MEMORIAL DAY! (yay)

I feel like I have been neglectful in my postings of late. Probably b/c these days I seem to be spending my breaks at work looking at other-type things that will be useful to me in the next 60 days. So close, and yet so far away....

Monday was fabulous. I LOVE DAYS OFF!!! Actually, the whole weekend was pretty cool. Friday I took the afternoon off and went to Wilmore. Helped my dad rearrange his office, talked to a few good people... then went back to lex and had dinner with my parents. But apparently I'm having a mental block as to where. Oh yeah! Joe Bologna's. Good food, WAY too many calories. And then I sat with Amanda and didn't do much else. But we talked. And looked at her herb garden. Coolness :-) Saturday... I don't remember that either. hmm... oh yeah! Spinning at 9am. Pretty much killed myself. Then Amanda & I went to Panera for breakfast to reward all our hard work. Then I took a long nap........................ And then babysat all night. I'll miss my kids :-( We had a good time. Sunday was craziness at church, and then the 'rents came over for dinner. MMMM!!!! Grilled bbq pork steak!! and other foodly goodnesses. They hung out for awhile. Did some massive grocery shopping... all to prepare for..... MONDAY!

Got up early, had breakfast with the parents (I did a lot with them this weekend...) at McDonald's :-) Then a bit more quick-shopping and then went home to prepare and cook... Ryan & Amanda come over around 10:30, and he started doing his awesome chef thing. And Amanda helped me do my dessert thing. JR & Bethany came over sometime around noon, which called for good times. For our little cook-out party, Ryan fixed: grilled hamburgers, grilled bratwurst, grilled corn on the cob with southwest butter, potato salad, cole slaw, homemade salsa (what am I saying?! it was ALL homemade), grilled spinach and portabella mushrooms... and I think something else, but I don't remember. It was SOOOO fabulously good. And then I made blueberry torte and homemade strawberry ice cream for dessert... We sat around and talked and ate all day long. We had a really good time :-) YAY!!

And then the boys ran off to go places, and we girls went shopping. I bought a quilt that will actually fit my bed (YAY!) but I have to see if I can find some sheets to go with it, or else I'm gonna have to take it back :( I like it, though. YAY!

Okay. Enough about my fun weekend. Gotta run... duties call....

Day... by Day... by Day... by Day...

So much to do, so little time.........

Recap of the last week:
Last Tuesday: Wisler family stayed the night at my house. Fun, good times, but tiring.
Wednesday: Church/Choir
Thursday: Praise Band Practice (sound things)
Friday: Uh, don't remember. Felt dead. Watched 2nd Pirates Movie :-)
Saturday: Slept in, took naps, stayed up till 1:30 baking and cooking and whatnot.
Sunday: Church, lunch at parents, stuff outside......
Monday: Ad Council meeting at church
Tuesday: TBD (but I voted! :) )
Wednesday: Church/Choir/Hsin & Chris come to stay the night
Thursday: Get up in order to leave for airport at 4:45. Yes, me. You'll be proud when I actually do it, huh?! Work, Praise Band Practice (if I don't bail to do something with amanda. or to take a nap...)
Friday: Work, take Bethany to the airport.
HOLIDAY WEEKEND!! WOOHOO!!!
Which will most likely be spent doing things I don't wanna do..... like cleaning and such. and getting ready....
The big question is, do I take off half a day on Friday? JUST BECAUSE I CAN!?

I know you probably don't care about my weekly itinerary. But I told you anyway. And if you read this far, you obviously cared enough to finish the post. So ha. Oh yeah, and I love you!
:-)

the Eclectic Beaver

THINGS I'VE LEARNED TODAY:

• Never run all the reports until you check to make sure the numbers work.
• How to tell if I'm having a heart attack. (Women's symptoms are different than men's... it's all about jaw pain)
• Snickers ice cream bars have 300 calories. And knowing that makes them taste that much better.
• There is always a but. Sometimes it's big. Sometimes it's felt. (I didn't really get that one)
• Edie the Lightening Bug throws well, but my aim isn't as good as it used to be.
• Warm Diet Dr. Pepper = yuck.
• Pact plans are necessary.
• Pop can + MP3 player with FM Stereo = good antenna
• Some days should have a fast forward button.

And now something interesting to leave you with:

I Wake to Sleep

So I took a little trip back home this weekend... I got to see lots of peoples :-) YAY for me! I had expected to see Hsinny and Chris, but I was ever so pleasantly surprised to see Leah & her hubby, too! And Freddy and Cassie's little guy is so adorable.... looks just like Freddy, bless his heart :) And Jay & Amber's kids are soooo cute... Good times, good talks, lots of memories. It was also great to see some of the *older folks*, like Neihofs and Cundiffs and Miss Leach and Aunt Ruby and all. I started thinking about how much each of these people have helped mold me into the person I am today... and then I started to get teary-eyed and stopped thinking :-) There would never be enough words to say how much these dear people mean to me, and how much they have been a part of making me who I am. I love each of them like family, and thank God for their presence in my life at an age where I needed that kind of support and love and even challenge.

Okay, that's enough sappyness for today.

It's such a tasty sight...

Sleepy today. I would like a nap. Or a week off from work. Or better yet, a lifetime. That's how I feel today.

Amanda & I have been very good at exercising and eating healthily and all. There have been only a few small setbacks, but overall we're both doing quite well. YAY for us! Since it's been so beautiful outside, we've been taking advantage of the Arboretum a lot. Once it starts to really get hot and summerish, I'm sure we'll start hitting the gym again, but until then, the weather has been just too wonderful to ignore :-) And besides, you see a lot more interesting people (and animals) at the Arboretum. Like, the albino great dane and the *fattest dog I've ever seen* (that's his new name).

Bethany came walking with us last night... I don't think she was quite prepared for our walkingness. By the second lap we had slowed down enough that she was okay again, and we could carry on normal conversations :-) I learned some things last night, about trees and such, but I won't go into that right now. Just be proud I learned something.

Anyway, I'm proud of myself and of Amanda for our success so far. Hopefully we can keep it up just a few more months.....

Watch out for those three-legged plants....

Not a lot to say.

Brain hurts.

Head hurts.

Poison ivy itches.

Need nap.

Or a frappuccino.

Mmm.... Coffee.........

which goes even better with

MMM.... Donuts!!!!

But I can't eat those today. :(

I have 10 weeks.

Do you think it'll happen?!?!?

Maybe.

I just need to be dedicated.

(fyi) Nothing in this post whatsoever is work-related.

Other than causes/effects/reasons why.

I still have no idea when.

I'm going away now.

Just seeing this makes me cringe:

It's just been a rough day.
Since the moment I walked inthe door this morning, things have gone wrong.
I'm sooo tired.
I've actually thought about skipping church tonight.....
but knowing me I won't.
I just need sleep... or something.
Even gum isn't helping.
(Maybe I should follow Donna's advice after all.)
Rough day.

Chip, I'm gonna come at you like a..... what was that again?

I got a crazy amount of sleep this weekend. Yesterday was the first day I've actually felt *rested* in I can't even remember how long. Like, the kind that even if I wanted to take a nap, I couldn't. Cause I was all sleeped out.

Then last night happened...

I received a text message from a certain marine-someone at 2am. Now, if this had been an important message, one that would be necessary for me to know at 2 o'clock in the morning, I wouldn't mind so much.

It was a sound byte from the Ballad of Ricky Bobby -

you know, the spider monkey one.

I do not consider that important enough to wake me up from a deep, dreamful sleep. So, then, I was at least a little awake (since the text message noise on my phone is similar to my alarm clock noise, and it nearly freaked the poopy out of me), and I had to pee (I'm sure you wanted to know that. I know, You're welcome). I finally climbed back in bed...

....And could not sleep.

At all.

Buffy was not a very happy camper at 2am.

Now, I am exhausted. Grrrrr. So much for being rested. Which is making me ever so slightly cranky.

That, and the Slim-Fast.

But on a happier note, Healthy Choice dinners are on sale 1/2 price at Meijer this week. So I actually went grocery shopping before my ever-long church meeting last night, and there is

ACTUALLY FOOD IN MY FRIDGE. (well, freezer)

YAY for me.

(bye now)

Aren't they ADORABLE?!?!

You should be proud of me. I was actually at work at 6:30 this morning. Okay, so maybe it was more like 6:38, but I still think that's good :-)

Going out with the girls (+JR) tonight. Watch a movie, eat ice cream :) I am sssooooooo incredibly happy it's Friday. I need a night to just relax and not think about things for awhile.

On another note, this is a link to a blog site for a couple who are in the process of adopting from the same orphanage that Matt & Amy are adopting from. This couple is over there right now. Anyway, it tells a little more about the orphanage, & there are even pictures :-) It's very strange (but so exciting!!) to think that maybe, just maybe one of these children is my little nephew, just waiting to come home.

Okay, before I start crying, I'm going to go. Everybody have a great weekend!

Whenever you call me... I'll be around. (maybe, hopefully, if I have a moment to breathe)

So seriously... What's up with all this posting of mine? I hardly know what to do with myself. Very odd.
How are y'all? I feel like I have been terribly bad at keeping up with my peeps. It's horrific, I know. Evan, if you ever read this (which I kinda doubt you do), I'm really not ignoring you. I'll try to call you back. Really I will. Oh yeah, and Hsin too.
Part of my trouble is that I'm always out doing stuff. I'm at church or exercising or at church or with Amanda or at church or at Bethany & JRs. Or maybe at church. Then by the time I get home and remember somebody called, I either a) realize it's too late to be calling any normal working human being or b) am so exhausted I'm not in the mood for having a decent conversation or being nice at all, really.
So if you are my friend, and you haven't heard from me in awhile, I still love you. I'm trying to keep up with the whirlwind that is my life right now and everybody else, too, but I've been slacking lately.
Please forgive me, I'll try to do better.
And if there is seriously something serious going on in your life, leave me an urgent-sounding voicemail. Because I still love you and want to be there for you if you need me.
And if you need to call me tonight to tell me something important... leave me a voicemail. I'll be at church. But I'll do my best to call you back.
I love you all.
Have a fabulous day.

Being drawn in further over my head...........

This has been the absolute longest week ever. Haven't I worked at least five days this week already?!? grrr.
Tried to talk Amanda into spinning tonight... don't think that's gonna happen. But walking will be good :) Maybe the arboretum again?! Just as long as I don't have to be seen in public in my bicycle shorts...... But studying MUST begin happening again. ABSOLUTELY MUST. Because even if I don't go back to school right away, I need to go ahead and get the GMAT done and over with. grrrrrrrrrrr. ¡No me gusta los exámenes!
I'm in the mood for some good fried mexican food. Which will NOT help the diet in any way, shape, or form... mmm, grease!
So Lynette and I have taken to counting down the minutes for the last hour of work. I'm not sure it helps, but I like to pretend it does.
Okay, I really should go now. It's taken me nearly an hour to type this with all the interruptions... (geez, you'd think I was at work or something!!!)
Later, y'all.

My new name is Slappy, Slappy the Squirrel

I feel overwhelmingly dead today.
To the point that I splurged for starbucks this morning, and even the extra shot DIDN'T HELP.
Nor did the fast food for lunch (as if it should).
I feel like 98% of my blood has been drained out of my body leaving me with nothing. Maybe a vampire visited me in my sleep. Although I didn't see any teeth marks this morning.... Hmmm. Oh well.
I have so many, many things to do this evening... I need to put my house back together, keep going through things in the *other room*, PAY BILLS, balance my checkbook, and work off the aforementioned lunch. oh yeah, and go to the store and buy food.
But at the rate I'm going, I think I'll take Amanda's way out and lie lifelessly on my sofa until 10pm, at which point I will go to bed (or not... maybe I'll just sleep on the sofa) and lie lifelessly until tomorrow. Doesn't that sound like a much better idea??
Oh yeah, and Easter was great. As was spending hours at Bethany & JR's on Saturday night learning *new games*. As was going out Friday night after the cantata and sitting at applebee's for too many hours. Yay for girl talk! (although at least a little bit of it was slightly disturbing.....)
Okay. Break's over now. I'm going away. I hope one of you out there is having a good day.

... easy like Sunday mornin'........

I really should post here more often. Oh well.

I totally missed out on the fact that choir practice was canceled last night. Newsflash: Standing in front of your church trying to get into 10 different locked doors can be embarassing. Okay, so it was more like 7. I'm just glad nobody was around. I think............

Yesterday was the longest day ever. I kept thinking it was time for work to be OVER, but then I'd look at the clock and realize I still had another hour and a half. ERRGHTK. I hate those days. And then I kept dropping things

HOWEVER, I greatly enjoyed the vegetarian sandwich-thingey at Jimmy John's last night. This was my first adventure into Jimmy John's world. I think I shall return.

Not much of consequence to say today... Still waiting to hear back from *the people*. Or rather, *the man*. My future hangs in the balance......

*Lenten* cantata is Friday night... if you're in the area, come. Should be a good time. Especially with the harp. Gotta love the harp.

Oh crap... I just got an email. I could find out sooner than I thought.

I'll keep you all posted.... I know I've said this a lot lately, but please keep praying.

then there's always tomorrow......

dang it. I just typed a post. and lost it. doh.

to borrow amanda's terminology, I'm having brain death today. at least it feels dead to me. lots of craziness... but I think I'll leave that for a protected xanga post. there are some things that some people just don't need to know. mostly because then they will bug me about it. and I don't really want to talk to them in the first place. if you're related to me and reading this, I don't mean you.

I feel like I'm finally getting back into the groove of life. after a couple weeks of sabbatical, it's pretty nice. I went to the gym last night for the first time in I don't care to remember how long. We were supposed to go spinning, but due to an accident involving the trunk of my car, we (meaning Jess & I) worked out on the elliptical instead. I'm hoping that's how you spell that. Since we were actually prepared for spinning, we didn't have any earphones or anything with us, so we went to the *cardio cinema*... I don't like the machines in there. they are entirely too needy. first of all, you can't see anything to enter your *info*, so it took me like 10 minutes to get everything in there. not to mention that it's DARK (that would be the cinema part), so I didn't even know at first that there was a guy in the floor next to me doing some kind of weird stretchy-things. so I got to see the last few minutes of some football movie with mark wahlburg. and then the first couple minutes. I was all about bad timing yesterday, apparently.

I've been in meetings all week. *insert appropriate word of consternation in here* maybe tomorrow things will look brighter? no, probably not until at least monday. grrr.

I'm going now. I'm sleepy. This no-caffeine-in-the-mornings thing is about to kill me. I guess I'll have to start drinking black coffee.

yelrckk.

Ya soshla s uma

****thoughts running around in my head****

should I? shouldn't I??
should I wait and see?
maybe.
but that might be too late.
can I afford it? probably not.
but maybe I should try it anyway.
(I can always get somebody to loan me the money, right?)
so many opportunities could be opened up...
and it ONLY TAKES 11 MONTHS.
I hate making major decisions in a hurry.
but sometimes it's easier that way...... less time to think about it.
hhhmmmmmm.......
I think I shall.
have I decided?
for sure?
no.
but I think so.
I wish they would email me back.
I think this must be what I'm supposed to do.
I'm glad Kelly agrees..... I think.....
maybe the timing will be perfect.
maybe not...
we can always hope.
oh yeah, and there's that prayer thing, too. :-)
I should keep on that.

pray for me? but I think I know.

(PS~~if you understand the title, you get a cookie. or maybe an ale8 or 6. but here's the original spelling: Я сошла с ума)

Aunt Sandy is da bomb!

Rather than post yet another *announcement* (news story, etc... that seems to be my modus operandi lately) I thought I would make this one a little more personal.

I have been crazy-excited all day. Well, I guess not all day. Sleeping through my alarm clock this morning wasn't really the highlight of my week (although I still made it to work an hour early! I know, I know, be amazed). It really started around 9:30 when I got an email from my mom. This email (which greatly alluded to her excitement on the same subject) was the bearer of the incredibly happy and wonderful news that as of July 1st, 2007, Dr. Sandra Gray (aka Aunt Sandy) will be the President of Asbury College. I actually squealed at my desk. Which my coworkers appreciated, I'm sure... although they've rather gotten used to some of the strange sounds that come out of my mouth when I'm working/concentrating.

I cannot think of a better person, male or female, to take on this position than Dr. Gray. I'm not sure such a person exists. She is an absolutely fabulous person. She has all the charisma, poise, business skills, personality, COMMON SENSE, public speaking presence, intelligence, and leadership qualities that you could ever ask for (AND THEN SOME!). Her personal faith is humbling, something at this point I can only pray to be ever be able to reach. She is a true role model in every sense. I can only dream of aspiring to be either the businesswoman or woman of God that she demonstrates every day. Every person I have talked to/emailed with about this announcement has reiterated what I have already said-there is no one better for this job. (My favorite was, *It's about time*.

I thank God for her influence on my life, and for the blessings of being able to sit in her classroom and her home, and to spend an entire week in New York with her, to learn from her and to get to know her. I do have to say I learned more about her that week than from any of her classes, and it was a privilege. I even got to see some of the humorous side, which was fun :-)

Thank you, Dr. Gray, for all that you have given each of us students who have had the privilege to sit in your class and learn from you. Thank you for being true to the will of God for your life. Thank you for modeling in front of us what a true businessperson as well as a faithful Christian looks like. We are indebted to you. And we celebrate with you today, because we truly believe you are the best for this job and the person God has hand-selected to lead Asbury College ahead in the years to come. Asbury College will become a better place on July 1, 2007. We will be praying for you, for wisdom and His guidance.

We love you!

and summer faded into fall....

I've been slightly disappointed with myself for the lack of posting that's been going on lately. maybe I should be more disappointed with the lack of [interesting] things going on in my life. I'm mostly just keeping busy.... Mostly church. And working out. And stuff. They're not having Praise Band practice tonight at church, which means I get to go to spinning again tonight (I think that's a good thing?!)

Went to the LSU game Tuesday night with Heidi... that was fun :-) It was an exciting game to be a part of (even if it was the VERY TOP row.....) We had some good conversation, which is a good thing too. although getting to sleep at 1am probably wasn't the best thing I could do for myself this week. oh well.

I don't really feel like there's a lot else to say. life's still going on, my heart's still ticking, I'm not about to die from hypothermia (or already dead?! and seeing a blown-up guy?!?!) or anything, so I guess that's a good thing. although it's been so cold in our office this week that I feel like a little hypothermia isn't too far off... darn conference room.

bye.

I was walking with a ghost

I figured it's been awhile so I should find something to post about again.... but I really can't think of anything exciting. work is still somewhat slightly depressing, but it's gotten a lot more normal I think now that people are realizing work still has to be done, and for quite awhile yet. church was canceled yet again last night, which was nice :-) I don't often get to have normal, relaxing evenings where I don't have to be anywhere or do anything in particular. I rather enjoyed it. I even had time to watch my tape of tuesday night's gilmore girls (which I had missed due to the sadness that was the UK/UT game).

Like I said, not a lot to say. I just realized that my desk calendar still says wednesday, but that's not really noteworthy. the snow has been refreshing, although not being able to get the key to turn in my car-lock wasn't fun yesterday. I now carry a lock de-icer thingey in my purse. I wonder if that would could also double for mace? (a question for the chemistry-minded of you out there...)

Okay. That's all for today.

what do you say - it's up for grabs?

this past weekend was quite the busy experience. apparently this week is following suit, which explains why it's taken me until tuesday afternoon to type about the weekend. *sigh* (will I ever get a break? cuz I could really use one right about now. I feel like I'm at home about as much {or less!} than I was in my room my senior year of college. yeah. it's like that.)

let's see... Friday night was dinner with Bethany & JR and Ryan & Amanda at Logan's. hmmm.... brought back so many memories... of things like trying to convince Phillip not to steal the buckets of peanuts, throwing peanut shells down Coral's shirt, Coral tipping the table over on herself and making the cute waiter laugh... good times. Anyway, it was fun. JR can be about as ADD as Phillip, so sometimes we have to try to keep him calmed down too. After dinner I went mega-grocery shopping, which was a VERY good thing. I actually have food in my house. FO' REALZ! I have at least 2 cabinets that are COMPLETELY full. Which is a nice feeling. Being hungry is not all it's cracked up to be. So that was Friday.

Saturday started with Spinning Class at the gym @ 9ish (aren't you impressed?!?! me, at the gym, EARLY on saturday morning?!?!! seriously!). After the workout, Amanda and I went to breakfast (erm... brunch.......) at Panera :-) We were both procrastinating from going home for pretty much the same reason, so it was a nice, relaxing time. Yay for us.

I then went home and cleaned my house. (well, at least the downstairs. and the upstairs bathroom. we won't discuss the bedrooms.) I cleaned out Chico's living area, hand-mopped the floor in the downstairs bathroom, cleaned the sink/mirror/toilet/etc., mopped the kitchen/dining room floor, did all the dishes (even hand-washing some!!!), vaccuumed my living room floor, dusted, cleaned the upstairs bathroom, cleaned out/arranged the downstairs coat closet.... I'm telling you, this work-out stuff is good for my motivation. At least I'll pretend that's what it is.

Mary, Anna, Hsin, and Mary's 2 little girls came for a visit. We hung out at the house, then went to dinner at ChikFilA. mmmm! then we stopped by Amanda & Ryan's (w/ Bethany & JR) for a chat, and then they went back home to the hills. I stayed there and watched a chick flick with Amanda and Bethany while the boys watched some kind of boy movie in the other room. All I know is there was a bunch of loud yelling and gunshot sounds coming from in there. Found out some disturbing news, but don't yet feel at liberty to divulge at the moment. Just pray. Please. Pray.

Sunday morning was church, although the choir didn't sing at 8:30 again (w00t for sleeping in!!). Lunch at the 'rents, at which I received a check for $3,200. Don't worry, it's not mine to keep. But it was a nice feeling nonetheless :-).

Sunday afternoon, did a little more shopping for party foods and the like, then went home and made guacamole and got ready for the partay. YAY! Amanda, Ryan, & JR came over (I still can't call him Gary. too weird.....). The boys actually watched the game, while Amanda and I mostly ate food, talked, and ran in to watch the commercials. But we watched the end, so that should count for something, right?!?! Good times, WAY too much junk food, got to find a way to get the dog to stop humping the company. Rather embarrassing for all involved.

Dude, this has been a long post. So I guess I'll go now. And work. Since I'm supposed to be working. Since break's over now. Okay. Bye.

why you should never let your coworkers know when you're turning 40....

My coworker Yvette is 40 today. I shall explain pictorially why you should never let people like me or my boss know when such an event is about to occur. Vette leaves at 4:30 each afternoon, while most of us don't leave until 5. Here is what transpired after 4:30 last night:



















Then, after she got here this morning, some other *friends* within the company decided they wanted in on the decorating, so they helped out by doing this:







(that's yvette in the pictures... my favorite is the big *40* pin she has to wear all day. we couldn't get her to wear the crown, though)

good times. the bonus being my boss (vicky) also brought in doughnuts (YUM!), the other ladies brought in a birthday cake, and I've heard rumors that evelyn brought in her homemade enchiladas for lunch.

sweetness.