Everybody's Working for the Weekend

Okay, I think this is the music video for the song. I know the song's right. And if the video isn't, it's still hilarious enough anyway to watch...

By Wednesday I am making myself promises that the weekend is "right around the corner" in order to get myself out of bed :). I have actually commented to other people on the floor in the elevator on the way up in the morning that, "Who knew that band from the 80s was telling the truth when they sang 'Everybody's working for the weekend?'" Most everyone recognizes the words, but I don't know if they really know the tune. I think I am actually the youngest person in my department (not including student workers). That has actually never occurred to me before this exact moment. I might very well be the youngest full-time person on the whole 4th floor of the library. Well, now I'm feeling young again :). Woohoo!

You know, it truly amazes me how easily I get off on tangents. This is seriously how my brain works. All the time. It's constantly thinking. And usually I end up way out in left field from where I started. So, part of what I wanted to include in the paragraph about yucky early mornings was this comment to Julie: You have been replaced as my best friend... by this:

There once was a time when I never hit the snooze button. However, it is now an action with which I am intimately familiar. Every morning I convince myself that hitting "snooze" twice will be okay. And every morning, I can remember hitting the "snooze" twice, but I can't remember the other time or 2 that I hit it after that. But somehow it gets hit (maybe it's a "Snooze elf"?). Or maybe I somehow rationalize to myself that I have to wait to get up until the mouse gets out of its cage and pushes the alarm button... Either way, mornings are not my "cup o' tea."

In the good news category, I get to sleep in on Friday because the University gives its staff members a day's worth of hours to take off for their birthday. So yay! Turning 27 is really paying off :). Alas, that means that you will have to endure an extra day of no blog posts from me (hey, stop cheering...). Oh, also in good news, it seems Elka is up for an adventure when I go, and we are going to try to hit 3 big cities: Philly, D.C., AND New York. So, more than likely, the Nilla is going to Washington... and the Big Apple. And fair warning, I will be armed with my camera when I go, so please prepare yourselves properly for the flood of pictures that will surely follow :).

It's My [Birthday] and I'll Cry if I Want to!

Well, because the song is well-known (at least it is to me), I assume most of you who read my blog know the tune... All the "boomers" should, and all their kids should... So that takes care of the vast majority (if not all) of my blog-viewers. But, since it's always exciting to hunt stuff down on youtube, and I was successful... To hear the song from which I adapted THOSE lyrics, click here :).

I'm 27 people. Okay, so no, not ancient or anything. I just cannot fathom how I possibly came to be 27. How in this world did I end up this close to 30? I emailed my friend Donna yesterday and mentioned that I can't believe I'm turning 27 today, that it's "kinda sad." She wrote me back and said, "I wish I was turning 27 tomorrow!" Haha... I'm really not depressed about turning 27 (at least not too much :)). I just really cannot explain how the last 10 years passed so quickly. Here's the danger: when I was 17, I could not remember much (if anything) about being 7 - the previous decade. That is no longer true about the past 10 years. I can REMEMBER, quite vividly, I might add, a lot of things about being 17. That's when it's scary.... when you can remember 10 years ago. Which gives me a whole new ponderous thought about why "older" people are always depicted saying, "When I was your age..." They are probably blown away by the fact that they are remembering 30, 40, and even 50 years ago and they can STILL remember the DETAILS... (Sadly, I have uttered the words "when I was their age..." and I am referring to 18 year olds... This would be a bad reason to be on a college campus: it makes you reflect on when you were 'that' age). Anyway (sorry, tangent), I think Julie made the comment when she was around 25 or so that "Okay, I'm ready to stop now." So, I'm going to throw my vote into the ring with hers and say, "Okay, I'm ready to stop now." I'm thinking (since Julie is about to be 29) that it doesn't really matter how many votes we throw into that ring... Something tells me no one is counting them anyway... I will have it be noted, however, that I just want to STOP the ride. I don't actually want to GET OFF of the ride :). We've all heard of the roller-coaster that just stops and hangs out there for a while... That's what I'm talking about :) (although I wonder if there is something to the fact that all the passengers stuck on the 'track' tend to get highly annoyed...) Who knew turning 27 could be such a thought-inducing moment :)?

Okay, here's another thing to make you chuckle about me getting "old." This came up in an email conversation I had with my friend Stacy yesterday. Stacy is 22 (I think), but she looks very young. So I was commenting that she probably gets a lot of those "oh, you're so young and pregnant" looks. (She's about to have a baby). She replied that she did, and that she tries to flash her wedding rings whenever she gets those looks. But, she said, "then I get the look that says 'you're so young AND pregnant AND married.' But everyone tells me it will pay off one day." I couldn't help but laugh when I read that, but I assured her that looking young will pay off one day. And so I had to share this story with her (and now with all of you). About a year and a half ago, I was at the Dothan municipal building when Christina and Nick were getting married. Desiree was about 1 and she was walking all over the place. So I was following her around, trying to keep an eye on her. So one of the ladies that works there said, "Oh, are you the grandma?" Okay, talk about an ego-bust. I was crushed. I'm ONLY 4 years older than Christina. Can I possibly look like a grandma? And that was a year and half ago, and my head has since multiplied exponentially the number of gray hairs upon it, so how "grandmotherly" do I look now??? So, now you know.... I have been mistaken for a grandma. Perhaps this is something I need to include in my "Nilla trivia." Anyway, Stacy wrote me back and assured me that I was not in any way looking "grandmotherly." But it is a story to be remembered and one I thought I would share with you to give you a chuckle. And don't tell me you didn't chuckle... I know better ;).

Although it's still early, so nothing exciting has happened, here is a brief rundown of things I thought I would tell you today:

1. I love my online class, because I get a lot done. Last night, during class, I worked a little on my next term paper, chatted with April (and laughed), and looked up the tourist sights in Philly, D.C., and New York City (I'm preparing for my exciting trip in December...)
2. After school, I got home, got a shower, made hot chocolate and drank it while reliving my childhood by watching "Denver the Last Dinosaur" (I bought a VHS tape with two episodes on it from Movie Gallery years back) -- I never knew the cartoon was so incredibly CORNY.
3. Heath called me at 11:57 p.m. to ask me an English question for his presentation... I'm sure I gave him some lucid and genius response, being that I had been asleep and I had to wake up enough to get the headpiece into my ear (remember, my phone is on its last leg, so I have to do this), and then he wanted me to THINK!!! Okay, I'm thinking this was a ploy, because he waited until 12:01 to tell me it was officially my birthday and Happy Birthday -- I must be getting "old" because it hadn't even occurred to me that he might be calling about my birthday... in fact, I'd forgotten all about it.
4. I decided to celebrate my birthday by sleeping in (oops) and woke up at 6:40 (I should leave by 6:45 for work). But I had warm hot chocolate leftover from last night on the way to work.
5. I'm such an important and integral part of the workings of this department at work that the whole floor is celebrating my birthday!!! (Okay, this is not true... we are having a 'student appreciation' party... but I can claim it :)).

And lastly, I want to honor the people who brought me into this world on this day back in 1980. (11:40 p.m., to be exact... "I just didn't want to be a witch" according to the delivery nurse). I love my parents SOOOO much. And I have included a poem I wrote in Creative Writing about my mom. It was an assignment I had, and probably the first poem I ever wrote that did not rhyme, but it turned out to be one of my favorite things I've ever written. I love you Mom and Dad. You are such wonderful parents. And these are my parents: (One is of me and my dad, the other is my mom with her four children).

A Different View

A lifetime ago she annoyed me:
A sing-song voice singing,
“It’s time to get up in the morning!”
A drill sergeant:
“Hila, your dish-night.”
A nag:
“Go clean your room; no MTV.”
A lifetime since she’s become my advisor,
My pillow for crying, my cooking instructor.
A lifetime ago, I was wrong.

Can't Wait

Okay, I was going to wait until tomorrow to post this, but I just can't. I'm too excited!!! The plans have been finalized, the ticket's been bought... I'm going to visit my cousin for a few days in December! I'll fly out of Birmingham (by the way, Elka, did you know they have a Birmingham in Britain/England???) and fly into Philadelphia. I am soooo psyched :). I've never been the Northeast. So, now I will officially be able to try the Wawa that Elka is so gaga over and we're talking about going to New York or D.C. I'll get to see my Aunt Hila too! I'm so excited, I can hardly contain myself!!! And thank you thank you thank you to my friend April who is going to take me to the airport so I don't have to pay an exorbitant parking fee (I think I spelled that right...) - yes, I did. I couldn't handle the "unsureness" of it, so I had to look it up.

[I'm] a [Carb]-Eater!

(Please sing the title of this blog to the 80's tune "Maneater." If you need help with the tune, please click the link :) ). "Ooo here she comes, watch out [bread], she'll chew you up." Oh, and the [brackets] are because I took liberties with the lyrics. I'm a die-hard English person I guess... Either that, or I'm just neurotic. You choose :).

I came up with a great idea (okay, so I think it's great, at any rate) over the weekend: adapt song titles for my blog posts. I might not be able to do this every time, but I'll make the effort... And, where possible, I will do my best to offer you help with the tune, just in case you don't know it already :).

I had a good weekend. It wasn't quite long enough (but is it ever?), but it was good. My friend Virginia and I went to the Birmingham Temple, and then we went to the Cheesecake Factory. Oh, that place is sooo delicious. What I ate there:

• cajun chicken littles (breaded chicken fingers) - carbs
• mac and cheese - carbs
• mashed potatoes - carbs
• two types of fresh bread they bring to the table at the beginning of the meal - carbs
• cheesecake (Adam's peanut butter cup fudge ripple -- can you say heaven?) - there were probably carbs somewhere in this too)

Oh, Virginia and I split the meal, and I still took some home (enough for another meal). So that's good at least. Anyway, then I had a bridal shower to go to (I was pretty full when I left the Cheesecake Factory, but I figured maybe the food would settle and digest a little before the shower). So, at the shower, I ate:

• raw veggies and dip
• a sausage ball
• a chicken salad sandwich - carbs
• a chocolate covered strawberry (does this count as a fruit???)
• cheeseball and crackers - carbs
• a piece of cake - carbs
• a grilled chicken tenderloin

After the shower, I went home and got comfy and finished writing my first (of three) term papers. Yay for me!!! I ate cereal at 9 because I was feeling munchy and I also needed to use up the milk (still have some left that I need to use up today) - carbs.

Sunday I went to church and then went home and ate lunch... leftover Velveeta Shells and Cheese - carbs. Then I went over to my friend Jeni's house because she and I went Visiting Teaching (this is a church thing where a pair of women in the congregation are paired up to visit 3 or four other women in the congregation and share a spiritual message and visit and check on them each month, make sure they are doing well, see if they need anything, etc). Jeni always does cute things and this month she bought these cute little pumpkin containers at the dollar store and she filled them with candy. She always does one for me too. She's really sweet. Anyway, so we went out to visit one of our sisters (Debbie) and she was baking cornbread. So, we each got a piece of cornbread, right out of the oven - carbs. But it was so warm and good :). Then I got home and finished up my crock-pot chicken and biscuits and after a shower, I ate that - carbs. So now you know... But I've never tried to hide or deny the fact that I could seriously live on bread and cheese. Ah, and I should also mention that my roommate baked two loaves of bread on Friday and I have eaten some of that too - carbs. :) :) :). Just thought I'd share :).

So, today I am at work. The weather was beautiful and balmy this weekend. This morning, however, it was FREEZING. I could see my breath (have I mentioned that this is how I determine that it is cold?). I was able to register for 2 of my 3 classes for Spring. Have to wait on the third because it's an online class and they make the on-campus students wait longer so the distance education people can get into the online classes first. Hopefully I'll make it into the class I want!!!

Oh! Christina sent me some pictures of Desiree. Oh, she's such a munchkin. And I'll post one on here for everyone. Okay, maybe two. I'd do more, but I won't inundate you all with pictures. I'll hold myself back :).

With a Little Help from My Friends

It is truly amazing... I have been blessed with an abundance of truly wonderful friends (some who are also family-members) in my life. I don't make friendships with just anyone I happen to meet (acquaintances, yes... friends, no). But those friendships that I do form generally last. And I have been blessed so richly with great friends. People who care about me, and don't just say it, but actually mean it. Friends who have supported me when I needed it. Friends who have cautioned me when I needed it. Friends who have made me laugh when I needed it. And friends who tried not to cry right along with me when I needed someone strong. And friends to help get me through the little pinches of life :).

So, Tuesday night I left work (and with the dreary days we've had, -oh, we're on day 5 now- I was driving around with my headlights on), and noticed in the car in front of me's reflection that my driver's side headlight was out. GREAT. It's always something ;). So, I finally went and bought a bulb yesterday and thought they would install it for me at AutoZone. No such luck. So, I tried it myself when I got home. If someone had been watching me, they were probably getting a huge chuckle at my expense, because I had my tools out and was ready to take something apart... I mean, hey, I've just moved and learned how to take all sorts of things apart... it just seemed par for the course, since this is, after all, another piece of "man's work" :). Anyway, I couldn't even figure out how to take anything apart to get the headlight out (which seemed like the logical thing that needed to happen, at least from my standpoint). So, I called my friend Virginia from church. She's an engineering professor here at the university. Anyway, she called me back (I'd left a message asking her if she knew of a place I could take my car where they would install my headlight bulb) and said, "why don't I come and look at it, I've done it before." So she came over and we spent the next 20 minutes in the cold trying to figure it out... Okay, so I shouldn't use the word "we" since she did all the work :). But she was successful, and I learned how it was done (by the way, the only tool she used were her hands). Yeah, I'm a genius :). But how awesome of her to just drive over and do it for me and save me the money. Anyway, repayment (not that it was necessary) was home-made hot chocolate with almond extract... YUM. I love hot chocolate in cold weather.

Not Feeling it Today...

Well guys, I'm really not feeling the blog post today. Perhaps it's 4 days of no sunshine, or maybe it's hormones, maybe it's something else... Or maybe it's all of the above. But I thought I would give you a quick update on Strive for Five. My team was missing a member again (a different one this time), so we didn't get our "official" weight. But as for weighing individually, I gained .8 pounds, which probably coincides with my "over-fat" result from the body fat test at the health fair yesterday. Gotta love it: overfat, not overweight. I'm thinking overfat is worse than overweight. Even if the implication is the same. I'm not stressing over it, though. I'm just crossing my fingers that it's fluid-weight (although that still doesn't solve the overfat issue) :).

The Crimson Ride of My Life

Well, I'd about given up on being able to tell you anything interesting (being that my days usuall aren't). I'm so glad I held off on my blog post for the day, this way I can tell you about the Crimson Ride of my life.

The University had a health fair for the faculty and staff today. It started at 8:30 this morning, but because I had class at 9, I didn't think I would end up going. Mostly because I do not like to do things of this nature alone, and I knew my friend and co-worker Annie was going in the morning. Well, at this health fair, they were giving away free flu shots, free vision tests (by Wal-Mart), free glucose tests, free hearing tests, and a panoply of other free stuff. After my class, I talked to Annie to see how she fared, and man, she racked up. So, I decided that I would go too. I mean, they gave us 2 hours of work time which we could use solely for the purpose of going to the health fair. So, why not?

Well, this year, the University went from a driving campus to a "walking campus." What that means is that they implemented a whole transit system for the University. This also meant that they removed about 60% of the faculty/staff parking outside of the building in which I work. Which is why I now come in at 7 a.m.... to ensure I get a parking place. But, once again, I digress... So, part of this adventure of going to the health fair was figuring out the transit system. Because there is no one bus that goes directly from my building to the location of the health fair (which was not in "friendly walking distance," even in the best of conditions, much less in 50 degree weather -- yes, it finally got cold in Alabama). So, I learn from Annie, that I shold take the Gold Bus and that will take me to the parking deck. Then from there, I take the Blue 1 Bus. Well, I went outside of my building and waited for 10 minutes for a Gold Bus. It did not occur to me that maybe Gold 1 wasn't the fastest bus. So, I just got on, because I'd been standing in the cold for 10 minutes. And what ensued is what I will forever dub "The Crimson Ride of My Life." Okay, I think this bus driver was on something. First of all, he pulled up next to another bus and spent about a minute talking to that bus driver. Then he pulled off and I swear I've never heard a bus pushed to those limits, speed-wise. I mean, he wasn't FLYING, or anything, but I could definitely tell that the bus was being accelerated faster than it had time to respond. Although he was not going super-fast, we must remember that this is a huge bus and we are talking about a huge University campus. So, anything over say, 25 mph is going to be significant. I think there were a couple times when I saw the speedometer hit 40. Which was quite a feat, considering all the stops and turns he had to make. This was not a smooth ride, as he would accelerate continuously until the stop sign, and then slam on the brakes. I held onto the bar next to my seat the entire time. Oh, and to give you an idea of how fast he was going, we ended up down by one of the dorms and sat there for 5 minutes (no joke) because he was "ahead of schedule." Gee, I wonder why. Although slightly scared for my life, I was laughing the whole way, because all I could think about was the blog post I would write as the result of it :). So, I finally make it to the parking deck where I need to catch the Blue Bus. This entire transaction (from the time I left my desk until I get to the parking deck) has seriously taken me no less than 30 minutes. And for the record, I could have walked to the parking deck in about 5. Lesson learned (in fact, I did not wait for a bus from the parking deck to my building on the return trip, but instead decided to hoof it -- good thing, too, because the Gold Bus that showed up at the parking deck that I would have taken was being driven by this same driver). Anyway, the trip to the health fair from the parking deck was not nearly as exciting or "blog-worthy."

The health fair was neat. Sadly, a lot of the booths were closing up by the time I got there, but I was still able to have the following tests:

• Hearing test (I passed)
• Blood pressure test (117/72 -- she said was very good)
• Glucose test (92, not fasting -- she said this was awesome, because the general rule is to have a blood sugar level between 60 and 110 FASTING)
• Body fat percentage (bad... I will not share, but I will say that I would be much closer to being "healthy" if I was between the ages of 60 and 79) -- oh, this might have helped inspire me to walk back to my building from the parking deck :).

They had a free cholesterol test too, but they were actually drawing blood for that one, so I passed. I figured I showed enough bravery and courage by allowing them to pop my finger and draw blood for the glucose test :).

For free, I got:

• toothbrush, floss, and plastic toothpick things, and toothpaste
• contact solution
• a coupon for a free Chick-fil-A ice dream (we had to spin a wheel and see where it landed... they had free sandwich coupons on there, but I landed on the ice cream)
• half of an Arby's roast beef sandwich

When I got back to my floor, I went in to talk to Annie. I told her about how I ended up riding the Gold Bus all over campus (practically). She said hers went the same route, the only problem she had was that she figured her bus driver was crazy. Hahaha.... Turns out it was the same bus I had gotten on, and so therefore, the same driver. See, it wasn't "just my imagination (once again)... running away with me" :).

A Bucket of Money and a Week of Saturdays

I would sure love a bucket of money (preferably large bills) and a week of Saturdays. Anyone doling those out? If not, do you know anyone who is???

Just thought I'd check...

The past two days have been very rainy and dreary. The kind of days that are meant to be spent curled up under the comforter watching a good movie or reading a good book. Alas, I am doing neither and am instead at work.

Okay, I love technology sometimes. I have spent the last several months trying to convince Christina to email me some pictures of Desiree. She's really great at sending me pix messages on my cell phone, but she never gets around to sending me any through email. I've had to limit her in how many she can send, though, because it costs me money. And hey, as I've stated numerous times before, I live on the cheap. Anyway, my phone is on its last leg (literally). I have to always use the hands-free device to talk, because one of the hinges broke on the flip part of my phone. So I can't hold it to my ear and talk without the phone breaking apart. I thought I was going to be able to get a free new phone by signing up with Verizon for another 2 years, but it turns out I have to wait until November 25 (unless I want to pay money for it, which I do not). So, that's really just around the corner, and I think I can wait it out. But in the meantime, I have wondered about how I would get the pictures off of my phone. I have pictures of Desiree from when she was 3 months old, and I don't want to lose them. Anyway, Heath suggested I email them to myself. Well, this was a totally new concept to me - one I'd never even considered. So, I just sat down and tried it, and IT WORKED!!! So add that to the list of things Hila can do... I can email myself pictures from my phone... (Yes, this is a major accomplishment for me, as I am not prone to being tech-savvy).... I will never be able to "text-message" like these 18-year old Freshmen who text as fast as I type.... I have to sit and study the keypad on the phone to send anything, so it takes me forty forevers... Also, sadly, it costs me money to do this, so I will be selective in which pictures I keep...

So since I can't get Christina to email me a recent picture, here's two pictures of Desiree from my phone. The first one is from when she was 3 months old, and I took that picture. The second one is from about 2 weeks ago (she's 2 1/2) and she's all ready for winter... it's already cold in WA. Isn't she a doll?

Sisters...

Well, I did a "tribute" to my brother Brad, so I thought I would do a similar one for Christina. It is fun, after all, to focus solely on one person and tell stories about them ;). At least it is for me. Sadly, I don't have any young pictures of just me and Christina... Obviously I need to raid my parents' photo albums while I'm in Dothan for Thanksgiving and find some so that I do have them. But for now:Christina and I did not share the closeness that Brad and I shared until recently. We always got along, and we shared a room for many years. But Christina and I are like night and day, at least we used to be. But as we have both entered adulthood (whatever that is), we have gotten closer, about which I am very happy. We talk at least once a week, so that is always nice. If I had to describe Christina in a few words, they would include: strong, independent, loyal. For every ounce of strength and independence I did not get, Christina got them 10-fold. So, here I will tell you a few Christina stories:

The story goes (I was too young to remember exactly), that when my mom was expecting Christina, everyone was sure that she was a boy. I don't know if they had ultrasound technology available at the time, but if they did, it was not common practice to find out the gender of the baby. So everyone thought for sure that Christina would be a boy. Except me. I just knew I was going to have a baby sister. And I was right. Years later, when Christina and I would clash heads, I would think that, if only I'd have been convinced that she was a boy, she would have been. Haha. Yeah, I know it doesn't work that way. But in my younger years, I can remember having that thought. I guess I was awfully big-headed to think that my desire would determine the gender of the baby :)! I do have to say, though, that I'm glad Christina is Christina.
Christina was never shy, like I was. She was fearless (a trait that has been passed on to her daughter Desiree). One time, my mom took Christina to the swimming pool when Christina was about 4. My mom made the mistake of getting Christina dressed and ready to go first (after being done swimming). Christina decided she was not going to wait for my mom to get done dressing, and so Christina left the pool and started walking home. The good news is that she was headed in the right direction. The other good news is that one of the local maids saw her walking, recognized her, and stopped her until my mom could get there. My mom says Christina was just mad at the maid for not letting her continue her journey home. And knowing my sister, I don't doubt that in the least.Before Christina and I officially shared a room, there was about 1 sweet year in which I had my own room. However, I was a nice sister, and I would let Christina sleep with me most nights in my queen-size bed. Well, Christina was a "roller" and would always end up crowding me out. So I would wake up in the night and gently jostle her awake and ask her, nicely, to move back to "her side" of the bed. I, on the other hand, am a pretty still sleeper. And I mean that... I still sleep only on one half ("my" half) of my queen-size bed. Except one night I did happen to roll on "her side" of my bed. I only know this because I was awakened by an incredibly powerful punch to my delicate derriere and Christina's command, "Move over." Such love...Once we did start sharing a room officially (and still sharing a bed), we took care of each other. Sometimes Christina would wake up in the night and feel like she couldn't open her eyes (we are not sure if these were the beginnings of her vertigo attacks). She was afraid, and she would call out to me. And so I would wake up, calm her down enough, and then go get Mom. And there were nights when I would wake up with severely painful cramps in my calves. I have no idea what they were, but they were seriously excruciating. Christina would wake up and go get Mom, who would hold my foot pointed straight up until the pain alleviated and went away. I can remember when I first started dating Heath. Christina would do my make-up, because she was much better at it than I was. She would pluck my eyebrows for me (haha), and spend her time making me pretty for my date. I've never forgotten that she did that for me. Also, the only time I get her to read my blog is when I call her and make her read it while on the phone with me. She reads them out loud and laughs the whole way through, and so it's fun to laugh together over the phone about these stories. She's so fun. And she really does have a heart of gold. I love her and look forward to many more years of memories :).

Correction:

See, this is why it's good to tell old stories with one's siblings. Saturday night, while Christina was reading my blog posts over the phone, she came to the one called "Music and Cockroaches." She remembered details that I did not, but that I now remember. So, I should share them with you, because they are neat little details. Okay, it turns out that, yes, we wanted to eat the sugar to help us stay up later. It also turns out that most of us (well, make that all of us, except Brad) wanted to eat brown sugar. Only Brad wanted the white sugar. And that is where the roach was. So, Brad ended up dropping the white sugar bowl, which is why sugar went everywhere and the "cockroach fell out of the sugar." I don't know, I think that detail adds a little more humor to it. Good ol' Brad. Just had to have the white sugar... Oh, and this is a link to the song from which today's "Quote of the day" came. It's a neat little song: (Everybody's free) to wear sunscreen.

Work, Glorious Work

For those of you who do not know, I am a copy cataloger in a huge academic library. Not the most exciting of jobs, I can assure you. It's essentially data entry with a prettier title. But, the benefits are that my schedule is Monday through Friday with no nights or weekends. I also get a huge tuition break for working at the university. I also don't have to deal with the public (in this case, students), and sometimes that is a wonderful thing. And sometimes I wonder why in the world I plan to go into public libraries in my professional life, but to really delve into that question will require a serious head exam :). But I digress...

So, this is my cube (oh yeah, before this job, I had a beautiful office, which I didn't know to appreciate, because I'd never been in a cube before... I appreciate it now!!!):
And this is me in my cube:

So, to avoid going totally insane, we find things to make the day fun and interesting... My co-worker William, aka Skippy-John Jones (he sits in the cube across from me) likes to try to sneak up on me:

And so I respond by mooning him...











With the TROLL, people... With the TROLL.

Haha... Okay, I hope you're laughing. Seriously, we do have fun, even in a pretty "cold" environment where we are surrounded by cubes. And the troll and the "Skippy-John Jones" mask came from various ALA (American Library Association) conferences to which the faculty members go twice a year. They bring back the prizes and put them out on the table and they are "up for grabs." Why William wanted that mask is a question for the ages (and this answer, too, probably requires a serious head exam). But one day he got my attention so I'd look at him, and he was sitting there wearing the mask. And I have to say, I just busted out laughing. It was kinda freaky at first. So, I warned him that one day, I'd take a picture of him like that and then one day, he'd come across it on the Internet somewhere. And since I brought my camera to work the other day to pull some pictures off of it, I'm making good on that promise... But William's a good sport... He let me take the picture.

So, now you know the lengths to which we must go to have fun here among the cubes...

Oh, and I really do "moon" him with the troll.

A Heavy Tooth?

Well, either the crown that fell out yesterday was really heavy, or I lost 1.2 pounds this past week :). You be the judge:

I think I'll just assume it was true weight loss ;). We were missing a member of our team today, but I'm pretty sure we still lost a little weight as a team. I lost 1.2 pounds by myself, so that was exciting :). Still hoping to keep up the weight loss. It is weird... I was looking through a box full of old stuff a few days ago and came across this little notebook from my junior year in high school in which I was recording my daily food intake (I guess it was a food journal), fat grams intake, and my weight each week. I am currently about 3 pounds heavier than I was in 11th grade. Apparently I was a chunky teenager... Not that I didn't know that then... Which was why I was dieting. I guess the good news is that I have managed to maintain (somewhat) that weight. However, it should be noted that 2 1/2 years ago, I was 30 pounds heavier than I am today. Yikes. I have recently looked at pictures of myself when I was that heavy and I don't even look like the same person! Weird.

I now have the requisite number of molars back in my head :). That was pretty quick and painless. The dentist commented that the tooth had probably been loose for a while and the starburst was just the final straw. So, they cleaned it up all pretty and cemented it up and glommed it back on into my mouth. Of course, then they floss around it to get all the excess cement off, and all I could think while I was sitting there was, "This thing's going to fly right back off." It didn't though, so that's great. It just always feels that way. It's truly amazing what modern technology and stuff can do :). However, despite the ease with which the crown was replaced, I still have sworn off chewey candy. Here's a list (off the top of my head) of what I will be (depressingly) giving up:

• Starbursts (and probably Skittles too)
• taffy (saltwater, laffy, etc)
• hard caramel (this would include such candies as Milk Duds)
• Bit O Honey (not that I eat this much, but every once in a while...)
• Tootsie rolls (including the fruit flavored ones :( )

Yes, yes, probably better for me in the long run. And it's not like I actually go out and buy tons of these candies. In fact, I rarely, if ever, have them in my house. But you know how it goes... Once you can't have them, they are all you really want.

Before returning to work, I went home and ate lunch and decided to throw a load of clothes into the washer. Ah, I am basking in the sound of that sentence. Why, you ask? Because I haven't actually been able to say that sentence in a year, and have instead had to go to the laundromat. How wonderful to have a washer and dryer in the apartment once again :). Just another one of those things that I can appreciate now that I know what it's like to be without them. Ah, the simple pleasures of adulthood!!

Done in by a Starburst

Well, for someone who once said that my life isn't particularly prone to major changes and events, I have certainly had a tumultuous month!!

So, one of the ladies here at work brought a bunch of Halloween candy up here. Some of which were Starbursts. So I decided to have a couple of them... I love chewey candy. So, I'm sitting here, chewing on my strawberry starburst when I feel something weird. And I have the distinct impression that something has come undone in my mouth. So I move my tongue over to the teeth which I had been using to chew the starburst. And sure enough, my crown on my right molar is missing. Ah!!! So I spit the whole wad of strawberry starburst into my hand and find my crown sitting there among the candy. At least I didn't bite down on it!!

Now, when I went to the dentist in July, I told the dental hygienist that I was concerned that that crown was coming away from the gums. She said that, no, the dark I was seeing was some kind of metal that they have layered under the white part of the crown. So, I was good with that explanation. Apparently my tooth wasn't. So, looks like I'll be going to the dentist tomorrow. They fit me in at 11. How crazy. I guess I will have to give up chewey candy. Which is a tragedy for me. But I would rather not chance this again. The good news is that the receptionist lady said this should not be charged to me or my insurance, because I'm not having a new crown, just having them replace the old one, which shouldn't take long. Here's to hoping. Just thought I'd share this episode :).

Oh, coincidentally, this is not the only time I've witnessed (or experienced) a starburst being someone's demise... When I was a sophomore in high school, I sat the lunch table with a bunch of guys. One day, Clark had tropical starbursts, and he didn't like the green ones, so he was giving one to everyone at the table. He had an extra and asked if anyone wanted it. So this kid Nathan says he wants it. Clark throws it down the table to Nathan, but Nathan's friend Bob caught it and started laughing. Well apparently this was a huge deal to Nathan (he really wanted that Starburst), because he punched Bob in the eye. Bob was like, "I was just kidding man..." and gave the Starburst back. Everyone at the table just kind had that gaping look of shock and awe on their faces. I finally spoke up and said something, and because one of the lunch monitors had seen the exchange, both Bob and Nathan had to go to the office. But seriously... over a green starburst... You can ask Brad. He was there too.

...and I went laughing, all the way to Institute

Moving Day pictures

Just a couple of pictures of my apartment on moving day:

My (old) bedroom and living room.

Wal-Mart...always

Okay, so Wal-Mart...always... takes forever. I had given brief consideration to taking my photo disk in to get some more pictures copied (the 10 I tried to get last time didn't end up printing, which I found out only AFTER I killed an hour in the store trying to kill time and wait for them). But I figured there was no way I was going to spend an hour in Wal-Mart last night since I had Institute and wanted to have time to get home, unload groceries, and relax a little before class. But, inevitably, Wal-Mart took longer than anticipated. So I could have gotten those pictures developed after all. Oh well, I guess I will just wait until next payday.

Breaking the "Nilla Mold", and why I don't attempt it often

Okay, so while at said Wal-Mart, I thought, "wouldn't it be nice to make my bedroom smell nice and welcoming?" Stefanie has these nice smelling plug-ins throughout the apartment, so I thought I would try to pick one that would make my room smell nice too. Oh the choices on the crazy air freshener aisle. Being frugal, I took my time comparing prices and all that (some of these things were in neighborhood of $10, and I'm sorry, I'm just not going to pay that much for a little thing that makes my room smell good). I finally settle on AirWick scented oil. So, now to choose the oil. They had vanilla. And I was oh, so tempted. But I decided to break the "Nilla Mold" and go for something flowery. There was no way to smell these, so I had to go on name alone. So I thought, "Well, this purple lavender (and something) will probably be mild." So I bought it. Ugh. That thing stinks. (Not as bad as 'ew, stank') And it's strong. Well, I have plugged it in anyway, and will see if it is overpowering when I walk in my room tonight. I might just have to throw the oil away and try a new one (probably vanilla this time). I just hate to have wasted the money. And that is why I rarely attempt to break the "Nilla Mold." It usually doesn't end well :). That's why I like to "go with what I know." (And that would be vaNILLA, by the way).

...Priceless

One pink pair of size 9 Jelly Shoes....................... 13 dollars

Cost to "ghetto-wrap" them.................................. zero dollars

Postage to send them.............................................. 6 dollars

A cousin who saw them and thought of me.......... PRICELESS

Yes, those are jelly shoes on MY feet. So my cousin told me she'd sent me something I could consider a "housewarming" gift. As I began to open them last night, my first thought (when I got them unwrapped enough from the "ghetto-wrapping" -- her phrase, not mine --to tell that they were shoes) was, 'did she get me shower shoes because she knows I'm going to have a roommate and so thinks I'm going to have to share a shower??' But as I continued to unwrap, it suddenly dawned on me. These were jelly shoes. Oh me, oh my. You know I had to try them on. And they are a perfect fit. While I didn't wear them to Institute, I sure did go laughing all the way there. Kristin- this means we can both wear jelly shoes on our 80's day!!! So, thanks Elka!!! Seriously can't stop smiling. (oh, and after Institute, I put them on to take pictures and I walked around in them.... squish, squeesh, squeesh). So hilarious. How in this world did plastic shoes become so popular??? Only in the 80's... Oh, and while these heels don't have the customary wavy lines that are a trap for huge rocks that will forever remain wedged in the heel, they do have gaps that will probably do the same job :). I included a picture of the bottom, just so you could see :). Gotta love a cousin who'gets' your sense of humor :). Loveya Elka!!!

What's in a Name?

I have several friends and/or family members who are currently pregnant. So, the subject of naming a baby has swirled around me for about a month now. The comments my Aunt Hila made to me yesterday got me thinking about my name. Many years ago (in 1998 or 1999), I typed my name into a search engine and came up with this really neat website that would tell you the personality traits associated with a specific name. It was actually quite neat, and I printed a copy of it and kept it. I am sure it is now "floating" around somewhere in one of my many boxes simply labeled "memorabilia." I have tried searching Google, to see if I can find that website again, but have been unsuccessful. There are lots of results for the name Hila, though. I think the Internet is just so vast and huge, it will be hard to find that specific site again without more information. It would probably be easier for me to find my printed copy among my "memorabilia" boxes. Which will not be an easy feat, either... Maybe I'll feel like doing it, but I doubt it. I'm trying NOT to unpack more boxes. At any rate, as I started looking for this site, I did find a lot of things pertaining to my name. Other than being the plural form of some medical term (Hilum), the name is Hebrew and it means praise, crown, aura, halo, and radiance. Most commonly, the meaning of the name was "praise." However, I saw enough of the other definitions to include them. It was neat, because I'd never heard the others before. I got a magnet from a neighborhood friend when I was a kid (I still have it) and it had my name and its definition printed on it. So, from a very young age, I have been able to tell people who asked me that my name is Hebrew and it means praise. Also something I found interesting is that many of the sites I saw this morning indicate the name Hila is related to the Jewish word Hillel, which means praise. What I found interesting about it was that the new Hillel House for the University is what is going to replace my old apartment complex.

At any rate, I asked my mom last night why she named me Hila. Because she has told me numerous times that she really thought about naming me Desiree, because there had been 9 years between her first child (Ben) and her second (myself) and she had so desperately desired another baby. And yet she named me Hila. I asked her why. I asked her why she didn't name me something else and maybe wait for her next daughter that she could name Hila. She gave me the response that I was just a Hila. When she saw me, she knew that I was a Hila. She said, "Christina can't be a Hila." Which is true. Just like my Aunt Nene couldn't be a Hila in the generation before mine. But how does a parent know that when they are looking at their newborn child and deciding on a name? How much of that child's personality at that point is able to "point to" the "correct" name for that child? Anyway, just deep and ponderous musings from the Nilla :).

You want another one? Ever noticed how traffic rules are so ingrained into our minds as adults that we obey them, even when we're not driving? Example: down which side of the aisle do you push your cart in the grocery store? Me, I always stay to the right :). Like driving.

Busy Weekend

Well, it was moving-day weekend. It's over. Now I just have to turn in my keys and it will all be official. The move went pretty smoothly. Now to get organized. Of course, it is always an adjustment to sleep in a new place. So, despite being seriously exhausted, I still have not gotten much sleep. Oh, and I also have to figure out how early I need to leave for work. I left the apartment at about 6:35 or 6:40 this morning, and I got to work in like 5 minutes. And, if you'll recall, we are not allowed into the building until right at 7, so that meant a lot of waiting. What I heard while waiting: Paula Abdul's "Straight Up" on my car's MP3 player. I heard something else too, but I don't remember what it was... Oh yeah, Madonna's "I'll Remember."

Oh, new things to add to my list of "Things that make me a strong woman": I now know how to take apart and put together my bed. This is actually harder than it looks. It gave me a whole new appreciation for men :). And moving big queen size mattresses definitely is easier with two people. Mine almost flattened me on Friday when I took the bed apart. Oh, and the lesson I learned when I put the bed together: put the bed frame together first in its entirety and then attach it to the headboard. Don't attach the two long pieces of the frame to the headboard first and then try to link those two together. Chances are you will not have judged the distances correctly. So, just put the whole frame together first. Take it from me :).

Also, I told Kristin I would post about this dream, because I didn't remember to on Friday. This will just give you an example of how strange my dreams really are, and I seriously have NO IDEA from whence they come (to wax poetic for you) :). Okay, I'll call this the gorrilla dream. So in this dream, I was training a gorrilla in the SNOW. Only this snowy field was somehow in someone's house. And when I heard the owner of the house coming toward where we were, I told the gorrilla to hide. The signal for hide was apparently me putting my hands over my eyes. I guess that makes sense in a very Nilla way, but it's still weird, even by my standards :). Anyway, that was all of my dream. I have no idea, so don't ask...

The Hand of the Lord

At Conference last weekend, President Eyring counseled us to, at the end of each day, think back upon the day and ask ourselves two questions: have I seen the hand of the Lord in my life today? and has the Lord sent a message meant for me today? He also suggested that we write the answers to these questions down in a journal, but even if we don't, to try to find some way to remember them. Because as we do, we will see the hand of the Lord in our lives more clearly and more easily as the days continue.

What he said really struck me. What also struck me was his statement that oftentimes it is those who have been the most abundantly blessed who have the hardest time remembering the Lord. Although I have definitely seen, in the past year, the hand of the Lord in my life, it has always been the big things. Like the way things lined up for me to move here and get my Master's degree at such a low cost to me; like the way this apartment situation fell into place with hardly any effort. But I often overlook the small things. I don't know who said it, but I know I've heard it... That often, the Lord blesses us through other people. And sometimes those are the things we don't realize are really the Lord's blessings.

So, for the past two days I have really pondered these questions before bed. And I have been surprised at the answers. Sometimes it's easy for us to think, "Oh, that's just coincidence," or even to think nothing of something, when really it is a blessing from our loving Heavenly Father. My two examples come from this whole moving experience. Originally, I thought someone was going to be able to help who had a truck. However, it turned out that he plays on a University sports team, and they have a game on Saturday. So I was without a truck and didn't know what to do. It felt like "just one more thing" added to my plate that I couldn't handle. But I contacted another church friend to ask her if she knew anyone who might have a truck I could borrow (after looking into UHaul and Budget Trucks). She immediately began the search (not just giving me names, but actually calling around herself), and she was successful. She did not have to step in and help in the way she did. But she did so, without even being asked. And the sweet older couple (who are having very hard times themselves... the husband is having chemo again, and I know they worry that saying goodbye to their son last month when he left for his mission to New York might have been the last time the father will see his son in this life)... the sweet older couple don't really know me (this is a huge Ward), but they are willing to lend their truck and just trust that it will be taken care of and returned. These are blessings from the Lord. He has just used people to provide those blessings to me.

I am ashamed to admit that, in the moment, it's always easy for me to lose faith and give up. But I am amazed at the evidence I have seen in my life that Heavenly Father knows me, He literally knows my name, and He loves me. I have also learned, due to many experiences with it, that when Heavenly Father leads you down a path, He will not drop you halfway and walk away. He will provide the way for you to get through the whole thing. Sometimes we have to be patient (which I am bad at doing) and sometimes we have to make some effort; but He will always provide a way, always. How awesome is that? Can there be a better knowledge than those things?

Weigh Day

Hello everyone! I didn't feel like I really had much to say yesterday, so I didn't write. Basically, Tuesday night I went to Institute. And yesterday I came to work and had two classes. So seriously, nothing "to write home about." Oh, I have steadily continued to pack up. I only have a few things left to pack in the kitchen (mostly the things I still need to use so I can actually LIVE there until I don't anymore).

Today was weigh-in day. I only lost .2 pounds, but at least it wasn't any gained! I haven't done a good job of walking to work this week. I just haven't been able to drag myself out of bed in time to walk. But it turns out that the apartment to which I am moving has a fitness center, so hopefully I will make good use of it. Anyway, my team lost the same amount (the .2 ounces). We now weigh in at 432.8. I doubt we'll lose the 10 pounds we set as a team to lose, but at least we will have lost something!!! Oh, and they took a picture of the three of us on the scale. They will give it to us at the end, and I will post it so you can see my team.

Okay, so I'll just write a story. And actually, I thought of it when I wrote the last post (I am woman), because those are words to a song by Helen Reddy. My mom has her CD. I can picture it now. Anyway, she listened to it enough so that I know most of the lyrics to "I Am Woman." Well, back in the days of Nintendo (the original), Brad and I used to play Battletoads. There was this one part of the game where you go down the "Wookie Hole" and your toad is hanging from a "rope" and has to kill all the crows as he falls. Well, so Brad's would be dropping on one side of the screen, and mine would be on the other side. It was possible to kill each other, even though that wasn't the goal. But one time Brad did it by accident to me (killed my toad), and so from then on, we would kill each other's toad, just to do it. Oh, and in other parts of the game, you could punch each other too. So anyway, at one point, I decided to kill Brad's toad, and I did it as I sang the words: "I am woman, see me grow, see me standing toe to toe!" I don't know why I sang those words (kind of an 'oh yeah, well take that... your lame SISTER just killed you!'). But it cracked Brad up. And so it became something I did often. Okay, I really was lame. But it made us laugh then, and it makes me laugh when I remember it now :).

I AM WOMAN!

...Hear me ROAR.

Aside from the many brain-slips I keep having (it's as though I can no longer spell... Although I quickly corrected, I just finished spelling "hear" like this: heare. And that was after I had originally started spelling it: here), I am a strong and independent woman. Okay, so maybe only somewhat independent :). More than I used to be, though.

Since moving here and living on my own, I have learned to:

• Drive the Interstate like a pro (I have to drive on 3 of them just to get back to Dothan)
• Budget money and learn how to live on the cheap (and I do it quite well, I might add) (oh, and I was not wasteful with money before, but living on one income takes effort)
• Be fearless and live alone (which entails killing any yucky bugs that might come, uninvited, into my home)
• Take apart things with the tools my dad told me I needed to have (and he was right)

There are probably others, but those will suffice for now. Last night I took apart the ginormous computer desk that I have (which my dad put together for me when I moved in). I was talking to my dad while I was doing this and made the comment several times, "This is man's work." And I still agree with that. However, I have conquered it :). There are just some things men should do so that women don't have to waste their time with it. So how about that???

So let me tell you a story about having to be fearless as I lived alone. And go ahead and laugh. I do now too. But I was TERRIFIED at the time.

About a month after I'd moved into my apartment, (this would have been the first week or so in December), I was sitting home at about 9:30 at night, watching Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Which I have since learned to NOT watch while I live alone. So all of a sudden, I hear the outer door to my apartment building open and close. I assume it's one of my neighbors. But then I hear a knock on my door. Not just a regular knock, but that "thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk, thunk-thunk (like a playful type of knock -- too bad I can't verbally explain this so it makes sense). Immediately my heart starts pounding. I mean, it's 9:30 at night and I'm not expecting anyone. This was seriously my worst nightmare. I had already pondered what I would do if this scenario occurred. But until you are actually faced with it, you just don't know. So I walk quickly, but quietly, over to the door and look out the peep hole. The "hallway" is lit there, so I can see clearly. There is NO ONE there. So, that's not a good sign. So I walk back to the couch and get my cell phone to dial in the campus police phone number. Not that I plan on calling them, but just to have it already in there so that if I need to, all I have to do is press "SEND." While I'm doing this, the knock comes again. I turn off the TV and walk again, very quietly, to the door and look out the peep hole. Again, I see no one, but I notice the outside door swinging back shut. I'm telling you, my heart was pounding so hard, so fast, and so LOUDLY that, if I didn't have muscles, bones, and skin holding it in place, it would have jumped out of my chest and onto the floor. All I could hear was my heart pounding in my ears. So at this point, I'm freaked out. Okay, I'm logical. I know the likelihood that it's something menacing is slim to none. Nonetheless, I've only been living here for a month and it takes a while to really get to know your surroundings. I have it narrowed down to three possibilities:

1. It's people from church doing a 'ding and ditch' and they have left something outside my door (this is a practice I know is popular among the crazy Mormons (and I can say that, since I am one), for some reason, but I've never liked it -- even from the side of doing the ding and ditch-- probably for the reasons I was experiencing at this moment)
2. It's a neighbor's friend who has mistakenly knocked on the wrong door
3. Someone knows I live alone, is standing on the side of the door where I can't see them (because there is a stairwell outside of my apartment door and a huge gap a person can stand in where they aren't visible from my peep hole), and wants to harm me. (hey, there's always the crazy option, okay???)

So, I go around the entire apartment and turn off all the lights so I can look out the windows and actually see. I don't see anyone out there. I call my mom (in Washington, like she's going to be able to help from there). I'm freaked out and I tell her so. She tells me that she thinks it's just probably the people from church, but to just not open the doors until the morning. Oh, my dad's a lot closer than my mom (still 4 hours away, though), but I know how he'd worry if he knows this story, so I don't even bother telling it to him until I go home for Christmas, because then it's a thing of the past... Okay, so I not only leave all my doors locked and chained (which is how they always are), I close my bedroom door, put my step ladder in front of it, and then get my hammer out of the set of tools my dad had me buy for myself (the best weapon I have) and sleep with it beside me in the bed. So, warning to anyone who might have wanted to break into my apartment while I'm sleeping: YOU'LL BE SORRY (because I will bludgeon you :) ).

The next morning, I opened my door to find a plate of Christmas goodies waiting patiently for me. Delivered by some of the YSA from church. Those crazy Mormons... I actually told them this story (the ones that had done it) and they felt so bad. I know they weren't trying to scare me to death. And I've never been angry about this. Slightly embarrassed that I over-reacted, yes. But angry, no.

See, I AM WOMAN. I have faced many fears and I have triumphed!!!! Yay me! (Hope you laughed!!!)

Glorious AAA

Please notice I said Triple-A, not AA :).

So, this past weekend was General Conference (it's a church conference we have twice a year, for those who don't know). It was great, as usual. Saturday afternoon, I was returning home and stopped to get some gas. Well, I was talking to my mom on the phone while I pulled up, while I got out of the car, and while I was pumping gas. And then I went to get back into my car and found that the door was locked. You ever have one of those "there's just no possible way..." moments? I mean, I tried that door a couple more times and even looked in my window to VERIFY that my door was locked. And it was ("mystery" solved). It's just that I NEVER lock my door when I pump gas. But, because I was "otherwise distracted" by my phone conversation with my mom, I locked the door out of habit. Great going, Hila... So I was probably about a 10 minute walk from home. And I have a spare set of keys. But, genius that I am, I put that spare set of keys IN MY PURSE about a year ago, and have never taken them out. And where was my purse? On the passenger seat IN MY LOCKED CAR. In the words of the dude who showed up and unlocked my door in (literally) 30 seconds: "They aren't doing you a bit of good in there." Anyway, thank goodness for AAA. I joined a little over a year ago. And so, yeah, I didn't have to use them the first year and basically paid $43 for nothing. But, it sure came in handy this year!!! I just called them, they got my location (which it was next to impossible for me to get them an address for the gas station, so I had to describe other buildings around me until the operator lady could get a definitive address) and they sent a guy to unlock my door. Oh, and after spending about 15 minutes trying to figure out the address, I finally found the street address number on the building (even though, for the life of me, I couldn't find it the first time I looked, and even though the gas station attendants didn't have a clue what the address was...). Yeah, great stuff. The good news is that it cost me nothing and by the time I actually got home, the football game was over and I was able to get one of the 2 free parking spots at that point.

So other than that little adventure and Conference and packing, my weekend was pretty boring. I did sign my new lease on Friday afternoon, so all I have to do now is move in. Which I will be doing either this Friday or Saturday. I will be so glad to have this behind me!!

Talk About a Blast From the Past... Oh, and Quilts

So, I'm a TV-junkie. But seriously, this is about to stop, because when I move in with Stefanie, I will not have TV. I wouldn't have it now, if it wasn't free. But, when I moved into this apartment, it turned out we got free cable through the University. So the truth is, I probably watch WAY more TV than I should. But I promise that, in less than 2 weeks, I'll be watching almost none. Because I am too cheap to pay for TV. Sorry. Just not a necessity or a priority. But for now... It's free and I take full advantage of the free-ness of it :). So, yesterday, after work, I watched TV while I packed some more. While waiting for the new episodes of "CSI" and "Without a Trace," I flipped through to see what was on the other channels. I have a channel called "Ion" that plays a lot of old shows. When I first moved in, they were showing "Growing Pains," which is a show I love. They are now showing "Who's the Boss," which I can also stand to watch here and there. But last night, I saw that they were playing an episode of "Perfect Strangers." Man oh man... I haven't seen that show in a LOOOOOONG time. So I had to tune in to see what kind of antics Balky Bartokumus, the Mediterranean sheep herder, was up to. Last night, he was learning how to drive a car so he could get a driver's license, part of the "American Dream." Oh, so the show is definitely not intellectually stimulating in ANY way. But, it was a fun trip into the past. I totally remember watching episodes of this on SCN in Panama (our only English-language TV station for the first 13 years of my life).

Does anyone else out there remember pogo balls? For some reason, they never seem to make it on the lists of "you know you grew up in the 80s if..." My friend Cathleen had a pogo ball when I was a kid. It was great fun. I wonder how much excercise you can get on a pogo ball. As I sit here in front of my computer, I think that would be a fun way to get exercise :).

And lastly... I keep meaning to post pictures of some quilts I made about 2 years ago. I made one for each of my young nieces and nephew at the time. I haven't made one for Benjamin yet. Hopefully I'll get around to it one day. But mostly I keep mentioning the quilts to my cousin, because she just finished one, so I thought: "Why not share them with everyone?" So, anyway, these are called "I Spy Quilts." My friend and co-worker at Troy-Dothan took her little light-weight Singer up to work and we'd sew on our lunch breaks :). It was great. So, here they are:

Saria's Quilt:

Desiree's Quilt:

Samuel's Quilt:

And I'm sorry they are not "clickable" and able to be enlarged. I don't know why that is. However, I do have them where I can email them to people, if anyone is interested in seeing better detail. Just let me know.

Yippee Hooray! Weigh-in Day!

Well, I wouldn't be so excited about weigh-in day if I hadn't lost weight. So yay! I did!! I lost 2 pounds and 2 ounces, to be exact :). I am now 1 ounce lighter than I was the first time I weighed here. Not that I'm really counting that one ounce as serious weight-loss. But it's still exciting. Now to just keep going down... Oh, and my team also lost another pound and a half since last week. So we continue to drop below our beginning weight as a team. That makes me feel good.

In other good news, I have officially been informed that my application was approved to move into the apartment, so everything is squared away there, except for the moving part. I worked on packing more last night after class. I guess the task is not as impossible as it seems, since I really did not unpack that much stuff when I first moved in. But sometimes, just thinking about it still feels incredibly overwhelming. I have gotten all my books packed up (except those I am currently using and my cookbooks) and all my movies and CDs packed. So, other than picture frames, I don't really have anything else to PACK in the living room, because the rest is just furniture. So, I will move on to taking apart the computer desk. I know that I will really start to see progress this weekend as I continue to take things down and pack things up. And little by little, the task will be accomplished.

Well, something from the past: Did any of you ever watch Daffy Duck's Quackbusters? We loved that cartoon/movie when we were younger. It came out in 1988, and is a compilation of a bunch of different cartoons. Our favorite part was the clip from The Duxorcist when some pretty female duck was possessed and she was trying to convince Daffy Duck that weird things were happening, but he didn't believe her... Until he put her in a trance and she started floating and singing "Mary had a little lamb..." And then she turned into this hideous she-beast duck, sat up in mid-air and screamed, "...BUT I ATE IT!" Anyway, probably it's not so funny when I describe it. But when we watched it, it took us by surprise and really cracked us up. The whole thing is a spoof off of real movies (like Ghostbusters and The Exorcist). Pretty cute, though. Well, in the words of Porky Pig (since I am, after all, talking about the Looney Toons here), "That's all, folks!"

Like Death Warmed Over

Well, I feel like death warmed over. I am EXHAUSTED. I started packing last night, but did not get very far. The massiveness of what lies before me seems too immense and I don't even want to start. Ick. And the really sad part is that I only unpacked some of my boxes when I moved in, simply because I was not anticipating being here for more than 2 years. How do we acquire so much stuff anyway? Not that I have droves and droves of things, either. It's just that, when faced with a move, it's easy to wish I had nothing but an air mattress, a pillow, one plate, one cup, one fork/spoon (or spork) and nothing else. Of course, that would make for a highly depressing life. But I would literally be ready to move at a moment's notice :).

The good news is that the University has pro-rated my rent so that I can be officially moved out on October 15, when I will turn in the apartment keys. The bad news is that I still have not heard from the apartment complex to which I am moving about the status of my application. I do not anticipate a problem with this, as I have never been delinquent and I have good credit. But, until they say for sure that it has been approved, I will worry. So, I will have to call them again shortly, even though they did not return the call I placed yesterday. I'm sure it will all be okay, but like I said... I like to create things about which to worry.

I was going to try to write something funny from my past to make people laugh, but honestly, my mind is so tired, it can't even think up a good reminiscent story. So, breathe a sigh of relief that you won't have to hear another one of my stories today, and maybe I'll be fresh tomorrow with something interesting to say :). Or, as I will be doing more packing after I get out of class tonight, maybe I still won't be fresh tomorrow (or for the next week and a half, for that matter). You can keep your fingers crossed either way, according to your own individual opinion on my stories :).

Music and Cockroaches

Okay, what should we discuss first? The music, or the cockroaches? Well, I'll give you a link to a song first, that way you can listen to it (if you open it in another window) while reading about the cockroaches. So, I was watching "Scrubs" the other day. I really like the show, it is hilarious. I'm just sad to say that it has definitely gotten raunchy over the years, and so I probably shouldn't watch it. But anyway, I was watching one of the re-runs from last season and it is the episode where Elliott gets engaged to Keith. The show always has really awesome songs played in each episode, and the one I watched Friday had a song that sounded familiar, but I don't know why. It is a song I wanted to find, though, because I liked it. A lot. Anyway, that's the glory of things like youtube. You can type in what you think are the lyrics most likely to be the title and, magically, you can find something. So, here it is: Stolen. I think maybe I will start putting in a "song of the day" every once in a while :). Help you get a feel for what I like...

Okay, so cockroaches. Here's a memory for my kinda ex-Texas cousins. (They still claim Texas, but don't live there anymore). Back in 1990 (or thereabouts), my mom, Brad, Christina, and I went to visit them in Texas. One night, the kids all slept in the living room and stayed up after our moms went to bed. Who knows why, but we thought it would be great fun to each eat a spoonful of sugar. That sounds gross to me now, but I'm sure we had our reasons then. Maybe to help us stay up later? Anyway, so we didn't want to wake up the moms, so we didn't turn on the kitchen light. One of my cousins got out the sugar jar and we each proceeded to take a spoonful of sugar. I think I was one of the first ones to eat the sugar and leave the kitchen, because I know I was in the living room when I heard my cousin say, "Oh darn! The cockroach fell out of the sugar!" Now, before you have visions of germ infected sugar being ingested by 4 or 5 kids, let me just tell you this. For some reason, they kept a rubber cockroach in the sugar. It was a well-known fact. However, anyone not knowing that would have been shocked (as perhaps you all were) by my cousin's calm declaration that the cockroach had fallen out of the sugar. So, we found it and replaced it and put the sugar away. Did it help us stay up later? I don't remember. I do know, however, that sugar is messy. You never are able to not make a mess with sugar. So, do I think we got away with these shenanigans without our moms ever knowing about it? I doubt it. I am pretty sure that, the next morning, my aunt questioned us about the sugar all over the place. But at least we salvaged the cockroach :)!

Notes on Eviction

So, how can I not splurge on all things 80s, given my penchant for the decade? And alas, my love for 80s memorabilia has cost me dearly. Because I bought so much of it, I could not afford rent and am now being evicted. I tried to offer the Unversity (my landlord) some jelly shoes, a Jem lunchbox and an assortment of 80s toys from She-Ra to Stretch Amstrong to the Donnie Wahlberg doll (from New Kids on the Block), but to no avail. They said those things weren't worth the money I owed them in rent. And so they evicted me!!! Can you believe it?

Okay, so that's not entirely true. Yes, I am being evicted. However, it is by no fault of my own. So any of you who were about to believe the above paragraph was an accurate depiction of my spending-habits, SHAME ON YOU!! :).

So, here's the story: The University is purchasing the Jewish Community's Hillel House here on campus. Why? Because the University wants to build another parking deck and more condos next to the football stadium. So, the Jewish Community wants to rebuild their Hillel House, naturally. So the University is selling them the property that currently has my aparment complex on it. So, we were given official notice yesterday that we have until December 16 to vacate the apartments. Yay. It is annoying to have to pack up and move, especially when I hope to move in less than a year when I'm done with my degree here. But, I am left without a choice. But, I have been blessed. A friend at church had a roommate who moved to Salt Lake City and so the girl who went to Salt Lake was trying to get out of her lease and the girl who is still here was worried about how she was going to meet the utility bill by herself. So, it worked out that I am taking over the one girl's lease. I just got back to work from dealing with all of this. So it is official, I am not homeless. And I will still be in a safe place. Now I just have to get the University to not charge me for the whole month of October, since I'll be moving mid-month. All in all, though, I have once again witnessed how Heavenly Father really does order all things for our good when we strive to keep His commandments and live worthily. I have been blessed. The next two weeks will be a nightmare with moving, but I know that it will all be okay.

P.S.. I want to thank my cousin for giving me the idea to start out my "eviction blog" the way I did :).

My Sappy Mom and Me

It's ironic that Julie posted about being particularly emotional with her pregnancy. Because I experienced something so funny this weekend. And I would certainly fit into the "silly" category she mentioned about being emotional and crying easily. Not all the time, but this weekend, yes. So, Saturday, I'm sitting at home watching the movie Baby Boom. It's a movie that's been around for years, so I have seen it mulitiple times. Well, I figured I would watch it again this weekend, seeing as it was on TV. Well, the little girl in the movie looks suprisingly like my niece Desiree (the baby in the movie is younger than Desiree is now, but still, the resemblance is there). Anyway, so the part where Dianne Keaton's character is about to put the little 15-month old girl up for adoption (because she has just "inherited" the little girl from a distant relative who passed away, and Dianne Keaton's character is a New York business woman who knows nothing about children) comes up. And I'm just sitting there with tears running down my face. And I'm literally saying to myself (out loud), "Hila, stop being stupid". And yet somehow, I can't. I mean, I have SEEN this movie numerous times. I know Dianne Keaton does not even make it out of the building before turning back to get the little girl. But there I sat anyway, with tears running down my cheeks. So, I finally reign in my emotions and get through the rest of the movie. Until the end... Dianne Keaton has moved to a huge farm in Vermont and started her own (successful) baby food business. Her old NY company wants to buy her out and offers her this "chance-of-a-lifetime" deal. She almost sells, but then doesn't, because she realizes the wholeness she has found as this little girl's mother and with having her business as it is and having the freedoms she has found in Vermont. So, she turns down the deal. She returns home after a day back in the big city and sneaks into her living room where Elizabeth (the little girl) is patiently playing with her toys (she had a baby-sitter), waiting for her mom to come home. So, Dianne Keaton walks into the living room and calls out quietly, "Elizabeth." And Elizabeth turns, sees her, and says, "Mama!" Okay, so, sap that I am, I'm sitting there on the couch with tears running down my face again. What is wrong with me? I can't even blame it on pregnancy, like Julie can. So, I will blame it on genetics...

I can clearly picture in my mind many years ago, watching ANY movie that might have a sad, sappy, or poignant scene, and all three of us (Brad, Christina, and I) would look at my mom to see if she was crying (because we knew from experience that the chances were high that she would be). And, inevitably, she would be crying. And she would laugh when she saw us looking at her. And yes, I am sorry to admit, we laughed at her. Well, who's laughing now? Well, it ain't me... I'm going to be crying right along with her. I used to think it was some kind of hormone that comes after having kids that causes this... Apparently not. Oh, and those movie people are really good at playing on emotions too... It doesn't help that the music in the background during both of these sappy moments was the type of music that is very emotional and powerful and poignant. So, they nicely guide you to your sap-filled, tear-filled moment.

I think I need to buy this movie. Apparently, it's a good one to have on-hand for a day when I need a good cry, like Steel Magnolias.