This Week I'm an Otter

I once took a personality test. Julie will remember this. She and I had taken a trip to Valdosta, GA a few weeks before I got married to stay with our friend Angie. In addition to our shenanigans and memory-making-moments (like being woken up by Mark in the wee hours of morning, because Julie had left the sun roof open on her new Honda -- and it had rained on her leather seats), we attended church with Angie that Sunday. During the Sunday School part of it, we watched a video on different personalities (I think it was a marriage class) and then we took a personality test to see what kind of animal we were from the video. For the record, I scored as a beaver, which was defined as someone who would enjoy making and reading instruction manuals. Hahahaha. I think that's hysterical. Partially because if you make an instruction manual, you are, in a way, telling a lot of people what to do. And if you believe my dad, you'll believe I'm bossy like that ;). Anyway, the other choices were lion, golden retriever, and otter. This week I think I would be an otter. I had a full calendar this week. And the week isn't even over yet!

So here's an overview (not counting Sunday, since I already covered that):

Monday: Funeral Home work all day. Worked on the reception desk all day so that the receptionist could take care of some filing stuff she needed to do. After that, went to Lea's and we walked our long route, since it wasn't raining. Racked up over 10,000 steps that day. Woohoo! Came home and checked out my garden -- need to roto-till the grass. Got a package from my BFF. Had our BFF journal in it, which is always awesome. Also had a little bit of 80s bling. No day can be a bad day when something 80s crosses my path ;). Julie is awesome.

Tuesday: Woke up and heard dripping in the basement. Found the source -- the bathtub in the bathroom upstairs. Called my mom at work and said, "Mom, we have a problem" a la Apollo 13. Nah, just kidding. It was too early for me to be witty. But I did call her and tell her. And so we had to call a plumber. Who replaced the rusted-through drain. Not cheap. Worked my 1 hour and 15 minutes in the morning at the funeral home. Drove to the library. Worked there and got to work on the desk for a large chunk of it, since they are finally training me on the desk. Lea had swapped schedules, so we worked together. I think I'm going to get us in trouble, because I believe in having fun at work. I think we laugh too much. Then headed back to the funeral home and worked until 5:30. Then I went home, changed clothes, called Sue to let her know I was ready for walking, and then I checked out my garden while I waited for her. And we walked in the rain. Free garden-watering. Came home, chilled out.

Wednesday (aka today): Funeral home in the morning. Library for 4 hours. Due to some changes, ended up deciding to walk with Lea right after that job, so we did our walk again -- and this time in a downpour by Washington State standards. We got soaked. But it was good. I'm at 10,550 steps. Hung out with her and her family -- at pizza and hot wings (drummette only, please -- the wings are creepy to me) and Sierra Mist. Then I headed over to a couple's house from church to help Suzy do some weeding. They are getting ready for a BBQ on Friday to which I am invited. I think Greg (the husband) has ideas of setting me up with his single friends. Left there at 7:30. Checked out my garden. Got my hands dirty pulling strands of grass here and there.

Thursday: I will be working both jobs. And then coming home to till the garden on the shallow level and try to get rid of the majority of the grass. And hoeing the rest of it around the plants. And maybe catching up on and finishing the final episode of Lost ever. (Yes, I have heard mixed reviews on this, but I've devoted 6 years of my life to it, so I might as well finish it out ;)).

Friday: Work both jobs. Come home, get a shower, and head over to Greg and Suzy's. For the BBQ. It should be fun.

Saturday: Work both jobs. It's Memorial Day weekend, which is a big deal at the funeral home. So I'll be working all weekend. But it'll be good. Last year was fun. Hopefully we'll have a repeat of that this year. Plus it gives me and Alligator Bob plenty of time to catch up on our crossword puzzles, being that I' haven't been at the funeral home as much as usual this week. And we can also work Saturday's, which usually just ends up in the trash, since neither of is there on Saturday anymore.

Well, I'm off to paint my toenails. I'm determined to wear flip flops to the BBQ (hopefully that won't be a mistake weather-wise), and I don't want to have ghetto toenails (thanks for that term Elka :)) in case there's some hottie there who would find a sarcastic, smart, witty, sassy chick attractive ;). Hahahaha. Is my head ginormous enough?

My Ghetto Garden

So in picture one, you will see my ghetto garden. The week after I planted, we had very sunny dry days. This meant I had to water. And with either lousy water pressure or a crappy sprinkler, the result was that I would have to turn on the water, set the sprinkler in a spot and leave it there to create pools for about 5 minutes, and then move it to a new spot. Very time-consuming. But my plants needed water, so I made the grand sacrifice :). The following week, the rain came. And while that was very exciting, it also brought with it severe winds. Which made me worry about my plants. And so my brilliant idea was to make a wind-break. I couldn't think of what I should use, and then I thought of the lawn chairs. Weighed down by bricks. And so you see the results. Now, it was a pointless attempt, because the wind just came in from a new direction and so my wind-break didn't really "break wind" (hahaha, I said break wind). My plants survived, though. And the lawnchairs were successful in making my garden look totally ghetto. Hahaha. Great stuff. The second picture was taken today. I have 4 buds on one of my plants!!! This means I should hopefully have 4 tomatoes at least by the time harvesting time comes around :). Unless slugs get them first. But I'm going to think positive :). I was so excited to see these buds. I keep checking all the plants daily for them now. So far only the one plant has them. But hopefully in due time, the others will catch up. The grass has started to grow, which is annoying. I'm not sure exactly what to do to get rid of it. I tried to hoe it up yesterday, but I don't think my efforts were particularly fruitful. Plus it started raining and I got soaked. But I was still working hard enough to work up a sweat! I've pulled a few bits of grass out by hand, but that would be a never-ending task, and I'm sure there must be a way to do it en masse. Perhaps I'll need to roto-till between rows and then use a small shovel near the plants. I will ask my expert gardening friends at the funeral home :).

Lea and I walked about 5 miles on Wednesday last week. Phew! That was a walk! But it was fun. And then I stayed and hung out with her and her family until about 9:15 that night. And it was hysterical! We totally clicked and her husband and kids are hilarious. It's so fun to find a new friend. I walked with Sue on Thursday evening and we did about 2 miles -- our usual route. Then Friday I went to Lea's and, due to cruddy weather, we walked to a DVD that totally kicked our booties. Man that was more of a workout than the 5-mile walk! We were sweating like stuck pigs by the end of the 30 minutes. And then we hung out until about 10 listening to 80s music on the tv. And so I sung to "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton (would totally like to do this karaoke one day), and then "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield came on, and Lea had previously informed me that, when that song comes on, she makes her kids get up and dance and sing with her -- so yep, you know it. We all got up and danced and hopped around and sung to "Jessie's Girl." Good times.

Today I walked with Sue again after church. Church was good. The choir sang.

Overall, this has been a fabulous week. I feel great (though the scale reports no happier numbers), and I feel just... full of hope. Full of hope for the future. Whatever it holds. I'm totally excited.

Did You Know?

That some cruise lines have an onboard librarian? Who knew? I was looking at one of my standard job-posting sites and saw this. I considered how interesting it would be for a brief moment until I decided I'm entirely too wimpy to venture into that adventure. But what a revelation! I never have heard of such a thing! Pretty cool concept, though. I should tell my friend Donna. She's not too wimpy to try something like that.

I just lost a hair that was half brown and half silver. I wasn't originally going to write that, but since it just happened, I figured I'd share that news.

I have 3 cucumber seedlings coming up!!! Woohoo! I'm hoping others will start to sprout as well, but either way, I'm excited about them :). My tomato plants are continuing to hold on -- and I am impressed with that, considering the howling wind that is happening this afternoon and tonight. But we did get a good hard rain today for a little while, so my garden got watered in the way nature intended :). Always a good thing.

I hate when my pedometer starts over. It's sad to look at it at the end of the day and it says "20 steps." Whatever, pedometer! Walking for 45 minutes with Sue does not equal 20 steps! Luckily I had looked at it while I was out tending my garden and before it reset itself. I know I'm well over 5000 steps.

And that's about it. I walked with Sue this afternoon, and I'm walking with Lea -- my friend from my library job -- tomorrow. I'm working on having faster-paced, more rigorous walks.

P.S. -- this is my 400th post! Woohoo! Also, I just finished reading Uglies by Scott Westerfield. It's a YA book, and I really liked it.

Gag Me With a Spoon

Okay, so out of boredom (though I don't know why I'm bored -- I have a great book I'm reading: Uglies, which I'm almost done reading, and I have a load of episodes of X-Files to watch since I'll have to return them to the library in the next week), I was looking at pictures on my blog from January 2009. My gosh I have gotten to be such a heifalump. Which is my version of a heifer and a huffalump (those freaky things from Winnie the Pooh) mixed together. And I'm thinking a heifalump can't be a pretty sight, based on the two things being combined there. I'm annoyed that it took me one year to gain a ton of weight. And even more annoyed that I am not disciplined enough to lose it again. I try to figure out how it is that I was able to lose weight without any effort at all right after my dicvorce. I used to think it was because I quit taking birth control pills. Apparently, if that was one of the factors, it wasn't the only one. Because, for the record, I'm not taking them now -- no reason to -- and I have managed to plump up nicely (or un-nicely, in my opinion). Which leads me to the consideration of my eating habits. And I have determined that a lot of it might have been that I was living on a strict budget and could only afford so much and had to make what I did buy stretch. Which meant I didn't snack just for the heck of it and I didn't buy junk (like bad-for-me sugar cereals and soda) because I really couldn't afford it, whereas now, I can, because I don't have rent and electricity to pay. And so I need to figure out a way to do that again -- and perhaps that way is finally moving out -- an urge I am feeling more and more and more. Also, I drank a lot more water -- because it was free. I have terrible habits that I need to break. I've been pretty active lately -- what with walking and doing my garden. But I also need to be more mindful of what I eat. And I need to have the willpower to not eat a doughnut at work for breakfast just because the boss brought them in and they are there. What a stupid reason to eat a doughnut. Ugh.

So there's my rant. It's full of disappointment in myself. Blechety blech blech.

Also... I planted 2 strawberry plants today and another pepper plant. I bought them at Wal-Mart yesterday. It seems I did not harden my plants properly. I was supposed to put them in direct sun for about an hour and then bring them in, then the next day put them out a little longer in the sun and bring them in, etc. And so, my tomato plants have gotten sunburn and windburn from the beautiful days we've enjoyed since I planted my garden. Many of the leaves turned white (with fright? -- if Brad read this blog, he'd understand that and laugh). The good news is that once new growth happens (and it still should, because most of them don't look dead), I can break off the white leaves and hopefully it'll all be good. I am learning by experience. Also, the sprinkler isn't working quite well, so I walk the sprinkler around the garden and set it down in a spot for about 5 minutes to let it soak the area and then pick it up and move it. The rain is supposed to return tonight and last all week. I'm fine with that -- free watering and no scorching sun for the week. Maybe my plants will have a breather ;).

Well, I'm going to go back to reading. And then watch another episode of X-Files before bed. Peace out, my homies ;).

Updates

As you can see from the pictures above, I have planted my garden!!! I'm so excited! It was so much fun! Who knew!?! It was hard work, don't get me wrong. Very hard work. That roto-tiller was killer! I definitely got a workout and really worked my latissimus dorsi muscles -- I felt them for 2 days afterwards. But I learned a lot. Here are the things I have now experienced: I bought my first gas can. I went and got gas in said gas can. I filled the roto-tiller with gas (after spilling some on hand -- always have to do something dumb like that ;0)). And I roto-tilled. And I planted all my garden. Turns out, also, that gas smell stays on your skin a long time. I washed my hands 3 times, plus took a shower and my hand still smelled of gasoline! So I washed my hand in bleach water. And that resulted in my hand smelling like bleach and gas. Clean and manly. Very sexy. Hahahah. Kidding. So anyway, Saturday I did most of the tilling after work and shopping for supplies like garden gloves and fencing (to keep an annoying daschund out of my garden since he won't use it when there's grass on it for his bathroom, but the minute it's tilled under, he's in there to poop in it. Dumb dog). I finished tilling it on the deepest setting and then raked it over once. I really didn't know what i was doing ;). So I checked in with my co-workers Buck and Bob and they told me what I needed to do. And so today after work, I raked it over twice more. By about this time, my friend John got here and he helped me dig holes and completely dug up the area by the fence where I couldn't reach with the tiller. Lots of yuck worms. I know they are good for the soil and the garden. But ewww! I don't want to see them. I'm kind of prissy like that. Anyway, it is so nice to have it stay light outside until after 8, because we were able to get everything planted. I have 14 tomato plants, 1 pepper plant, 1 raspberry start (hoping it will take), and a row of bush peas and a row of cucumbers. This has definitely been a fun and rewarding experience for me. I had no idea this could be so much fun! It is hard work. But definitely fun. I'm excited to see what will come of it all :).

In other news... I am not hopeful about that job for which I applied. It seems there has been discussion about the cost of allowing employees who are on probation (their first 6 months of work in the system, which includes me at this point) to move into other positions. Nothing definitive has come across yet, but I am figuring this pretty much means I won't get that branch manager position. I'm fine with it. I at least did my part, and if that is a door I'm not meant to go through, I would rather have it shut completely.

I could probably write more, but I'm really tired. :). Gardening is whooping my tail!

Here's To You, Mom...

My boo-boo kisser/nurse;

My chauffeur;

My tutor;

My waker-upper;

My lunch maker;

My reminder that age is just a number;

My baking teacher;

My baking partner;

My cheerleader;

My listening ear;

My example.

While you may not be all of those things to me anymore, you have been each of them at some point in my life (and yours). And some of them you are now. And this is a short list. I can't begin to list all the roles you've played; all the hats you've worn. But I love you. I always will. And I'm so thankful you're my mommy. I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living, my mommy you'll be.

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful mothers. The job you do is irreplaceable.

A Politely Pleading Request

Dear males who use your public library:

I commend you for your use of the public library. That makes you wise. However, please do library workers all over the world one big favor: check your attire before coming in. What should you check for? Here's the list:

1. Will your pants or shorts stay in place rather than sliding low when you bend over? If you can answer yes to this question, you are prepared to go to the public library and can stop taking this questionnaire. If you answered no, please continue on to question 2.

2. Are you wearing underwear of some sort that will stay in place when your pants or shorts don't? If you answered yes, you can come to the library. We'd honestly prefer that #1 occur rather than #2, but we'll take #2 if it's all we can get. If you answered no, please go to question 3.

3. Is the shirt you are wearing long enough to cover any skin that may show when you bend over and your pants won't stay in place and you are not wearing underwear? If you answered yes, then you are ready to go to the library. If you answered no, please change your clothing so that you can answer yes to at least one of these three items (again, preferably #1), or please don't come to the library today.

And women -- if you have a husband/boyfriend/brother/other who doesn't meet the requirements above, please, for the love of all that is librarian, help the dude!!! And above all else, don't accompany him in this state of disarray and horror!

Sincerely, Your friendly neighborhood librarian Nilla.

Because I have now had the misfortune of seeing 2 butt cracks at the library, and I've only been there for a little over 2 and a half months. Those are not good odds. I mean, do they even look in the mirror?!? Maybe they do. Maybe they just don't bend over and check out their butts in the mirror :).

May the 4th be with you.

Hahahaha. Thanks, Donna, for an awesome idea! :).

Holding Myself Accountable

In a world where accountability is a word that is falling by the wayside, I find it important to be sure I hold myself accountable. If to nobody else than myself, then so be it. But I know I need to be accountable for all I choose to do, say, and undertake. In January, I wrote this post about my goals for 2010. A third of the year is already over, and I feel I should examine my list of goals and see where I stand.

As far as my spiritual goals are concerned, I can always do better. Because of my new calling as Sunday School teacher for 12 and 13 year olds, I feel like my scripture study is more focused. I have specific topics to study throughout the week, and I find this good for me. I also find that the kids in the class have questions. And sometimes I don't have immediate answers. But I am able to seek out the answers during the following week, and through this, I am learning as well. It's a pretty awesome thing. Though I can't say I've necessarily met my goal of attending the Temple more often, I did go last weekend with my mom and Heidi, since I was off work that day. I am glad I went and will be working on making that a part of my month every month. Humility? Yeah, that's a big fat fail. We won't even go there. I too easily lose my patience with situations and such. I think I know what is best for me. And I do not like waiting for things to come to pass. I need a lot more work in this area.

Temporal things tend to be easier for me. Probably not the greatest thing to admit, but the truth nonetheless. And being honest is part of being accountable. So far so good on building my savings account. It is a slow growth, to be sure. But it is growing, and I have put money into my savings account from each funeral home paycheck. I am doing well at reaching my debt-free goal. My credit card debt is gone -- I only use it now for everyday purchases and make sure I always pay it off at the end of the month so as not to accrue interest charges. I am doing well with that. And things turned out quite better than anticipated as far as paying off my student loan, because I got the second job. I am about a month away from making my final payment. It will definitely be gone by June. I'm so excited about that. I'm working on doing better with stocking up on a 3 month supply of things. I started out with a pretty decent bang in January. I have 6 months worth of toothpaste :). And shampoo and conditioner. Hahaha. And I think we could actually survive fine for 3 months if we had to on the food in the house. We do have a lot of canned goods. If you have been keeping up with my blog, you know that I did start gardening. My tomatoes are beyond ready to be planted outside. I've had some tragedies of late. Today I lost one to the wind breaking it off while I had them under the carport to start hardening in preparation for putting them out for good next week. To say I was a bit distraught over the untimely death of my tomato plant is an understatement. I'm still trying to get over it. Now, as you see from the pictures above, I do have tall plants, and I have been out working in the garden area. The grass back there had gotten out of control -- so much so that a regular lawn mower wasn't going to do diddly. So Bob from work brought over his weed whacker and I cut the grass down yesterday evening in preparation for roto-tilling next Saturday. Thank goodness I'd had a previous lesson in Panama from my dad! That's hard work!

As far as physical improvements are concerned, it's much easier to not be accountable here. I have done pretty well with the walking. Most weeks I walk for at least 45 minutes 3 days a week. But many of them, since I have started walking with Sue once a week, I get 4 days in. But weight loss is not my friend. I can report a big fat goose-egg on that category. Lame-o.

And then there was the miscellaneous category. I gave up on trimming the apple tree at all this year, much less for production. I did clip off a few branches, but it's going to take a lot more work than I can actually do safely. So we have decided to save up the money and have it cut back by professionals next winter, when it is healthier for the tree to be cut-back anyway. I did get my laptop (as you well know), and I continue to be very happy with it. I am not doing well at accepting that there are things I cannot control, but I can say I'm being given plenty of experiences that are trying to help me hone that trait. Blech. If I master it, will those types of situations magically go away? Because that would be incentive!! And so far, I haven't gone anywhere new. And with a new job that won't allow me to take vacation time until I've been there 6 months (3.5 to go), it's looking like it'll be a while before I get there. But I will.

So, there's my accountability at 4 months in. And as for other things:

I applied. I mailed my application in. Doesn't mean they'll consider me, but at least I did my part. And today was Saria's birthday party. She is 9. It's hard to believe. So you probably noticed a few pictures above of her celebration. She is so beautiful. I do love the kids. Again, one of the big items on the "con" list is being far away from them. But we wait and see.