40 things...I needed to stay busy.

I'm jumping on the bandwagon...here's my list.

1. I live in a basement in a big house where 12 other people live upstairs.
2. I am afraid to put my head under water, so I don't swim much at all. I can doggie paddle if I have to, but my neck goes way back as I avoid the water from touching my face.
3. That being said, I absolutely love watching the ocean, and even chasing the waves...as long as they stay away from my head.
4. I have lived like, 4 miles from Arlington Cemetery for 8 months and have yet to go see it. I have driven by it, and even through a bit of it, and I saw Iwo Jima as I drove by, but haven't actually made a walking trip through it.
5. That being said, I really like walking through cemeteries, wondering about the people buried there. It doesn't creep me out, but brings peaceful feelings, instead.
6. I think the texture of yogurt and smoothies is disgusting. Flavor's great, but I have to hold my finger under my nose to keep the gag reflex at bay when I eat it. The Whips! yogurt is fine though, because the texture is different.
7. I've worked out every weekday for the past 2 1/2 weeks. It's tough, but something has clicked in my head, and I have no interest in quitting. I'm going to lose 30 pounds!
8. The only way I can drink non-Dasani water is by adding lime juice. I'm a water snob. :)
9. I went to state in Spelling in High School.
10. I also was in All-Region band for 7 years, mostly 1st chair, playing the French Horn. I went to state for that, too, but only in ensembles.
11. I could play games all the time. Anything is more fun when you make a game out of it. Lee doesn't really understand this. He thinks I'm mean and competitive. I guess he's just afraid to lose...
12. With so many people losing their jobs (4 people in my office have lost their jobs in the past month), I just want to quit my job and hide from the world.
13. I had a frenectomy when I was in junior high. Sounds cool, but all it was was the removal or the skin between my two front teeth so that they would grow together.
14. The teeth have kind of grown apart again, but I don’t mind. Unless I get a taste bud stuck in between them…that really hurts.
15. I really like to go to dine-in restaurants by myself. I sit and read and let some waiter cater to me.
16. I went to a movie alone the first year I was teaching, and some of my junior high girls saw me and demanded that I sit with them. That, I will never forget.
17. Lee and I have known each other for 10 years now, but we’ve only been married for 3 ½. It took him a while to grasp the concept that I was real and not a figment of his active imagination. J
18. I am not an animal person. Unless it is a baby, or a white tiger.
19. It amazes me that people can be so different. God created us all to be unique and that is incredible to me.
20. I dislike perfumey fragrances. I’d rather smell like a cupcake over a gardenia any day.
21. I think Crème Brulee candles smell fabulous.
22. I can’t function without something on my lips. Lipstick, Gloss, Chapstick, anything. I Don’t leave home with out it.
23. I am a procrastinator. I try hard not to be, but I often forget to try. However, things tend to work out for me regardless, so it’s hard to get too down on myself about procrastinating.
24. Also, I’m not a perfectionist. I don’t usually worry about things that I can’t change, and if I do my best and it’s not good enough, I’m generally okay with that.
25. I took a spiritual gifts test one time and found out that my gifts are compassion and faith. It means a lot to me to not only recognize what my gifts are, but to be proud of them and use them to glorify God whenever possible.
26. I could have Starbucks every day and not grow bored. My favorite drinks are Chai Lattes, Dulce de Leche Lattes, White Chocolate Raspberry Mochas, Green Teas…
27. I’m not good at small talk. Lee could do it all day, even though he hates meeting new people. I love to meet new people, but can’t think of what to say past the whole “Hi, I’m Alecia…” thing. I’m working on this, though.
28. Cheer Bear (The pink one with the rainbow on the chest) is my fav.
29. My nicknames, other than derivatives of “Alecia”, are Sunshine and Queenie.
30. I used to sit on the counter and talk while my mom worked in the kitchen. It was my throne, hence the name “Queenie”. It got me out of work because I kept her so busy with stories and questions that she didn’t notice that I wasn’t working. To this day, I can’t talk and cook at the same time.
31. I love music. Anything from Hannah Montana to Eminem, Simon and Garfunkel to Britney Spears, the Carpenters, Journey, Duffy. Lee got me an Ipod Touch for Christmas, and I walked around with it all the time. It’s like I have a soundtrack to my life now.
32. I have the best family ever.
33. I love dark chocolate.
34. I read a lot. Romantic comedies are my favorite, but sometimes I take a break from them to read something dramatic (as long as there is still some romance!).
35. I love to wear lots of bracelets. I feel like a gypsy when I wear them.
36. I hit when someone scares me. Lee’s trying to train me to react differently, but it’s not taking.
37. I love to sing. It makes me happy.
38. I am much better at Wii bowling than regular bowling.
39. I am a better at being second in command than first. Even though I love the spotlight, I know that honestly, I enjoy being the helper better than the decision maker.

Snow!!

There's actually guys out shoveling our sidewalk this morning! With SNOW shovels! Not just the garden ones that daddy would use. ;) The real thing is definitely more needed up here. We are supposed to get a couple of inches. Nothing major, but it's been coming down and sticking all morning and it is beautiful. Lee's in Kansas City all week so I'm entertaining myself as best I can. I wish he was here to see the snow! We love pointing out all the ponds up here that have a frozen sheen on them. Anytime we are driving and see one we have to ooh and ahh over it. We are such dorks.

Phone Flub

Yesterday I was at work talking on the phone with this guy. No idea who he is, probably will never talk to him again. However, if you were eavesdropping on the convo, you would have heard this:

Him: Ok, Thanks for the information.
Me: You're Welcome.
Him: Bye. Love you.
Me: Love you too.

Yep. I don't really know if he actually said, "love you," but that is what I heard and I automatically responded in kind. So some stranger got the warm fuzzies after talking to me yesterday. Or the warm creepies, perhaps.

funny email

I sent out emails to our YA class today regarding our ski trip this weekend. The first one I sent out just said "Hi" because I hit the wrong button. Well, Lee sent out the following to everyone, in response:

Things that could have finished Alecia's message of "Hi":
-Ya!!! (followed by karate chop)
-Ho, Hi, Ho, its off to work I go (get it, because she is short)
-Waii (said with a Texas twang)-& Lois (her favorite Sunday newspaper comic strip)
-gh School Musical 4 tryouts were today and I am in!!!!
-tler movies are so much more interesting when Tom Cruise is involved.
-illary Clinton and Hilary Duff should totally do a song together. They could call it "You're the Secretary of the State of My Heart"
-lton Hotels are so overated. I much prefer when Lee books America's Best Value Inn
-Five! Very Nice!

Have a great day, See you all Saturday.

I'm married to the funniest guy around. :) Maybe I'm biased, but I had tears coming down my cheek from trying to suppress all my "LOLness" at work.

Lee's terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day

Lee called me at 7:30 yesterday morning stating that today was his "terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad day". He missed his bus by 10 seconds and had to walk half a mile to catch his next one. Then he missed his train by 10 seconds as well. When he got to work he realized that his lunch of barbecue sausage and black eyed peas had leaked all over his Spiderman lunch box, which was open just a crack, so it also leaked into his leather bag he carries to work. Then at lunch he realized that black eyed peas and barbecue sausage don't really compliment each other, which was odd, because sausage goes good with every other bean. (When he came home and told me this, I laughed as I told him that black eyed peas are "Peas, not Beans" and his eyes widened as it dawned on him that I was correct in this assessment). I called him from work and asked if he wanted a videogame that was on sale for $10 dollars, because my friend and coworker was going to go buy it and would pick up one for him. but alas, they were all sold out all over the area. so I got his hopes up, then came home and told him I didn't get it after all. Hmmm, also, his stomach hurt all day. All of this really started on Sunday, when he dropped a cherished and rarely-bought half-gallon jar of big pickles all over the concrete as he was carrying them into the house.

I think today is going better, but it's not over yet! Poor baby!



In better news though, we put an offer on a house yesterday. Yay!



Last week we were watching TV and Lee thought he saw something run across the floor. However, we were listening to the ghostbuster song and the phrase, "If you're seeing things, Running through your head...Who ya gonna Call? Ghostbusters!" So we figured it was his imagination. But then, I saw it. One of the alien cousins (AKA a house centipede), ran out from under the TV, made a wide circle and went under the couch. A bit later, Lee saw it go from the couch back to the TV. Then a few minutes later, we saw him repeat his little jog. It's like our living room was a race track for squiggly little creatures. I'm sure you are wondering why we didn't kill it, since we saw it so many times. Honestly, the first time we realized what it was, we were so entrance watching it, we forgot. Then, it was just too fast for us.

Oh, here's a good story! Last week Lee found this recipe for chicken tortilla soup and made it for me (he cooks a lot now, because I get home an hour later than he does). So sweet! However, he made a few "learning experience" errors that were quite humorous. First, he used cream corn instead of whole kernel, because that was the only canned stuff we had. Of course, we did have some frozen corn, but he didn't think to check the freezer. Second, he thought the tortillas were supposed to be 2 inch strips, not 1/2 inch, so they were huge! Third, we didn't have canned black beans, so he used dried ones. Which is great, but basically triples the amount of time that the soup cooks. That brings us to the most crucial mistake. The recipe said to "set aside" the tortilla strips after cooking. He thought that meant "set aside in the same pot that the soup is cooking in". By the time the beans were done cooking, the tortillas had turned into huge slimy masses, plus the beans had dyed the tortillas and the chicken this nasty blue-black color. It actually tasted ok, if you ate around the tortillas, but it looked disgusting! And for some reason, by the time we had it for leftovers it was so salty it was inedible. I think Lee learned something that day...

I am spoiled.

Christmas was a different experience this year, because we weren't surrounded by family. To compensate for the emotional pain of this, Lee and I kind of overindulged each other with gifts. I guess we were helping the economy out, so that's a great thing. On my birthday, Dec. 24, Lee woke me up with a necklace as my first present. Then he braved the traffic and took me to work since he had the day off, and brought me Starbuck's. He spent the morning shopping and got my car washed. There is this white stuff they use up here to de ice the roads. I don't know if it's salt or calcium or something else, but it sticks on the sides of your car and, being the cold weather novices that we are, we are afraid this white stuff will damage our car, so therefore, it is of utmost importance to wash the car often. If anyone can tell us what that stuff is, we'd appreciate the knowledge and it may just put an end to our paranoia. Anyways, Lee picked me up from work around 11 and we walked around this fancy mall across from my office, then he took me to a fancy seafood restaurant for lunch. I got to have crab legs! This was very important, since I get good seafood twice a year: my birthday and our anniversary. Crab legs are so worth the effort of eating them. Yum. I opened a second present there and got a pair of leather boots. They smelled so good. We got lost going to Walgreen's in Fairfax (we always get lost in Fairfax), then we went bowling. Turns out, the bowling alley we went to was donating all their proceeds on Christmas eve to a charity of the patrons' choosing, so we got to help out the Diabetes foundation. That was a great way to spend my birthday. Lee made me a white chocolate macadamia nut cookie cake that was really good and we had BFD (breakfast for dinner). We rented Fred Claus, because White Christmas was already rented out. Other gifts I got ( I really sound like a child...) was XBox SceneIt, which is so fun, a couple more necklaces, a Cowboys hat, sweatpants, and a hat with earflaps to keep my head warm when we are outside and it's cold.

Christmas morning we woke up and opened our stockings. Turns out Santa was really into gift-giving this year as well, as our stockings were definitely stocked to completion. We drank Coke, as is the tradition in my family. It serves as a nonspoken reminder of my Maw and how much she loved Christmas (and Coca-cola). After stockings I put the ham on and we opened our presents from each other. Around 12:30 we tried to get on the Webcam to open presents with my family, but the online call kept getting dropped so we just opened them over the phone. This was the hardest part of the day because we could tell exactly what all we were missing. It was very bittersweet. Then we used the XBox to watch Lee's fam open presents. After all the presents were opened we ate our dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, bread and green beans. My ham was unbelievably good and we are still eating the leftovers, 5 days later. Later that eve we went to Benn and Laura Oltmann's house and had dinner and played games. They just moved here from Oregon and couldn't go home for Christmas either, so it was nice to be able to hang out with people in a similar situation.

Friday eve my friend Ann threw me a birthday party at the Cheesecake Factory. It was lots of fun to be with friends for my birthday. I had been telling everyone I was getting an ipod for Christmas, but when I realized I didn't get one, Lee just told me that he was waiting for a newer version of the Zune to come out, and I just accepted his excuse at face value. One of our friends gave me an ipod case and said, "You got one, right?" So I had to explain that I didn't, actually. Lee told everyone that he was planning on getting me one, but then he saw this bread maker and decided to get that instead. (The bread maker is great, by the way, we used it for the first time last night and it worked really well). Anyways, his story made everyone laugh and at the end of dinner I opened Lee's last present for me and it was, of course, my Ipod Touch. Now I have a constant soundtrack of my life, because I listen to my ipod everywhere. Or, that was the plan at least, but apparently Lee doesn't like that plan because we were grocery shoppin last night and he took my earphones away, saying, "No Alecia. We're shopping together. I want you with me." I was only listening with one earphone, anyways...I could so hear him still. But, I was reminded of the times I've seen families together, but not, and decided lee was probably right in insisting that there is no ipod during family time. However, right now, I'm either with Lee or at work. Good thing I can use it at work!

flurry of activity

I am now legal to drive in VA! It is so exciting to have the "DMV Drama" behind me. The best part is that my license now reads "AL3CIA". My name was already taken, but this is pretty close, right?

The past couple of weeks have been crazy busy! We've had Christmas parties, Birthday parties (not mine yet...Dec. 24th, don't forget...I may be turning 28, but I'm still excited about my Bday.), Babysitting at the Church Building, Shopping, Wrapping and sending off packages, Christmas card writing, plus, work and long traffic lines everyday. It has been fun, (even traffic's not bad when you are listening to a good book), but we are excited about this week, when we have nothing planned and can now just relax and make Christmas goodies and watch Christmas movies.

I won lots of tickets at the Christmas party at Dave and Busters!!

Lee and i are really spoiling each other with gifts. I think we are subconsciously trying to make up for the lack of family that we will see over the holidays. But it's kind of a race...who can put more stuff under the trees?

Speaking of trees, we have the tackiest tree ever this year. It is a soft pine, which means when you walk past it, it doesn't poke you. Which is great and all, but it also means the branches are too soft to really hold ornaments. We shoved them all on anyways, and now all the branches are droopy. Also, we couldn't find a tree stand anywhere because they were all sold out, so we made our own with a bag of rocks from Home Depot and a bright orange washtub we had sitting around. Then, we strung multicolored lights all over it, only half of which blink on and off, and topped it off with a plastic reindeer lawn ornament, in lieu of a star. Finally, Lee found a scraggly piece of silver garland and wrapped it around the bottom of the tree, since it already was way past "tastefully tacky". Oh, and the tree kind of leans because the washtub is too big, so Lee had to strap the tree in using a hanger. We are one moon pie short of being a redneck catastrophe. On the bright side, we have a fake tree in the corner that is decorated in only the color blue...so classy. But unfortunately, it becomes background noise to the "other" tree.

DMV adventures, deux

A couple of weeks ago Lee and I got up on a chilly Saturday morning to stand in line at the DMV and finally get my license and registration done. This was our third time to do this, and we still hadn't accomplished anything. Well, I succeeded in getting my license (which meant that I had my TX license confiscated, much to my chagrin). However, my title that was supposed to have been fedexed could not be found and the girl behind the counter told me that after 30 days they send it back to the lienholder. Drats! I had had it sent, but then got my job and pushed this terrible errand back, and now I had to wait some more! Well, with Thanksgiving and everything, I haven't taken the opportunity to recall my lienholder to re-request my title. Today, I received a call from the DMV saying, " We've had your title since September, and if you do not come in soon, we will be sending it back to your lienholder." Excuse me? I was at the DMV, my title was at the DMV, all my other paper work was at the DMV, and I still am not registered? Ugh! I called and actually was able to talk to a human being who told me she'd gladly file it unti l Saturday, so that I could come in and get it taken care of. So cross your fingers for Saturday morn! The incredulousness of this predicament is baffling....

Thanksgiving

Our first Thanksgiving without family went surprisingly well. We went to some friends' house and feasted on a terrific bird. I made rolls, but they just don't taste like mom's...I'll get it right someday though. :) We played lots of games and kept busy, so that we wouldn't get homesick. Friday morning I got up and went to Target where I was able to buy lots of goodies. The store wasn't too busy, thankfully. That night we got all dressed up and went to the National Harbor to see the Tree lit up and fireworks. It was fun being on the water, and the Harbor is just beautiful. We went to Old Town Alexandria to have dinner and stopped in at this Mexican place. It looked kind of strange because there were low tables and couches instead of chairs. I was cool with it, though. Then we looked at the menu and saw that it was "Morroccan" not "Mexican". Apparently in our starving stupor we can't read. So we gave our apologies to the mait'r de and vamoosed out of there...it was cold and we weren't feeling adventurous. Then we went to "Hard Times Cafe" and found a new favorite place to eat. They serve the best chili, and it's from Texas! Bonus!

It's Snowing!!!

Ok, so it just snowed for, like, 10 minutes, and now it is over. But still... Snow before Thanksgiving? Doesn't happen in TX very often, that's for sure!

Winner Wednesday

Last weekend Lee and I went to a drafthouse/cinema to see Tropic Thunder. These places are really cool because there are waiters and stuff who bring you drinks and food throughout the movie. Plus, the chairs are all situated around tables and stuff, not in rows, so you feel more at home. It was a lot of fun, and we enjoyed the movie, although I definitely can't recommend it, since it was too crass for words. However, if you were to go onto YouTube at some point in your life and search for videos of Tom Cruise dancing during the credits of Tropic Thunder, you would not be disappointed. Or, for those of you not internet-savvy, just rent the movie and watch the last couple of minutes. It was so funny...Tom Cruise is making his comeback, just like Britney.

Last night we found a lighted tennis court, so we got to play again. We were in a good habit of playing after work, but then daylight savings happened and now it is way dark before I even leave work at 5:30. Playing with Lee is frustrating because I can hold him to close games, but I just can't go that extra mile and beat him. I have to get my "serious face" on, and even then that only works because it makes him laugh. He even says I grunt when I hit the ball...I would never admit this, however, because ladies do not grunt.

Tonight we are going to look at some houses to buy. Since it'll be dark, we have to look at the houses using a flashlight. It's kinda wierd, and I just home no neighbors call the cops on us for wandering around the neighborhood, looking in windows with flashlights.

this week's happenings

So I now know the true meaning of traffic. People in Fort Stockton who grumble about the cars on Dickinson need to shut their mouths. The past 2 days I've spent 15-20 minutes apiece waiting to exit the parking garage after work. Then the next hour I fight traffic to drive the 7 miles home. Seriously. And, from what I hear, the holiday season will be much worse, since there is 2 huge malls across from my building. I've started listening to audiobooks just to ward off the obvious melting of my patience. The book I'm listening to now is good, I think, but the reader is horrible. It's a romantic comedy, yet she's reading it like it's a dramatic piece of work. It is such a bummer when this happens! Lee and i were really excited one time to listen to a certain book on vacation, but had to stop a track or two in because the reader was so horrible we couldn't fathom listening to him for 10 hours. What are people thinking???

I forgot my cell phone and my latest paperback at home today, mostly because I was running late because I didn't get up until 7:20 and I had to leave by 8 (at the latest). I can't bring myself to get out of bed on time, even though I'm just laying there hitting snooze, wishing I didn't have to get up. Anyways, so now I have nothing to do between work tasks (and they are definitely sporadic on Fridays), and I can't call Lee and tell him about my plans for this evening. This also means that when I am stuck in the garage again tonight I won't be able to call my parents and complain.

So I've complained a lot, and that really isn't my style. I think the city life is making me a bit cynical. So now we'll talk about the leaves. All the trees around here are changing, and they look magnificent. We might go into the mountains tomorrow to watch the leaves change more (and to get away from the city for a bit). The fall leaves make me learn for a Chai Latte from Starbucks. Of course, every season makes me yearn for something from Starbucks. Ooh, the other day I had a pumpkin spice frap from there, and it was like drinking an actual pumpkin pie. Soooo good!

My work inbox is still empty. I have to much energy to not have anything to do!!!

homeland security

So for this small town girl, when a guy walks in and flashes his badge and say, "I'm from Homeland Security, and I need to talk to someone regarding a person employed here...", the heart finds its way into the throat. That's all I'm sayin...

For the 2nd time in a matter of weeks, Lee has mistaken the women's restroom for the men's. The first time, he noticed the door just in time. Yesterday, he did not. In fact, he didn't suspect anything when he saw no urinals, or when he saw the changing table (which, from what I understand, are showing up more and more in men's rooms). He was only struck with the horrible realization when he noticed the trash receptacles for "women-related trash". This was after he washed his hands, AFTER he had used the restroom. At this point, he rushed to the door and his worst fear of the day became a reality. Lucky for him, there was no one around to witness this debacle. However, in the Dept. of Agriculture building, security cameras abound...

I watched the last inning of the World Series game last night, where Philly won the pennant (or whatever the trophy is in baseball). I laughed out loud at the camera work done when the game was won. There was about 20 different scenes, all about 5 seconds long, depicting different players reactions to the final strikeout. The first few made sense, but after several of them, it just starting getting funny, because it was basically the same reaction over, and over, and over again.

10.27.08

Today I woke up thinking that someone was operating on my skull without my consent. It hurt to walk, it hurt to open my eyes, it hurt to think. I stumbled into the kitchen, grabbed the ibuprofen and took two with orange juice. Right now, it is 11:20, and while I am functioning and can do my work, The base of my neck and temples are still tight and pounding. It's been a while since I've had this caliber of headache. I used to get them often when I was teaching, but without that stress of teaching, the headaches have faded. Don't know what brought this one on, but it can go away now!

I've decided that a WiiFit would be a great Christmas present for me. I used one Saturday at Jill and Sammie's house and my stomach is still sore. If you don't know what it is, it is this board thing that goes on the floor and you do exercises on it using the Wii as an instructor of sorts. One of the activities is Hula Hooping. You stand on the board and Hula hoop and the board registers your balance and rhythm and it is calculated on the Wii. It is so fun and exhausting!

new job started!

Today is the first day that I am alone at the front desk. So far, I've answered many, many calls and got all calls sent to the accurate line. My outlook is not set up yet, and the girl I replaced forgot to give me her password stuff for her outlook, so I can't do 3/4 of my work. Frustrating, but that is just the way it goes. I have caught up on all my saved blogs and enjoyed reading about everyone. Monica's baby girl is so sweet-looking I teared up. Meredith's little boy is just the funniest thing...there was a video of him singing a song in the car that made me smile.

Everyone here at work seems really nice. It is a pleasant place to work. I am not used to sitting all day, though, and my hips scream for some activity. I didn't realize how active I am when I'm at home, but now when I go home I can't sit still. I'd rather do dishes or laundry than sit at the computer, since that is what I do all day.

We are going house looking the next couple of evenings. It'll be fun, but I'm ready to be in a regular schedule again. Our friend Rafael was visiting us for the past week, and while it was great fun, we found ourselves craving the normalcy of our regular lives. Plus, we are behind on all of our TV shows, and while that's a stupid thing to stress about, I truly find myself worrying about when we will get to watch last week's Office! We were a couple of weeks behind on Project Runway, so I finally just broke down and read spoilers about it online. It was honestly a relief to not have to set aside 2 more hours to finish up the season. Silly, I know.

New Job!

I have a job! A friend from church had an opening in her office for a receptionist and when I interviewed, they offered it on the spot! The office does IT consulting for some huge companies, which basically means that they staff IT people into these companies. I will be editing resumes for potential staff, answering phones, doing mail stuff, etc. It seems like a very peaceful place to work, and the people were very nice. I think they will really work to see that I am comfortable with all my new tasks. Plus, there is a ton of room for movement in the company and they encourage you to pursue the areas that you really have an interest to work in. I will start early next week. God has definitely smiled at me with this job.

Today I got paid for 4 hours work at the temp. agency, even though I only worked 15 minutes. It was supposed to be a training session for a "counting cars" assignment that I have tomorrow. But, since I've already done it, they said that I didn't have to stay, but I'd still get paid! That's one sweet deal. But tomorrow I have to be at my intersection by 5:30 AM. Sooo early! But I've checked out a Janet Evanovich book to listen to while I work, so I think I'll be able to stay awake okay.

Things I saw today

Here's my favorite Craigslist.com listing of the week:

I want to steal your picnic baskets (Dupont Circle)
Reply to: gigs-861801112@craigslist.org [?]Date: 2008-09-30, 10:25PM EDT
Needed – 10 people willing to dress like park rangers carrying picnic baskets for the next 2 weeks in an around the Dupont Circle area. Reason – I want to dress up like Yogi Bear and see if I can steal your pic-nic baskets. Why – To improve my stealth skills. Compensation - $50 if you can keep your picnic basket for the entire 2 weeks. Must be able to provide own ranger outfit and picnic basket.

I am so tempted...

Today I was sitting in my car, waiting for a realtor to show me a house. A bird flew by and startled this squirrel, right? So the sqirrel scrambles up a utility pole, then realizes that he can't fly, so he starts barking. I have never heard a squirrel bark, and it was quite disturbing. I was afraid, actually, that he was going to fly through my window and attack my smirking face. The sound that came out of that little furry body was somewhere between a quack and the sound you made when you were a kid and you were playing with your jacket zipper, quickly opening and closing your jacket. (I still tend to play with my zipper when I'm nervous.) Anyways, It was a really odd noise, and occasionally he'd add a sound that was clearly mimicking the bird, because it was nearly a perfect "caw". This was one talented, freaky squirrel.

I saw several houses today that I want to show Lee. One had an actual wood burning stove, like my Maw used to have. It reminded me of the long ago time when watching a Kleenex burn was valid entertainment. Just joking. I'd do that now, if I had a fire. At another place, as we opened the door, the realtor looked around and said, " Wow. I feel like I've fallen into a package of skittles." The walls were all painted different, bright colors: green, blue, peach, pink, purple, yellow, etc. It was really a neat house, but Lee would definitely require some wall improvements, since he isn't a Rainbow Brite fan.

Today

I went to the DMV again today. Once again, I came home with nothing accomplished. At least this time, however, I didn't sit in the parking lot for 10 minutes, sobbing. :) I'm becoming so mature. Anyways, turns out that, although a lease is accepted for proof of address, it has to be typed. Since ours isn't, it won't work. Not our fault that our landlords are unprofessional, but that just doesn't matter to the DMV. But a bank statement will work, so I already have that replaced in my "DMV portfolio". Initially, I couldn't find our registration card, so I had TX fax us a new one. The first time I went, The lady said, "This is faxed." I said, "Yes it is." She said, "It can't be faxed." I said, "Website didn't say anything about that stipulation." She won the argument. So, I called TX (after the aforementioned crying jag) and requested that they mail me a new one (I even got them to waive the $2 fee!). So I took that with me today, and after getting by the first lady who gave me a number, and waiting in another line, I found out that my registration card couldn't be accepted because it was expired, so they needed my title. Could no one have told me this before??? We were barely moved in when it expired... but our bad. We should have done it quickly, instead of putting it off. I don't have my title, because we are still paying off my car. Therefore, I had to call the mortgage company and ask them to FEdEx my title to the DMV. Who knows how long that will take.

Here's a fun list of things that are required in order for me to get my VA license, title, and registration:

Old driver's license (which they will shred--I'm so sorry to betray you, TX!)
Social Security Card
Marriage License
Birth Certificate
Insurance
Inspection
Emissions Inspection
BAnk STatement
Original Title
Receipt saying that I paid sales tax when I bought my car
3 different forms, one for each objective.

As far as I know, once I get all these items, I will be able to drive legally in VA. Until then, I'm on the run.

I got a job opportunity today. Oct. 11 I will be working at the "Friends of the Potomac River Refuge" 5th Annual Fall Wildlife Festival. My job? Face painting. I am so excited! I've had experience face painting in the past and just really enjoy doing it. So the next couple of weeks I will be practicing my skills on painting animals, flowers, insects, etc. It's gonna be so cool.

Decisions

Today I made a decision that was very difficult. I went to my second day as a temp at the title company, and after 15 minutes of being there, I quit. All day yesterday I was frustrated because I was receiving inadequate instructions, and then reprimands when I didn't accomplish what I was asked to do correctly. I am a huge proponent of the"the only dumb question is the one that goes unasked" ideal, therefore I made sure I asked for clarification if I wasn't sure how to do something. However, these were always answered with snaps of irritation and looks of, "How can you be so dumb?". Plus, the language I heard yesterday was very inappropriate. Words that should never enter a professional setting were being thrown around like crazy.When I went in today, it started immediately. After asking a question and getting a rude answer, I calmly said, "I cannot continue to do this, if you do not change your tone with me." She said, " I so don't have time to deal with you. If you can't handle it, just leave". So I did, but not before she added this parting shot: "No wonder you are just a temp." Seriously. She doesn't know me. She's just a 24 year old assistant who is in way over her head because her boss went on vacay for 2 weeks, and she can't handle the stress. I tried to be understanding of this yesterday, because one of the other girls told me the situation. But by the afternoon, I felt so small that I wanted to melt into my chair. I wanted to be strong, to stick the next 2 work days out, but this morning I realized that my life is too short. When I was a teacher, I had a principal who thought nothing of me. She had no expectations, and treated me as if I was an useless ignorant girl. By the end of my third year teaching, I was going out of my way to avoid her in the halls, ducking out the back door at the end of the day, because if she saw me and deemed me worthy to speak to, it was only because I had done something wrong. That is what her disrespect did to me. After being out of that situation, I realized that it is extremely unhealthy to be in that environment, and I won't put myself through that again. Others may be able to handle the emotional abuse, day in and out, but I can't. I have grown so much in confidence since I stopped teaching, and I fully believe that it is because I only surround myself with people who believe in me. I know that every job will have its problems, but disrespect is one that I will never again put up with. God loves me, and this is all that matters!!!

Alecia at the Ritz

There is a children's book out called "Eloise at the Plaza". It is about a little girl who lives at the Plaza and pretty much treats the posh hotel as her oyster. I was reminded of this book several times last week as I was working a function at the Ritz-Carlton in downtown DC. A friend of a friend hired me to help with registration/etc. at the National Generical Pharmaceutical Association Convention. I had never been in a situation where formality was the order of the day and really had to focus on being professional at all times. It was really delightful, yet scary! I pulled it off pretty well, but if you know me at all, you know that I would never win a "most formal" award. Ever. Anyways, this place was amazing! The staircase that you used to get to the ballroom level (where the conference was occuring) was straight out of Cinderella. 20 feet wide, sweeping around, with a grand piano at its foot. The breakfast spread had everything you could want, including fresh squeezed orange juice (I made myself sick on that stuff). The marble-tiled bathrooms had linens, not paper towels, that you threw into a discreet bin whenever you were done with it. The stalls were more like rooms, with solid walls and doors that went from floor to ceiling. There were chandeliers everywhere and hotel staff everywhere, to assist wherever needed. For lunch we were stuck at the Registration Table, so the staff brought lunch to us, serving us with crystal, china, and silver. They brought each entree separately and whisked our plates away as soon as we were finished. Most of all, though, it was exciting being behind-the-scenes. Making sure everything was going just right, that there were enough pamphlets out, that lunch wasn't served before we were ready for it, that no one upset the higher-ups or the speakers. One of my duties was to hold the microphone during question/answer times after each speech. This means I had to sit in on each speech, even though I had little concept of what was being discussed. However, I did get to hear several interesting speakers. I was able to hear Nathan Deal, a Representative from Georgia, plus Dora Hughes and Douglas Holtz-Eakin speak. Hughes and Holtz-Eakins are the senior Health Care Advisors for Obama and McCain, respectively. It was exciting to hear these speakers, not because their topics were so interesting, but because in college I had to dissect many speeches and distinguish between what made a good/bad speaker. Hughes, for example, was very knowledgeable. I actually got some background information on her, because I had a long conversation with one of her advisors. He (the advisor) actually got his Marriage and Family Therapy degree from ACU and teaches at Minnesota University. It was so random that I struck up a conversation with an ACU alum. Small world, no doubt. Anyways, Hughes is, like I said, knowledgeable. However, her speaking style really needs work. She spoke very fast in a very calm voice and did not ennunciate very well. I found myself leaning forward frequently, trying to make out what she was saying. Very distracting. The other speeches were good, some more engaging than others, but hers really stood out as the one that needed work.



Friday I was done by 12:00, so I took the metro around to a couple different places in DC, waiting for Lee to be off work. I went to Union Station, which kind of looks like an art gallery, with all its marblenicity and statues. Then I went to Urban Outfitters in China Town, and bought 2 scarves. Then I went to the Starbucks outside of Lee's work and met him at 5ish. I talked to my mom while I was waiting. She told me a story about how my 2 year old nephew was scared to death of all the Halloween stuff at Home Depot, and when asked if he wants to go see it all, his little lip just starts trembling and he says, "Outside, mommy!". I really miss that smart little boy. I know I didn't get to see him a ton even when we lived in TX, but now I am REALLY missing some very cool growing stages. Oh well. I'll just have to have my own, I guess (Not now, though. Seriously. No rumors of any sort. Lee would faint). Anyways, we went to a pretty good Mexican place for dinner, then went home. We talked about doing something else, but I was kind of tired of being around people, after my excursions around DC.

Saturday we went house-hunting. We are being very stubborn, because we want a single-family home, and it is not easy to find one in our price range. But we have time to wait, and God will provide. Or, convince us to pursue other types of living arrangements. We just really got used to having our own space in Fort Stockton, and now it is hard to imagine sharing walls with anyone ever again. We'll see what God has in store! I imagine we will look again this weekend. Oh, for lunch that day we treated ourselves to Calzones from this amazing place in Sterling. the bread is all homemade, and it must be the same recipe my mom uses, because it so reminds me of her wonderful cooking. That's why I love it so much, I think.

Sunday was really hot. But we played tennis in the afternoon, after church and lunch with friends. We've playing tennis a lot lately. It is safer than riding bikes, and it's hard to get lost when you stay on the tennis court. However, there is something dead in the woods and it really makes good "tennis focus" difficult. We went to Small group that night and had a great discussion on our views of what a "Christian community" should look like and what it is for. This will continue for some weeks to come. We also got to watch the Cowboys game. I think being up here has made me a stronger fan. Like, if I don't represent them up here, no one will? Which is a fallacy, because there are tons of fans up here...but still, I am really into the games this year.

Monday, I got to hang out with some friends. We went shopping, had lunch, and saw "The Women". The movie was really pretty good. I liked the way the characters were portrayed...very noble, yet with flaws. Monday night I went to the Alanis concert!!! It was so great! She opened with "Uninvited" and I so got chill bumps. Whether or not you like her music, you would have been impressed that live she sounds exactly like her recordings. Just pitch perfect and everything. It was a long day, but such a blessing to be able to be with friends!

Tuesday I just hung out at the house. I did SOME cleaning, but not as much as I should have. Oh, but I did go to Safeway and got complimented on my smile. Twice! It's great to know how powerful a smile can be, even up here. We played tennis in the eve and I lost. But, the stench from the unknown animal was even more powerful, therefore my playing was not up to par. Lee, of course, cannot breathe through his nose, therefore the smell did not affect him. Lucky! I asked him if it was wierd that I had this overwhelming urge to go find the animal, just to see what it was. He said it was. Therefore, I didn't go find it. But I am curious, you know? I mean, it could be something really cool, like a bear. Doubtful, but still.

Wednesday I worked for an architecture firm, answering phones. I had to page people a lot, too, which was scary, since everyone could hear my little voice over the intercom. One guy told me that I didn't look like someone who needed to temp. I thought that was a great compliment. And its true. The other temps that I have met are fresh out of college and have a bit of a clueless vibe. I, on the other hand, can act like I know exactly what to do, even if I don't. Being a drama teacher had its advantages, I am learning.

Today, tomorrow, and Monday, I am doing random things for a Title company. The girl here is really stressed so I am just being her right-hand. Except I screwed up the coffee making. I poured in the water without the filter being in, so water just started spewing everywhere. Then, I shoved the filter in, but forgot to put coffee in it, so it was still just water. THEN, I opened the single coffee package and grounds flew everywhere. It was such an "I Love Lucy" moment, and I was moved to another task. :) Boo, coffee.

Good weekend, everyone!