Quick story

I meant to add this embarrassing little tale to the last blog, and forgot.

Last week while I was frantically packing, I laid out all my nonessential makeup on the shelf above the commode, on top of the magazines. I haven't cleaned up this mess yet. Today I reached for my latest Glamour and knocked an eyeshadow into the, um, used toilet. I tried to catch it, but since I was "sitting down", this was just impossible. I was not about to stick my hand in there, and yet, I don't think flushing this compact would have been healthy for the septic system. So as I am staring at the water that is slowly turning a pinkish color, I get the idea to use kitchen tongs. Fortunately, I have a couple so I could afford to sacrifice one to the Porcelain Throne. I finally got the makeup fished out and laughed at the weird antics I get myself into. By the way, it's not the first time that I have dropped something in the toilet. I've lost chapstick, jewelry, hair ties, and now makeup all to the toilet. I've got to try harder to keep that lid closed!

People Watch 8.27.08

Today I have encountered several characters. These people have enriched my life just a bit further today, and here are those stories.

The guy that interviewed me today is from Jamaica. The interview went well and I think I have a shot. Plus, the company uses people of Afghan/Iraqi descent to go into domestic military areas and train the army, etc. on how to interact with these cultures without insulting them. International Communications was a class that really interested me in college, and it was exciting to have the possibility of working in this area further. However, one of the things that I liked most about my potential boss is that he said that occasionally he takes all his fulltime staff on trips, just to hang out and relax. And I'm not talking a field trip to DC, either. The places he mentioned going previously are Jamaica and Las Vegas. I know its shallow, but it is definitely a selling point for this job.

At the grocery store the lady checking me out was struggling with putting my paper towels into bags and I accidentally laughed out loud. She looked at me and smiled, then said, " Laughter is so good for the soul!" And proceeded to tell me how good it is to laugh. I was just relieved she didn't take offense at my laughter and break my eggs.

When I was putting my stuff in the car I struggled a little with a heavier bag (once again I remembered to bring my own bags... Eco-Alecia to the rescue, once again!). This man walking by stopped and loaded up the rest of the car for me, just because he thought I needed some help. I was floored at how nice some people can be. He then took my cart and put it away for me. He put a big smile on my face, and I passed it on to the Starbucks dude when I went through the drivethru.

And finally, it was a wonderful 75 degrees here today, so I was driving around with my windows down. At a light, this car full of guys pulled up and started talking to me. Don't worry, all you mothering creatures out there, I had the doors locked and my finger on the window "up" button, just in case the conversation got out of hand. It was kind of flattering, yet unnerving, but when they asked what I was doing later today, I told them I was making dinner for my 3 kids and husband. They stopped talking to me after that.

Peace!

Been a while

It's been a while since I have been on here, but what a roller coaster these past 2 weeks have been. On Saturday, Aug. 16th we went White Water Rafting with our young adult class from church. It was great fun, although I was afraid I would get thrown out and my head would go under, as per my greatest fear. But that didn't happen once. We did have to navigate some Class 4 rapids and that was such an adventure. The raft got stuck on some rocks occasionally, but it was nothing we couldn't handle. Lee and I want to try a 2-person raft next time.

Last Tuesday, Lee's aunt passed away. She was a treasure and without her, family gatherings will change completely. We flew back to TX last Friday to be with the family and attend the funeral. It was great to see all of Lee's family; we are such a close group of people, and the more time I spend with them the more I appreciate and love them.

This morning (Tuesday), I flew out of DFW back to DC, and Lee flew to KC for work. It is good to be back home. The plane ride was my favorite ever. We received whole coke cans instead of just the little, watered down cups they generally give out. There were small sandwiches, chips, and a Twix, plus, they showed a movie! I know I am probably a complete country bumpkin, but I had never seen a movie on a plane before. I'd read about them, but never seen one. So it was quite the exciting trip for me. Aside from the fact that the man sitting at the end of my row slept (and snored) the whole time, and I was too kind to wake him up so that I could make a move to the restroom. By the time the plane taxied to a stop, I was pushing people out of the way (after saying "excuse me", of course, since I'm just too dang nice for my own good) to get to the bathroom. That was the sweetest relief I had felt in some time.

I have a job interview tomorrow, plus a possible other one that will be lined up tomorrow, so the job search is looking up. I went to a temp agency last week and they interviewed me for 3 hours. But they are really working hard to get me a job, so I appreciate all their efforts. The interview was so long because I was put through many tests. I had a math test, a spelling test, and a filing test. Out of 50 questions, I missed 4. But if I had been paying attention, I wouldn't have missed any. The computer test was so hard! I know my microsoft office, but they were testing me on the newest versions out there, which I had never even seen before. The tool bars were all in different places. I felt really dumb, but I just tried my best. Then there was a personality test. And personal interviews. One guy told me I didn't have a Texas accent. I blessed him profusively. Not that I am embarrassed by the texan in me, because I can definitely pull out the country girl if I need to...but it's nice that I can alter it when necessary. It really floors people when I switch from texan to british. Oh yes, me of many talents. Anyways, apparently they think there is a job for me somewhere, because they have called every day now with job opportunities. Of course, I've been in TX and couldn't take any of them, but starting tomorrow, there is hope. :) Peace.

People Watch, 8.12.08

I walked to the grocery store today, which is about a mile away. On the way I stopped at an "unique grocery store" called Trader Joe's. They specialize in organic, fresh foods and I wanted to price their veggies. They ended up being more economical than Safeway, so I decided to stop on my way back and stock up. In the produce section at Trader Joe's, there was a man having a conversation either with or about Teddy Roosevelt...I couldn't decide which, but I don't think he ever noticed that I was standing next to him. He wasn't there on my return trip.
As I continued on my trek I passed a bakery where 2 young men were sitting outside having a very heated argument. Strike that, it was just one man arguing with his reflection. They/He was still there when I passed back by. I guess they had a lot of unresolved issues.
Safeway was uneventful, but as I was checking out at Trader Joe's, I overheard the lady in front of me chastizing the checker because the organic mushrooms are sold in styrofoam containers. I have to admit she had a point; it was quite the ironic statement TJ's was making. The poor checker was really at a loss of words as the lady kept going on and on about it. I wanted to point out the window and say, " Ooh! Look at that car putting all that exhaust! Someone should go yell at that driver..." She probably wouldh've donned her "SuperTreeHugger" cape and rushed off to rid the world of all cars, leaving Trader Joe's to run their own business.
Speaking of saving the world, I did quite a bit in that regard today. I walked instead of drove, bought organic foods, and brought my own bags. Although, I walked to lose weight, bought organic because it was cheaper, and brought my own bags because plastic bags rip so easily and it takes twice as many to carry all my stuff. But still, go me. I deserve a fudgsicle (no sugar added, of course).

Hostel

We re-nicknamed our basement. You may or may not be aware that there are other renters in the big house that we live in. If you look at the picture of our house in a previous post, you will have a point of reference. The owners live in the back half of the house, using both stories. We, of course, are in the basement. There are four bedrooms in the front 2 stories of the house, all being rented out for $5oo a month apiece. They share 2 bathrooms and a microwave. Seriously. The microwave is sitting in the entryway. All last week there was construction going on, waking me up at an outrageously early hour of 9:00. Today, we found out that they were building a new room to rent out, in the entryway. That means that now we are living in a house with 12 different people. In Texas, this so would be illegal. It probably is up here...but it would be annoying to move out, which we would have to do if we tattled on them. And just for all of you math-challenged people, they will be making $4000 a month. Tax-free, since we all pay in cash and get no receipts. When asked for a receipt so that we could prove that we paid rent, one of the renters was told, "You are living here, which proves you paid your rent". Oooookay. Scary. And we will start re-looking for housing, very soon. Oh, so our new nickname for our housing situation is the "Hostel".

We walked to Best Buy tonight because the weather is so awesome here! It'll be in the 80's all week. I'm so psyched. At B.B. we saw 2 sights that made me wish I had my camera. #1, there was this 20-something girl wearing a peach colored spandex dress that seriously barely covered her booty. It was skin-tight and she kept having to pull it down, as it inched up with every step she took. It looked like something you'd see in a nightclub (or street corner) in Miami, not in broad daylight at a shopping center in Virginia. Who knew strippers shopped at Best Buy? #2, there was a lady in B.B. with her dog. Not a seeing-eye dog or anything, just a random, spoiled-brat dog for a random, spoiled brat lady. I know that's harsh, but it seemed completely pretentious to have this lady carrying her precious pooch while shopping for laptops.

I'm done ranting. :)

Atlantic City

July 30th was our anniversary. 3 years already, married and still happy. After our honeymoon was such a huge adventure, we decided that we'd go on a road trip every year to celebrate our marital bliss. The first year we relaxed at a bed and breakfast in San Antonio, walking the riverwalk and enjoying the culture. The 2nd year we went to Tulsa and saw an awesome concert with 3rd Eye Blind, Counting Crows, and Collective Soul, all bands from our high school years. Then we went to Dallas and played around at Six Flags. This year, we headed to the glitzy east shore getaway, Atlantic City. We stayed at a hotel so new it was having its grand opening the following weekend. We had a new bed with lots of white, fluffy pillows, glass walk-in shower, and valet parking. Lee was very uncomfortable having people catering to our needs. He asked a maid where the ice machine was, and she told us to call the front desk and they'd bring ice to our room. I thought, "Wow.". Lee went ahead and found the floor it was on and got the ice himself. He went to get my cell phone from the car and the valet walked him to the car, then gave him the keys and stepped away, to "give him privacy". Lee thought this was wierd. There was a complimentary "rolling chair"


that was pushed by a young girl from Slovakia. Lee was uncomfortable with this, especially, because he thought it made him look like a jerk, having this tiny woman pushing him around. But we tipped her well, to make up for it. The thing with the rolling chairs is that they are everywhere, but it's so expensive to use them! $5 for 5 blocks. So having a complimentary one was a great amenity to have. The above picture, is not us. But maybe someday, it will be.


We spent all day on the beach, and it was so perfect that I miss it terribly. The water was very cool, but you got used to it, and I loved the shock of jumping in the waves, never knowing exactly how they would break around my body. The hotel provided towels, umbrellas, and lounge chairs. It's the closest thing to a resort that we've done and I recommend a day at the beach to anyone. Here's pics of us at the beach. Not the best pictures, but they are the only ones that we took of the beach.

I got Lee to try seafood. He had crab chowder at this fancy little seafood restaurant. The waitress glared at him when that was all that he ordered, but the only other non-sea item was a $60 steak, and Lee couldn't justify that. He says that he'd eat it again, if he had to. Oh wait, he says that he would totally choose crab over green leafy vegetables and/or death. So there. I think he's definitely a fan of the sea. Below is a picture of the boardwalk at night.

We totally wanted to "Rock the Casbah", but it was closed.

We also went to Pennsylvania to see our friends, Chris and Merry Clark. They took us to Valley Forge, where Washington waited out a winter during the war. It was really neat, but I was ready to come home. Plus, it wasn't a beach. I might have an aversion to being underwater, but man, I do love being near it.

In other random news,

• Lee just put a twist tie between his upper lip and his nose, and said "Kiss me with my twist-tie mustache." Ew.
• Sharon, my dear mother-in-law, sent me a recipe for a chicken rub that has cayenne pepper and cocoa powder. It was so hot and chalky we had to rinse the cooked chicken before we could eat it. She claims that I should have known better than to cook something with "holy-moly" in the title. I say, it had chocolate. How could I NOT try it?
• My sister, Rozanna, has a job interview with a guy that we knew growing up. You never know when your past is going to participate in your future.
• Yesterday we saw the Dark Knight and it was soooo good. I plan on being the "nurse Joker" for Halloween. If you haven't seen it yet, you must make plans to do so.
• Brett Favre is going to be a Jet. Crazy, or brilliant? I don't know. But he definitely is on the "Most Handsome Quarterback" list. Behind Troy, of course.
• We went to an "ice cream social", and I was the only one who brought homemade ice cream. Honestly, the host of the party provided the rest of it, all store bought. Which is fine, but down in Texas, you don't have an "ice cream social" without homemade ice cream. Plus, the people in the group from New York and Pennsylvania grew up not knowing that making your own ice cream was even possible. God has definitely blessed Texas, above and beyond the rest of his creation. My ice cream was marshmallow fudge, by the way, and it was pretty awesome.
  

Well, it's 2:20 and I should accomplish something today that doesn't involve me sitting in front of the computer. Later!

Pictures of our Basement

Well, I finally took pictures of our basement apartment so that you can understand better where we are living. The first one is of the whole house. Our door is on the side, by Lee's covered grill and our bikes. You can see my car, parked in the back of the house. That's my designated spot.

This next one is what you see as soon as you come in the door. The kitchen is straight ahead, and looks messy, but it's just cluttered because I ran out of room to store my kitchen goodies. The living room/dining room is to the left.
The TV and couch are just to the left of the camera frame. And apparently we have a ghost...I have no idea what that white speck is in the middle of the pic.
And below is the rest of the house. The laundry room is to the left, then our bathroom (which is green), then our bedroom is at the back of the hall (it's sky blue), and to the right is the guest room (it has the same colored walls as the hall).

So now you can see where we live and where I spend my days NOT looking for a job (as Lee would say:)).