but it didn't scurry around at all.

At the second lawn, a woman fell and hurt her shoulder (not normal and VERY unfortunate).

We finished our last two lawns under the threat of rain and now it's pouring (very normal).

Now I plan to shower, eat, watch some TV, and read (all incredibly normal activities).