taxing

work... went... well... *laugh*  really, i am almost done w/ the 600+ photos from the past couple months. woot!  huge feeling of relief.  i had been begging for help w/ them for so long, and it was all one step forward, two steps back.  so finally i got tired of waiting & just gave myself an hour or two a day to work on them, and finally they're almost caught up!  along w/ all the other stuff, claims & reqs & vacations & oh yeah i got to work on my error report today, too.  timecards and retirement stuff... it was a potpourri of stuff today.  : ) 


the weather was really crazy - foggy & drizzly most of the day.  sudden, heavy (PRETTY) snow this afternoon, which was gone as quickly as it started.  then the snowy/icy mix, which wasn't so much fun!  


bret picked me up at 5:30 & we picked up adolph's for dinner & then headed to find ... where he'll be WORKING tomorrow!  : )   hooray!!  then home to eat delicious tacos & chips & salsa.  only had 20 minutes, tho, because i had to get my taxes done.  i go to the place i used to work at, friends of the family, part of the family, whatever you want to call it.  they are family, i feel anyway.  i worked for them for 4 or 5 tax seasons (is that all?  hmmm.  have to check my notes!  lol) and they are juli's in-laws, which makes them my niece & nephew's grandparents, which makes them... FAMILY.  : )  


we visited while they worked, and i do love them, but a lot of our visiting was about how evil president obama is, and how he might be the antichrist, and ... erm... idk, do ppl really think that?  really really?  are the signs all there?  it's so hard to know what is rumor and what is true - like, some of what they were talking about is that other countries have been worshiping obama and have asked him to come be their ruler?  i'd never heard that before they mentioned it, but i don't really pay attention to a lot of news/politics (other than the sanity blog cuz i love the way he thinks!).  


anyway, it was just a really weird conversation out of the blue kinda thing!!  still a nice visit, and at the end of the night i was happy with the results!  : )  of course, me being me, i realized i hadn't replaced my checkbook, so i had to run home (in the now-icy weather) and back to pay them!!  : )  


tomorrow i have to be up 1/2 an hour earlier to take bret to work so i guess bed is calling my name!  happy for tomorrow - get to hang out w/ erin!  going to have to postpone my brakes again, tho.  after paying for the taxes and whatnot, i just don't have $300... but i know i want to replace the brakes before anything gets wonky, so i guess next week?!  lol  oye!  


so, happy day to you dear readers!  thanks for sticking w/ me even when i don't have anything very interesting to say.  : )  on that note, in honor of dumbledore - sprocket!  widget!  magpie!  ; )  


ttfn ... 

just go w/ it

good day, bloggy friends!  God is awesome and i am so grateful for His blessings!!!  : ) 


met mom & leyton for lunch at culver's.  yummmmmmy!  

we had so much fun, and i loved spending time w/ them!  : )  leyton asked gramma to buy a soccer ball for him, and she did.  

then, as we left, leyton wanted his coat put on backwards... LOL  too funny, that kid!  

we took him home & then mom & i went to see Just Go With It.  it was really sweet, and i actually believed the chemistry btwn adam sandler & jennifer aniston, which i hadn't been sure about previously.  sweet, sweet movie!  not so sweet - when i was in the bathroom, a little girl stuck her head under the stall into mine.  thankfully i was clothed and not actually on the toilet at the time she did this.  talk about traumatizing!  i looked at her & said, "hello.  this is very rude."  her family members were outside, so i said something to them.  one girl got snotty w/ me (excuse me?  apparently rudeness runs in this family?!) but the little girl's mom was very apologetic.  


anyway!  mom & i went to gander mtn to find a new coat since mine looked like crap & that's where we'd gotten it from... 4 years ago.  i loved that coat, only partially because it was comfy and big.  it wasn't even particularly warm, but it did the job.  i loved it because we bought it right after daddy died, w/ a gift card he'd been given while in the hospital or for his birthday.  i didn't tell mom why it meant so much to me.  idk why i didn't tell her.  i just let her think i didn't care about looking like a ragamuffin.  (which i don't.. it really did look awful, was ripping everywhere... *sigh*)  but it was like one of my last gifts from dad or something.  :(  i had to throw it away today, and it was hard, but i promised mom i would, so i did.  i mean, i understand it's not practical to keep it around when it's trashy & i won't be wearing it ... but it was still hard.  i'm okay, tho, just wanted to share my thoughts.  


i do really like the new coat.  we didn't find it at gander mtn - we went to becca's store, actually.  and it looks almost identical to my other one, except instead of gray thermal inside it's soft, blanket-like material.  


had to stop at WM after the coat purchase, to get TP & soda, waffles & breakfast sammiches.  : )  saw anna as she was leaving, which was a nice surprise!  when i got home, bret got a call about church or something, and i asked about his evening group.  i told him to go ahead & borrow the car to go at 7, because he'd been stuck in the house all day & hadn't been able to go to service this morning cuz he didn't have a ride.  he's supposed to get up early tomorrow to take me to work & then use the car to go job hunting, but he's not home yet so hopefully he'll still be ready to get up in the morning!  *laugh*  


i got to watch survivor finally (rob!! russell!!), and then CSI NY and kitchen nightmares.  and i got to chat w/ april for a bit!  hooray!!  : )  


but now i must get to sleeep!  : )  have a great monday - do you have to work like me or do you get president's day off as a holiday?  if you get to have a holiday, what're you going to do w/ it?  do share!!  lol  


ttfn!  : )  

Beastly

this is the book i bought, and read, today.  bret is currently reading it now.  it's amazing, and quickly earned a place as one of my favorite beauty & the beast adaptations.  most B&B stories are told from Beauty's perspective.  this is a departure, and is told from the beast's POV.  it's amazing, and i recommend it highly!  i can't wait for the movie based on this book - and i don't have to wait long as it's out next month!  : )  


i identify strongly with the "don't judge by the outside appearance" storyline.  


(i had a long, heartfelt something to post about that, but that was hours ago and now i just want to share my day and not think too much.  i'm tired and would like to go to sleep!  *laugh*)  


today was a very good day!  got up at 8:30, but then didn't want to be up yet, so went back to bed for an hour.  got back up & dressed & was out the door by 10:15.  went to the bank for some moolah, then kwik shop for diet pepsi & smokes & gas, hardee's for breakfast, and the post office for stamps.  didn't make any friends in line today - everyone was pretty much in a "stare straight ahead" kinda mood.  which was okay, as i wasn't particularly chatty either!  *laugh*  : ) 


i was supposed to do part II of payroll at 11, but the mail hadn't arrived when i called jan, and i'd planned to hang out w/ mom this afternoon.  however, when i called her she said she just wanted to go back to bed!  she's fighting a cold & all.  so we're going to hang out for lunch w/ leyton tomorrow & then maybe go to a movie.  


since i didn't need to head to jan's, i decided to go to borders & find a book i wanted to get for becca for her birthday (some of you may know of it?  Keep Calm and Carry On.  i want a copy for myself, as well!).  they didn't have it in stock, but of course it's a book store, so it wasn't a wasted trip... LOL  i perused the romances (buy 4, get the 5th one free!), but nothing sparked.  or, rather, a couple did but they were hardback, and i don't do those very often.  pricey, you know.  *laugh*  i did find a couple books on the buy 1, get 1 50% off table - Mennonite in a Little Black Dress and Lies My Teacher Told Me.  neither is my usual sort of book, but both looked very good!  i'm especially interested in Lies, because it's about all the misinformation in today's history texts used by our country's schools.  i've thought for years - perhaps even while i was still in school - that our history texts were rather ... uninformative.  


after i found those two books, i continued to wander around the store, still looking for the other book as i hadn't found an associate to ask yet.  i made it over to my favorite section, YA.  favorite!!  i had a rather interesting observation about the changes to the YA section over the years.  when i was in school, that section was full of SVH, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Babysitter's Club, covers of bright colors and pastels.  today, it's vampires everywhere!  Twilight, Vampire Diaries, Vampire Academy, etc.  all awesome series, btw!  : )  the covers are all dark, dark, dark, jewel tones and blacks.  vampires aren't the only books, tho - there are fairies, witches, wizards, magic galore!  


and then, of course, Beastly.  ; )  i was so excited when i saw it, little unexpected treasure!  i started it right when i got home, and read thru until it was time to leave for becca's dinner party.  : )  


now, this dinner party is the sort of thing that i know can induce a panic attack.  but i have been preparing for it for a month.  part of my preparation is to not think about the things that make me panic - such as not knowing any of the others who would be there, save becca; not knowing if becca would be there when i arrive... like, i think about the abstract, reminding myself of the party, so i know it's coming, but thinking only in terms of "i'm having dinner w/ my friend becca, which i do all the time, and it's going to be fun."  


this all worked for the most part, and carried me through all the way until i hit about 12 blocks before the restaurant.  then, suddenly, as is the way of these attacks, i got that feeling in my stomach and started to think about all the ppl whose names i'd seen on FB that said they would be attending the dinner, and thinking about walking into the restaurant and having to find the table and ... i texted a prayer request status to my FB.  (thanks to everyone for the prayers, btw!!)  i turned down a road a couple blocks before the restaurant to give myself a few more minutes - and another smoke!  i got some responses to my prayer request, and reading thru them along with constant praying and breathing and "i will be okay, i will be okay" chants... they helped!  thank You, Jesus!!!  


dinner was really nice, everyone was so sweet and hilarious!  most of the women were friends from becca's church, and it was really nice to feel the comradery they had together... and after a few minutes, i didn't feel uncomfortable with them at all.  again, i thank the Lord so much for that!!  i really, truly, enjoyed the evening.  : )  


after dinner, a group was going to a movie, but i was pretty well exhausted, since dinner was about 3 hours!  *laugh*  i came home, finished my book, watched some John Doe & Stardust, and ... here i am!  heh.  


i love stardust!!!  you know that, i tell you every time i watch it.  ; )  


i hope your day was fabulous and panic attack free!  i did just find out that 2 more of my cousins suffer from them, as well.  that knowledge is oddly comforting - tho i wouldn't wish these on anyone, ya know??  but to know i'm not alone - i mean, KNOW it, not just know it.  (that's a lot of knowing, sorry!)  


anyway... i'll leave you w/ a postcrossing from portugal.  : )  sending much love your way!  

ttfn!

care bear

PRAISE the LORD for the weekend!  7:30 to 6  =  another very productive day.  hooray!  


i'm too tired to catch up on my blogs tonight.  hopefully that is all i'll do sunday.  *laugh*  just pop in a movie or tv show or hulu or something (oooh, survivor, i really need to watch rob & russell battle it out!  tonight i didn't hop online til bret left at 11 & i've watched bones & castle & i think i'll be going to bed after this episode.  earlier, bret & i were watching grey's - i do love that show even if i don't watch regularly!).  and i really wanna sleep!  *laugh*  


mom invited me to dinner w/ her & leyton at incredible pizza, so i met them there at 6:30ish.  it was SO MUCH FUN!!!  i love their buffet - their pizza's yummy, and i like the salad bar, and the variety!!  baked potato bar, nachos, pasta, chicken, DESSERTS - no bread pudding this time around, but there were some really tasty cinnamon rolls.  mmmm!  : )  


we played some games (skeeball!!!  flying pigs!!! the CLAW!) and leyton got a soft, stuffed piggy out of the claw game.  then we tried to get a pac man ghostie, but that didn't want to come home w/ us.  leyton has a real talent w/ that claw game, tho!  he got the pig & almost had the ghost, too!  when we went into the gift shop at the end of the night, i discovered a bin full of colorful Care Bears figures!!!  i wanted Good Luck (?) Bear cuz he's green & has a clover on his tummy.  : )  but there weren't enough tickets left on the card after leyton got his lollipop (gramma kept calling it a sucker & he would say, "it's a lollipop, gramma!" LOL), so we went back out to play & racked up 50 more points so i could get my bear.  *laugh*  and i sure enough did wonder when i could go back to get the rest of the bears! cuz i'm a dork but i'm okay w/ it!  : )  there are about 10 bears, at 70 tickets each... yeah, that's not happening probably!  LOL  


we left a little after 8, and leyton & mom gave me some good pictures - tho blurry...why are my pictures all of a sudden always blurry??  bah.  

anyway, we had fun, it was awesome to hang out w/ mom & leyton, and it was nice to hang out w/ bret even briefly when i got home.  : )  


did you all have a good friday?  any big plans for the weekend?  i'm leaving you tonight w/ some of my postcrossings!  ttfn!  <3

silence

sometimes it's nice, altho strange after having constant sound for hours.  


today was hard.  


i'm very tired, and going to bed.


i did get to email chat w/ erin & debi today, which was neat. : )  


got all my claims in & helped a bunch of ppl w/ timecard issues.  good times!  and i was only there for a little over 10 hours!  


received some nice postcards, which i'll scan in tomorrow or saturday.


finished Twice Tempted.  gooood!  quite a bit racier than i like, tho.  had to skip a lot!  (yes, i skip sex scenes.  i don't need to be all up in the characters' bid-ness!  i'm happy knowing they got it on and are falling in love and whatever.  i don't need the details!  LOL)  the funny thing is that i don't remember having to skip that much in the first book... makes me wonder what the third one will bring!  


so, after work, i was starving!  but i couldn't figure out what to eat.  nothing sounded good.  do you ever get to that point?  where your stomach is making all sorts of weird hunger noises, but everything you think of eating makes you feel a bit nauseous?  that's where i was at.  i ended up just coming home ... and even here i couldn't find anything that sounded good!  i ate a couple animal crackers & leftover chips from adolph's.  finally i just made a random weird dinner - meatballs & pasta sauce w/ an english muffin & cream cheese.  sooo weird, but it was good.  and fairly filling, so a definite plus!  : )  


bret & i watched some eps of John Doe & then Friends.  i was like, "oh, i have the... oh."  thinking i had the series, but nope, i'd borrowed it from nicki!!  *laugh*  that was awesome, having all the friends marathons!  : )  it was cool to watch random episodes tonight.  whatever site bret found had episode 23 from each season.  odd!  


oh my heck, i really need to sleep.  hope you have an AWESOME friday!!  : )  ttfn!

bieber fever on GLEE!!! : )

i really don't get the bieber hype, but then again i didn't really get the NKOTB hype, either.  i think the hype distracts from the true talent.  i don't trust hype.  i didn't trust the glee hype.  everyone, ppl i trust, told me that Glee was GREAT!  and i finally watched and fell in love.  not because of the hype.  not because it's "popular."  


i love Glee because it's an amazing show!  with the exception of a few episodes that lost their way, every episode makes me cry at how beautiful their voices are.  the storylines, they are okay.  i mean, they're pretty standard, ya know?  they're high school.  critics of the show say that like it's a bad thing.  fans of the show, however, know that's awesome.  fans remember other awesome high school shows.  well, okay, maybe just me - i kinda see glee like a cross btwn HSM (that's High School Musical) and Degrassi.  there are after school special moments.  there are real storylines mixed in the fluff.  but the imporant part of glee, is GLEE.  the songs are its star.  it doesn't matter if the glee club, sue, the warblers, or a roomful of children are singing.  : )  


that same principle applies to justin bieber.  the only ppl who deny his talent are jealous.  or something.  really, idk what their problem is... the kid's talented.  he's more talented than a lot of today's popular singers.  i like his songs.  and i want to see the justin bieber movie.  yep, that's right.  i WANT to see that movie.  *laugh*  


anywhoo!  : )  


how was your day?  middle of the week, tends to be either realllllly slow or realllllly crazy.  which was it for you?  my day was pretty much the crazy variety.  lots of problem solving, but then i also managed to get some actual work done.  i was shocked!  ; )  and pleasantly so.  *laugh*  however, the sad thing is that i had to leave at 5 to get dinner & do payroll, and when i left my piles of work for tomorrow were begging me to stay... *sigh*  


payroll went well, tho - only took about 20 minutes!  i'm used to it taking hours... heh.  


oh, also, i had fruit & maple oatmeal from mcdonald's today.  it was good & warm & filling.  not super-spectacular ooh-i-have-to-have-it ... it was oatmeal.  i like oatmeal...!  : )  


that's all i have for you today.  heh.  gonna watch GH & hit the hay, i think.  jason's sexiness is alllll over the valentine's day episode.  YUMMY!  how long has steve burton been on this show?  *runs to google*  


okay, this is a perfect example of carrie getting distracted by something shiny.  join me, won't you?  

step 1 - google steve burton

get confused when google changes your search for steve burton into a search for steve burr

smack google

retype "steve burton" and find some info

get distracted by his many, many hair changes... 

step 2- read the wiki 

learn that he, his father, and his son are all really named "Jack"

think that's pretty cool

learn that he's been on GH since 1991

make a shocky face

step 3 - pause the episode of GH currently watching

step 4 - learn steve started a band called port chuck

click on a link in the wiki

be taken to YouTube

step 5 - get sucked into youtube videos of the nurse's ball

i can't even describe to you how much i miss the nurse's ball!  it was a staple of GH, every year...i'm not even sure what year it started, maybe 93 or 94?  it was an AIDS benefit, variety show... brilliant, really.  really let the cast let loose, too.  and lucy coe!  oh my goodness, there was a character.  lynn herring!  

okay, sorry, that was probably a very boring stroll down memory lane for you non-GH'ers.  : )  

i wonder if bret's coming home tonight... he didn't last night before i went to bed, so i locked the deadbolt, and then i must've fallen immediately asleep, because he tried to call like 20 minutes later & i didn't even hear my phone.  which was right by my head, even!!  lol  anyway, i need a bedtime snack.  and i need to stop watching nurse's ball clips & finish my actual episode of GH!  maybe just two more clips, first... ; )  


have a great night/day!  ttfn!    

long days at spy school

yesterday - left the house at 7.  breakfast at hardee's.  work at 7:30.  packed schedule.  did i mention a crazy spur-moment meeting on friday?  not quite sure all the ways the new plan will affect me, but i know it's causing A LOT of annoyance from several sides.  guess who's in the middle as always?  this girl.  *eye roll*  *laugh*  


anyway.  after work yesterday i picked up dinner at CFA - looong line, they were apparently short staffed in the back.  eep!  food was delish, tho.  : )  headed to jen's to hang out w/ the boys.  it was nice - got to snuggle w/ leyton while watching WWE RAW.  oh, how i enjoy the miz.  : )  and also making fun of one of the guy's go-go boots!  lol  


today was another long day, and i called it at 5 but then didn't get out of there til a quarter after!  then i stopped by hy vee, for milk & eggs & yogurt - which was more of a challenge than one might think!  the first 4 or 5 cartons of eggs i looked at had at least one broken egg in each.  d'oh!  i told the guy stocking the butter, and he went to investigate.  then, when i got home i discovered one of my yogurts had a hole & was leaking.  :(  pooh.


but then... then i went to ADOLPH's for tacos & chips & SALSA!  nommy as always!!  :  ) 


i got to watch a chuck marathon which was highly enjoyable.  then discovered degrassi is on hulu, so i watched a few episodes of that, til there was some sort of glitch on the site & the next episode wasn't available.  *pout*  but anyway, watching brought back some memories!  i remember april saying, "soooorry, kaitlyn, i burrowed your pencil" in a canadian accent.  i adopted that line.  *laugh*  seriously, still when i hear someone say "sorry" in just the right tone or inflection, that line runs through my head!  i'd forgotten how POW in your face the show was - and how timeless.  episode 2 of degrassi high was about a 16 year old who chose to get an abortion.  the most powerful line, to me, was when her twin sister came running up to her at the clinic to support her - they'd been fighting because her twin didn't want her to get the abortion.  when she ran up to her, she took her by the shoulders, and looked into her eyes, and said, "i think what you're doing is really wrong.  but i'm your sister, and i'm here for you."  and she went into the clinic w/ her sister, to support HER SISTER THE PERSON, not her sister's decision.  i just loved that.  


tomorrow is another busy day - payroll after work & all that jazz.  so off to bed i go - sweet dreams i hope will greet me!  seeing daddy again wouldn't be too bad, either.  he's been in my dreams off & on lately.  nothing really specific, just hugs... i hope your tuesday was terrific and your wednesday will be wonderful.  *HUGS*  i'll leave you w/ a postcrossing from taiwan.  i also got a terrific card from my friend anna.  she & her fam are moving back to town soon!!  woot!!!  : )  

ttfn!