Update: Operation Finance

Yeah... so I was a little premature with Operation Finance...I was good for about 2 months, but then I moved, bought a new car, and then Christmas hit, and, well, things kind of feel apart. But I'm kicking things into high gear for 2011. Plus, I'm scheduled to get a little bit of a raise at the end of January/beginning of February, so that should help too, although with the pay freeze and higher insurance rates, I'm not sure how much help it will be...

My 2011 financial resolutions/goals:

1) Pay off the main credit card by January 2012 using whatever means necessary. Balance will be ZERO by 1/1/2012.

2) In order to accomplish #1, I will limit my frivolous spending to CASH only. This includes, eating out, movies, shopping, etc. I will take out a certain amount after every pay day and once it's gone, it's gone...until next pay day.

3) In order to accomplish #1 and #2, I need to stop buying stupid shit.

And that's pretty much it... for finances anyway. Really, if I can do those three things, I should be in pretty good shape (HA!).


My 2011 non-financial resolutions/goals:

1) Run a 5K by June 2011. I've run/walked a few 5Ks, but this is the year to run the whole thing... says the girl that hates to run. This should be interesting...

2) No more fast food. Exceptions: Papa Murphy's take-n-bake, the fresco menu at T-Bell, Taco Truck (so not fast food), and the occasional ice cream treat. McD's french fries are allowed on the very, very rare occasion.

3) Get bikini ready - this ties into #1.

4) Travel as much as I can.

5) Bowl a 200 game. My highest game ever happened 2 weeks ago... a 198. Whoot whoot!! This is the year.

6) Make an honest effort to talk/text my mom more often.

I'd say these are fairly reasonable goals... except for maybe #6. That one's gonna be hard...

slr

Christmas in the Northwest is a gift God wrapped in green...

So someone must've been looking out for me, because I got to Seattle and back without any weather glitches. Oh, there were plenty of flights canceled while I was home due to freezing fog in WW, so I was almost obsessive about checking the weather, but I lucked out. I just missed the fog... I must have great flying karma because I've never had an issue getting in or out of the WW airport. *knock on wood* Let's hope it lasts!

Unfortunately I forgot my camera in WW, so I don't have many photos to post (says the self-proclaimed picturaholic. I must be losing my touch), but the trip home was great. I flew in on Sunday, and after picking up some longjohns (forgot mine on the couch when packing. Grrr) we headed downtown for my very first Seahawks game!! The game was poorly played (although I was sure the Seahawks were going to get spanked worse than they did, so that was a plus), but we had great seats and just being there was a lot of fun. Leland was nice enough to give up his own season ticket to join me in the endzone with my friends Tarin and Patrick. We had a great time.

Then, thanks to Tarin for letting me borrow her car, I headed up to Mt. V for a surprise visit to the Cook family and friends. Unfortunately my surprise was spoiled by the gang at Good Winds, but it was still a great visit. Worked on my football spiral, got some Charlie lovin, some yummy spaghetti pie (Mmmmm...), and an almost visible winter solstice lunar eclipse. :)

The rest of the week consisted of me sleeping in, jumping on trampolines, eating way too many Christmas cookies, driving Tarin to work, shopping, and seeing family and friends. I got to catch up with an old high school friend that I haven't seen in years too. I wish I could've seen everyone on my list, but there just wasn't enough time. And with Christmas on Saturday, it just didn't work out.

But my Christmas was pretty awesome. Low key is what I like. Did breakfast at my sister's place with my mom, then headed out to the movies. We saw "How Do You Know." I don't recommend it... It was painfully slow, and so not funny. I even fell asleep during part of it. But after that we picked up dinner (Chinese, please) and headed back to my sister's to watch a better movie... Inception. :) Loved it! So good. Definitely a buyer. Then I did second dinner at Tarin's house. It was a good day.

But as we drove home from a weenerific, authentic German Christmas Eve dinner, we came across the best "Griswalds" display of Christmas lights I've ever seen, with a little something extra:

 

Obviously it's not the gawdy display of flourescence that makes this spectacle so fantastic... :)

Oh, and if you've never heard the song of which this blog entry is named after, it is the most fantastically sappy Christmas original I've ever heard. I love it. It's playing in my head right now as a matter of fact... And yes, I still have the album I bought back in Jr. High when Ernst still inhabited the Sunset Blvd location in Renton. :)

And so, I leave you with the best electronic Christmas card I've ever received...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

S

holey moley...

The backyard of the new house I moved into just 2 weeks ago either has an infestation of a cracked out mole the size of a small car or.... Bandit has taken up digging. My mom and sister warned me that he was a digger, but at my old place, the worst trouble he got into was eating my flipflop... and I didn't even really like them anyway, so he did me a favor. Anyway, I thought he'd grown out of the whole digging thing. Wrong!! Now that he's an outdoor dog during the day, he's taken to entertaining himself in this extremely annoying fashion... I wish I had a picture of what he looked like on Friday. Covered, head to toe, with dried mud. Today he wasn't nearly as bad, although he dug twice as many holes... At least he doesn't fight me anymore when I tell him to get in the tub. He just hops right in. But I promise to take a picture next time, because as much as I hate filling in the holes and bathing the pup every night, he's so proud of himself and his holey accomplishments that I just can't help but laugh. The only thing I can say about the situation now is I'm thankful grass seed is cheap. :)

Speaking of the new house, the decor isn't finished, neither are we fully unpacked, so once the roommie and I have it all spiffed up for the holidays, I'll take some pictures and post. Don't give up on me. I get around to it eventually...

In other new, I am now a brunette of sorts. Well the color is more a dark reddish purple with some black thrown in. Every fall I always do something really drastic and then go back to normal in the spring. With the shorter days and the chillier weather, I get bored really fast. So... I cut and dye my hair to keep me entertained. I think this is the best I've done in a long time. :) And sometimes I forget that it looks so different, because obviously I've gotten used to it, so when people start to stare and look at me weird, it just makes my day.

The before:

And the after: (I even wore the same WSU zipup for dramatic effect)

Waaaaay different, but I like it. We even had to dye my eyebrows a little because it looked like I didn't have any! I texted my mom after getting it done and she totally freaked. :) Speaking of family, I'm getting really excited to come home for Christmas. I'm taking an entire week off, and luckily enough, so is my sister. So I'm excited to get some quality hang time with everyone at home. And I'm staying with my bestie and going to my first ever Seahawks game, so it's going to be a fun week. All that's left is a safe, speedy, on-schedule flight from WW to Seattle on the 19th. That's all I ask, is that I actually make it to Seattle on time. So far the forecast looks promising (no snow or fog, reasonable temps), so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Only two more weeks!!! Whoot whoot!

S

Moving Tip: Packing tape should not be used for painful practical jokes.

Since matriculating from college (and even during college) I have moved at least once a year, and have been thankful that each time I've had wonderful friends willing to help lift the heavy crap. You'd think I'd have an efficient strategy by now for packing and organizing, or a cannot refuse bribe for help, but I don't. I'm moving on Saturday, and I only really just started "packing" yesterday and asked for help today.

But I suppose I do have a strategy of sorts... it's evolved over the years and mainly just consists of me getting increasingly lazy and just throwing shit in bins then cramming them in my car. Really, the strategy is to just not ever fully unpack...

What's funny about this move, though, is the dog. Over the past couple days he's noticed the total chaos that has taken over the living and dining rooms and has taken to spending copious amounts of time outside chasing his tail and/or thumping the cat and/or moping around with his blanket. He just doesn't know what to do with himself amongst all the commotion. I mean, look at how pathetic he looks! Like I just robbed him of his reason for existing... (and yes, that is my room. Please keep your focus on the dog and not the strewn about clothing on the floor. Thanks.)

However, it is quite entertaining to watch and provides a nice break from what seems to be the exhausting avoidance of packing. Thankfully he's not too melodramatic, but I'm positive he won't be pleased when he's required to spend his days outside without a dog door. *gasp!* He is a bit of a chicken shit when it comes to, well, everything, so I have a feeling this form of entrapment might hit him a little hard at first. But he'll have access to the garage with nice warm blankets and will have a new friend to commiserate with, so I'm sure he'll be so twitterpated over his favorite blanky and new friend love, he'll get over it quickly.

Pictures of the new house all set up and cute coming soon. :)

slr

Lord... Won't you buy me... a Honda Accord!!

So last Friday I headed over to Tri Cities with a couple girlfriends in search of a dress.... I drove over in this:

2004 Honda Civic EX Coupe

And drove home in this! (With better wheels...)

2007 Honda Accord EXL

Never did find a dress, but the "test drive" we took out to lunch and attempted dress shopping was a blast! I had all intentions of getting the Civic its 60,000 mile tune up and calling it a day, but I made the mistake of asking the salesman what he had in the way of Accords. What's funny is I had lost my license somewhere in my house a couple weeks ago and hadn't gone in to replace/renew it (I'd been driving around with my passport as ID). So I bought this car WITHOUT a license!! I of course went to the DMV first thing Saturday morning and got a new one, then faxed over a copy, but the whole thing was unreal!!

We also had to take the salesman back to WW with us. One of my friends had to be back in WW by 5pm (we didn't even leave the dealership until 6pm), so the arrangement was that she would drive the Civic back to WW and we would come later in the Accord with the salesman so he could drive the Civic back to the dealership. We liked him so much, he stayed for a beer. :)

Now I don't just buy cars on a whim, but the two girls I was with are pros. It's not like I NEEDED a new car, it wasn't like when I bought the Civic and didn't HAVE a car, so we had fun with it. The girls pretty much did all the talking and I just sat back and enjoyed the show. The salesman was a good sport too. We definitely made him work for that sale. And eventhough I was a little freaked that I was actually going to get a new car, and more than a little sad that I was giving up my very first car, the girls convinced me it was the perfect birthday present to myself... and that I can always trade it in after 2 years! lol.

So I'm growing up... I'm turning 27 on the 24th and apparently needed an adult car.... with 4 doors. :) Even though there's a bit of a mom factor to the car, I have a feeling the leather seats and seat warmers will win me over this winter. :)

slr

Don't eat the corn

My favorite part about Halloween is the annual trip to the corn maze... and dressing up, the parties, candy corn, haunted houses... OK, I love it all. :)

Saturday night a friend and I took a trip out to the haunted corn maze. We were supposed to have a few other people join us, but apparently they didn't think it was as cool as I did, so they bailed. And since I had my heart set on accomplishing my mission, we braved the hour line and numerous preteens to have an exceptional evening. I have a couple friends that scare out there every year, and every year I try to tell who's who, and every year I fail. I guess it's better not to know. There were even a couple time where I was startled to the point of "fright", so I deemed the evening a success.

Elaine (that's my friend) was a corn maze virgin, and not a huge Halloween fan (gasp!), so I made it my mission to make her a convert. Being the die hard that I am, I never bring a flashlight to the maze. Elaine brought her headlamp. :) We only used it once and that was to take a terrible picture and blind ourselves in the process. The picture will not be posted to this blog.

We ended the evening with a tasty beverage and a game of pool at The Green. It was a good night. :)

Till next year, dear corn maze...

slr

Movin on up.. and OUT!

So the time is quickly approaching where I must relocate to a new abode. *Sigh* I was finding it quite frustrating looking for a rental in my price range that accepted pets, and not just any pet, but a 70lb dog. So I resorted to an ad on Craigslist to see if anyone had any leads. What came out of it was a roommate!! Now, I've become very content living by myself, but I realized that if I was going to find an affordable, pet friendly casa, I was going to need a roommie.

We met up at the dog park so she could meet Bandit (whose nickname, btw, is now Damnit after a friend couldn't remember his name and exclaimed "Damnit! I can't remember. I was sold immediately). She didn't bring her dog since he's 11 years old and not so fond of swarms of energetic K-9s. We got all the roommate questions out of the way then decided to meet up for drinks last Friday to just hangout. Through these encounters and becoming Facebook friends, we realized that we share the exact same birthdate. Like day, month, and year. Weird. I think it was meant to be. :)

So we're on the hunt and have found a couple really cute places. I'm confident we're going to find one that suits us and our wallets.

Continuation on my previous post:

I found an old doorframe in my back yard yesterday (SO excited!). It's got 5 or six horizontal windows (like the door in the second picture). I started looking up crafty things to do with it. This is what I found:

I really can't wait to start a project with this door and the windows I picked up. :) The creative juices are flowing...

slr

Long time no blog

OK, so I know I've been MIA for quite some time, but life has been way crazy and I just haven't been inspired to blog. Well, the inspiration hit me this weekend, so I thought I'd update everyone on the goings on...

So after being away from home and the office for almost a month (work trips, Caribbean, etc), I dove into officiating junior high and high school volleyball. It's been monopolizing my time lately, and I've been neglecting the dog and house, but when it's over (which is in a week or two) I should have a nice pay off which will definitely help with the moving expenses quickly approaching... It's been a lot of fun and I will definitely be doing it in the future. :) It is way hard, though, to go from being on the court to calling the shots... All I want to do is jump in and show the girls how it's done. It's torture to stand there and quietly watch terrible volleyball... torture.

In the time that I do have, though, I've been creatively inspired. This summer I finally painted my dresser that I've had for 3 years, and an antique table I picked up. They both turned out so awesome, that I've been on a DIY kick for the past couple months. When my friend Gracie recently posted about collecting old window frames inspired by the scene in "High Fidelity" where you see Lisa Bonet's apartment with a wall of old windows hanging from the ceiling, I fell in love with the idea just like she did. I'm not one to copycat, but I'm definitely a believer in "shamelessly stealing" which I suppose is the same thing. But good ideas are meant to be shared, so that how I justify it. So I stopped at the local antique mall and found 2 small frames for relatively cheap. :) I've got the itch now... I'm on my way to DIY bliss. :) I especially like the following examples:

In other news, I made a trip to Seattle last weekend before a work trip to Denver this past week. When I can, I try to combine personal trips with work trips. :) Anyway, I stayed with my best friend and we met up with some old friends and had a great time. It was, however, like a trip back to high school. I so wasn't ready for that...

In Denver, I made the best of a painful situation. I was being held hostage in a hotel conference room for 10 hours a day going crazy from the lack of vitamin D exposure. So I asked a Denver native what I should do while I was there and she told me 2 things: Breweries and Casa Bonita. The first one was easy. Lodo (Lower Downtown) was only a few blocks away, so I dragged a few coworkers along with me for some good beer, food and pool. Convincing them to join me at the weirdest Mexican restaurant ever was another story. But thankfully I had a few people that were willing to not act like adults for a couple hours... It was definitely a highlight of the trip.

And now I'm back home for a couple months, thank God. I'm thankful that I'm not scheduled to go away again any time soon. That's not to say I don't have plenty going on. :) You know me, I like to have plans.

And now I leave you with a few of my favorite pictures from the cruise:

 

Until next time... and I promise it won't be 2 months between posts. :)

S

Caribbean countdown

We are down to 13 days!!! Whoot whoot! And although I have not lost any significant weight in preparation for the inevitable bikini wardrobe, I am however determined to be at least a few shades tanner than my usual transparent coloring. :) I'm also determined to run at least a mile every day. But there's not much time left, and my work schedule isn't making it any easier... Spokompton this week, and Portland next week. I even have to go into work today! But only after I get 9 holes in... :) Golf is a workout, right?

Past blog updates:

I quit that weird gym and unfriended the owner on facebook. Juvenile, yes, but I wasn't OK with the facebook stalking, so I deleted him. He called me on Friday asking me about it too, using a blocked number so I wouldn't know it was him... Can you say creepy? Needless to say, I will never answer another blocked number... So I told him I wasn't happy and I didn't appreciate the facebook comments, and he gave me the guilt trip about being committed and how I'm giving up... blah blah blah. It didn't phase me. I didn't tell him he was creepy and made me feel uncomfortable, but I should have... He also tried to accuse me of avoiding payment, saying my account was declined. I called my bank and nothing was wrong. His system is just screwed up. Ugh, so glad I'm done with that.

Rest in Peace: Tinker

As I am house/cat sitting, my worst fear is that one of the cats would die on my watch. Well, it looks like my fears have become reality... Tinker, the 15 year old, skin and bone, black cat I've been taking care of has crawled away to a safe place somewhere and passed away. She was acting funny Wednesday morning - her back legs weren't working very well - and I haven't seen her since. Usually if she stays out all night she's on the back porch in the morning ready for breakfast. Not so much this time... It breaks my heart to think she probably suffered as she died, but there's nothing I can do about it, and I probably won't find her to confirm her passing either.

And I don't even have a picture of her. :(

So Rest in Peace dear Tinker. You will be missed.

Gym woes

So back in April when I was looking to make a few life changes, I joined a new gym. It came recommended from a trusted friend, so I was excited about it. Well, as the weeks passed, I noticed that I really didn't enjoy the experience... and now I want out. Here's why:

1. The owner/personal trainer facebook stalks me. If I post something about, oh I don't know, chocolate pasta, he'll write a comment about how I'm not supposed to eat it, and to help him help me blah, blah, blah. I shouldn't have to censor my facebook for fear that he'll write a stupid comment. If I want to eat and post about chocolate pasta, I'm damn well gonna do it!

2. He brings his dog to the gym. Now this wasn't such a big deal at first, but now it's really annoying. I'd rather not have to fight the dog for floor space when I'm doing situps, or stop him from licking the sweat or lotion off my legs. It's just gross.

3. About 75% of his clients are hispanic. Now before you go saying, "Geez, Steph. Way to be racist," let me just say that I am not racist in the slightest, but I do feel uncomfortable when all the conversations going on around me are in Spanish, and I'm the only one that's left in the dark.

4. His equipment sucks!

5. He has clear favorites. And if you're there at the same time as one of his favorites, you're pretty much ignored the whole time. I'm paying him just as much as they are, so I expect equal treatment.

6. He must not understand the concept of personal space. I have a bubble. Please do not violate that bubble. And please do not hug me when I'm all gross and sweaty.

7. He give me the guilt trip when I don't let him know if I'm coming or not. I can understand it if I had a set appointment where it was just me doing some one on one training, but it's not! He should not be the first person I need to call if my car breaks down, or if I get sick. I've seen some of his clients get REALLY obsessed about their workouts with him, and he IS the first person they call if their car breaks down. I am not that person, and refuse to be.

8. Often times I feel rushed to get to the gym. Sometimes I work late and can't get to the gym until close to 5. He has 2 kickboxing classes from 5:30-7:30 and he closes right after. I'm not a classes kind of person, so I refuse to do his class, so if I'm not at the gym by 4:30 at the latest, I'm not going to go. That's just how it is. I'll go for a run with the dog instead. But then we get back to point #7, and it's just a vicious cycle.

Anyway, I'm just kinda done with this gym. I'm at the point where I'm going to tell him it's just not working out for me, suck up the fact that I signed up for a 6 month contract, eat my losses and go back to the YMCA. Then delete him from my facebook....

Friends, friends, and more friends

It's been a long couple of weeks. I've had some good times, some not so good times, and many a house guest (some more welcome than others). All in all, however, a good July 2010.

Along with a great 4th of July with wonderful friends, days of sunbathing to prepare for the much anticipated Caribbean sun, and a creative streak that found two pieces of furniture repainted and looking fantastic, two weekends ago I had a few houseguests, and then some... It was a rough weekend for me, so I won't hash out the ugly details, I'll just say that I was more than a little cranky and bitchy and they weren't too happy about my voicing my opinions of their disrepectful behaviors. Ugh, it was just a long, frustrating weekend. Glad we all made it out in one piece - well mostly anyway...

That same weekend, I hurt my shoulder doing a fancy push up at the gym. Stupid me trying to do more than I know I can... I felt it pop and something move inside, and then searing pain. It's been pretty constantly achy ever since, so I've tried to take it easy, but sometimes that just doesn't happen. You know when you turn your head too quickly sometimes and you get that jolting pain? Well, that's what the shoulder does too. I might rotate it freely one minute, then be on the floor in pain the next from a simple handshake. It's really starting to piss me off... As is my personal trainer, but that's a story left for another day.

Anyway, to continue with my string of visitors, this last week I got a visit from two fantastic college friends, Sarah and Harmony. Sarah was on her way to Wisconsin and Harmony was on her way to Portland, so we all met up in good old Walla Walla for some spaghetti and tasty beverages. It was so great to get together with both of them. There was way more catching up to do than there was time, but it was a much needed visit for all of us.

Then I left for Portland for the weekend. Killed a few birds with one trip (i.e. no sales tax), but it was mainly to celebrate a friend getting married.

But first, one of the referenced "birds" was to continue the Harmony/Stephanie pow wow we'd started in WW, and to finally go sailing. Harmony and her now fiance, Jeff, purchased a sailboat about 2 years ago and this weekend was the first time I'd been able to partake in the awesomeness that is sailing. I just have to say, I think I was meant to sail. I LOVE it!! In a matter of hours, I mastered the art of tacking/jibing, the bowline knot (which I actually retaught to Harmony), the different locations of the sails, etc. It was awesome. Now I just need a boat of my own. So now it's a pilot's license and a sailboat.... I choose expensive hobbies.

Anyway, on Saturday Harmony accompanied me to my friend, Geoffrey's wedding reception in Washugal. She agreed to be my "plus one" since I didn't really know anyone there. And since she kept introducing herself as my "plus one" we got quite a few people wondering whether we were "together." Anyway, it was more an all night campout/party, so we set up the tent then headed for the dance floor to get the party started. We also played horseshoes and a little beer pong, found a swingset and made some new friends. I think we finally crawled into bed around 3:30am. It was great. Then I drove the 4 hours home on 4 hours of sleep... not so great.

On the way home, though, I ran across the Washington Stonehenge! I'd heard about it from a few people, but had never driven home from Portland on the WA side of the river (I might actually prefer it to I-84). So when I saw the sign for it, of course I had to stop. Pretty awesome...

And now I'm back home. Not quite caught up on the sleep side of things, but I'm sure I'll be replenished in time for the Seattle adventure I have planned for this coming weekend. :) Bring on the Cook family therapy!

Toodles,
S

Sick or not sick? That is the question...

So back in December I was hospitalized for a few days with some fancy named thing called ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia). In simple terms it's basically severely low platelet levels. Well the last time I had it I noticed a few symptoms after the fact, one of which was a massive bruise that I don't remember getting. Well I just found one on my butt and I have no idea how it got there. And then I remembered that this thing was triggered by my getting sick over Thanksgiving... And I got sick last week. So I will be getting some blood work done tomorrow just to make sure I'm not ITP sick again. Damn it. I was really hoping I'd never have to deal with this again... Please pray that I'm not sick again.

Please don't be sick...

Please don't be sick...

What haven't I had since I was 8?

Answer: An ear infection. Yes. At age 26, the pestering annoyance has returned. Searing pain and all. This cold that I've had since Tuesday has become more than a nuisance, it has literally become a pain. Painful especially after jumping around in a jumpy castle with a bunch of 6 year olds... And of course the doctor's office is closed because of the holiday. Wonderful.

But as I suffered in agony while watching the over the top (and very loud, I might add) fireworks display, listening to the numerous "Fire in the hole!" calls from the youngins, something else bothered me... I noticed the couples around me holding each other for warmth. Now this act alone didn't bother me so much as seeing them made me realize that I've never actually had that. As a hopeless romantic, I found myself a little jealous and bitter over an act so easy and natural. Then I also found myself remembering the "perfect guy" list I made when I was 9. Even at 9 I knew what I wanted, and to be honest after finding that list a few weeks ago, not a lot has changed. But for some reason I've settled for less. Maybe I should take a hint from my 9 year old self and resume the search for the guy I so aptly described...

:)

The search is on.

Yard work is a pain in my you know what...

So the neighbor and I made a deal a few months back when my grass got so long it reached mid-calf and he got tired of looking at it... I would let him borrow my lawn mower and he would mow my lawn. Sounds like an airtight deal to me. Well, it's kind of collapsed and I'm a little annoyed by his empty promises and false hopes. Could be a result of his crack habit, but that's beside the point... I will give him props, however, for at least mowing my front yard yesterday, and attempting to spell his name in the back yard until it ran out of gas (I'm assuming, anyway). He also left both my gates WIDE OPEN and the mower just sitting in the middle of the yard for everyone to see. Oh and all this was after he decided to kidnap my lawnmower for a week leaving me wondering if he hawked it to pay for his many addictions. Nice. Anyway, the point is, I now have to mow my own yard. Not a big fan of this arrangement. I absolutely despise yard work. That is the sole reason I have yet to buy my own house, or even live in one (one I had to take care of, anyway) until now. Well, that's not the only reason, but it has definitely been a deterring factor. So here I sit, waiting for a respectable hour to fire up the beast. Oh, and if you thought for a second that my lawn looks anywhere near as nice as the picture above, you obviously haven't been paying attention to the dripping disdain found in this post regarding any and all forms of yard work... or my lack of OCD. The yard gets mowed. That's it.
 Anyway, while I wait for the dubious bewitching hour, I've decided to restore my iphone to it's original settings. It's been acting a little funky lately, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm probably erasing my lifeline to the outside world, but they wouldn't give you the option to restore if it wasn't legit, right? Right?? Wrong!!! I just checked, and I lost all my contacts!! Did I not save them to my computer?!?!?! Shit... But I'm not panicking... I'm still waiting to see if my backup settings will restore my reason for existing... omg what have I done......

Restore in progress.....


Restore in progress.....


God, damn it! How long is this going to take?!?! Oh... well apparently 3 more minutes according to the itunes pop-up window...

Insert elevator music here.

The anticipation is killing me!!! Will I be sending out the annoying request for phone numbers?? Looks like resounding no... The iphone is up and running with all contacts intact. Thank you baby Jesus.

And it looks like I won't be mowing the lawn after all. My assumption of the neighbor running out of gas was fully confirmed when I went to the shed and found the gas can completely empty. I'd weed-wak if I knew where it was... but knowing myself, I probably wouldn't even then.

Hope everyone has an enjoyable holiday. I'm off to the dog park with the pup. :)

Happy Independence Day!!

Happy 4th of July Independence Day!! I was recently corrected that Independence Day is the holiday, 4th of July is just a date (thanks Amelia and Leland...) which got me thinking how lazy we've gotten with a few other holidays. The obvious example that came to mind was X-mas (a.k.a. Christmas), then I couldn't think of any other ones and moved on. ;-) Needless to say, I hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend. I know my neighbors have started celebrating already, lighting the fireworks I'm sure they bought with their rent money. I just love how the anticipation of lighting things on fire brings out the best in people... Speaking of best in people, I'm looking forward to, or maybe I'm dreading, witnessing a coworker sport a speedo tomorrow. Should be entertaining, at least. I do believe intoxication may be a necessity tomorrow...

And can I just say, I love the incredible pleasure that is Real Simple. I just can't say how happy it makes me to flip through the pages and see how I can organize my life or decorate my living room so much better than I have. Sometimes it makes me wonder if people actually have homes like the ones pictured and in what world those people live...

An update on my incredibly difficult endeavor to not shop? Success so far. Although I am still seeing a few charges that are still clearing the bank, and I did receive a few things in the mail yesterday that I ordered prior to this necessary shopping abstinence... On principle I am returning them. And because they didn't fit... I've also been throwing away and deleting all the "40% off!" and "Sale! One day only!" advertisements. I seriously get like 6 a day. As long as I don't look at them, I'm fine. As long as I stay oblivious to the savings... I sound like Becky Bloomwood. Honestly, I'm really not that bad. This was just a temporary lapse in financial judgment... I'll get back on track and be fine soon.

Speaking of shopping, has anyone seen these booty pop panties?? There are pads in the butt. Wow...

The work situation continues to destroy my decision making skills. I talked to my boss yesterday and found out that if I took the lateral, I'd delay my promotion another 6 months, so next July instead of January. And with my incredibly strong desire to get out of this town sooner rather than later, that was pretty much the final straw. I feel like I'm disappointing those coworkers that helped me in the fight, on top of the fact that now I've delayed the hiring of someone else in that position and prevented someone else from getting my position, had I taken the job, but I just can't in good conscience take this step into what seems like a black hole. As I waited to watch Eclipse for the third time in 2 days, I saw the preview for Eat Pray Love and I found myself longing to just coast for a while. Uproot, move somewhere I've never been, get a job as a bartender, waitress, or candy maker and just not think for a while. That just sounds divine...

Anyway, A Walk in the Clouds, undoubtedly one of Keanu Reeves' worst displays of acting, is on for the second time tonight. I think that's a sign that I should finish the laundry and hit the sack.

Nighty night.

S

Spasticity

I am a total spaz. I can't seem to make a decision and stick to it. Driving myself crazy.

That is all.

S

I need a vacashun from my vacashun...

Had a great weekend in Seattle/Mount Vernon/Renton. Saw mom, went flying, the dog made a friend, had some quality hangout time... it was all around pretty great. Thanks Amelia! And Leland for letting me crash. :) Drove the 5 hours home, then after a night in my own bed, headed to Dworshak with the HR crew for a project visit. Hitting the reservoir tomorrow. It's going to be HOT but it should be nice. Then tomorrow night is the Eclipse movie release. Should be entertaining at the very least. I'm looking forward to participating in the festivities.

In other news, after a lot of debate, I decided today that now is not the right time to do this certificate thing I signed up for. Seeing as how I don't even know where I'm going to be in 6-7 months, I'm kind of a little preoccupied with that. Besides, I really don't want anymore loans. It just leaves a bitter taste in my mouth to think about how much 9 credits costs. *Shudder* So that's that. And I'm going to sit down with my boss and be completely honest with him about this whole job situation. Turns out they are going to try and slide me into this other position that I've been fighting to get for so long, but I don't want to take it and then end up making the decision to leave at the end of this year. I really just do not like this whole not having a real plan deal. I'm a planner. I like to have a plan. So this not knowing BS is driving me crazy. Ugh!

And I'm attempting to put a temporary stop to my incredibly detrimental shopping habit. It's gotten a little out of control the past couple months. Time to reign it in. The goal: No unnecessary purchases for 2 months. This is going to be hard...

To be continued...

Times are a changin...

1) Saw the ex last night and there was no emotional response AT ALL. I think this marks the official "I am over him" milestone. HUGE!!! Thank God that emotional rollercoaster is over.

2) Things are shifting in the work life. People leaving, positions opening up... My professional oppression may be coming to an end if I play my cards right, but I'm still keeping my options open. I'm anxious to leave and do something else, but there are a couple factors that I need to consider...

1. Pro: I'm coming up on 4 years with the gov in August. When I reach 5, my retirement is vested. That's a big deal.
2. Pro: I'm due for a pretty significant raise in 6 months, and with that comes even more options to consider (overseas, etc).
3. Con: With the dog and my friend returning sometime around the end of the year, I will be in seach of a pet friendly place at the worst time of the year.
4. Con: I'll be in WW for yet another year...
5. Con: Will probably remain single until I get out of this town...
6. Pro: By the time I leave, the economy may be back to normal.
and so on...

I guess I don't have to make any decisions now, but I'm feeling the pressure for sure. I'll just have to wait it out and play it by ear. :-\

Until next time....
S

back to school?

So on a whim a few months ago, I requested some information about an online graduate school program in forensic psychology. Not knowing exactly what I was getting into, and feeling the deep desire for a change of pace, I applied and, ha, what do you know, I got accepted. The student orientation is tomorrow afternoon. Classes start on the 28th. Am I really doing this? And in forensic psych? Seriously?? And for someone that was worried about the responsibility that comes with owning a dog, this is a huge commitment - on both my wallet and social life. But I'm afraid that if I don't do it now, I never will... But my newest worry is: Will this interfere with the CRUISE!?!?!?!?!!

On a lighter note, I'm singing the National Anthem at the Walla Walla Sweets baseball game this Saturday. Everyone's like "You're singing? By yourself??" That's generally how it's done, folks. It's not my first time to the rodeo. :) I'm excited. My sister and nephew are coming for a visit too! I'm really excited to show them the town and how great Bandit's doing in obedience school. And next weekend I'm headed west of the Cascades. Yay! Karaoke, a flying lesson (hopefully), participant in the cheering section for a half marathon, helping my mom move, visiting friends... I have doubts about fitting everything and everyone in! All the more reason to take off Wednesday afternoon and start early. :)

Ughh

OK, so a couple months back I was basically told that I couldn't train in any other areas of HR... Period. Needless to say I did not take it very well (I was really pissed, actually), especially since the whole promotion potential thing was a big selling factor when I took the job. But with the kabosh on any kind of career training, it kind of killed that dream. So now we're revisiting the subject since we're getting a new boss, and some of the nay-saying higher ups will be moving on to bigger and better things in a month. But apparently these certain people are still dead set on sabotaging my "career growth." (I hate saying "carreer" since I really don't plan on being in HR forever.)
Anyway, a couple months back, around the same time the kabosh came down actually, I was doing my job, and sent an email to some people reminding them of a certain deadline. I like to make things at least a little humorous, but apparently there are some uptight sh*theads out there that make a big deal out of everything. Most people thought it was funny and didn't think anything of it, but there were a few that thought it was "unprofessional and offensive." So now this email has come back to haunt me, apparently being a factor in the reasons for my professional oppression. WTF? I am so over this crap. I seriously need to get out of this town...

I'm getting a dog!!

So I've wanted a dog for a long time now, but never really thought I was ready for one. Well, whether I'm ready for one or not, I'm getting one. Meet Bandit. A beautiful, 2-year old Golden Retriever. I pick him up this weekend. :) I'm so excited too. We're already enrolled in obedience school and I'm attempting to doggie proof my house. I have a feeling I'm going to be in for a ride, but I'm totally up for the challenge. I'm going to whip him into shape, and I know he'll do the same for me.