It Has or It Will

So following is a brief synopsis of things that have either happened already this week or will happen before the week is out. As usual, I had good intentions of sitting down to do a worthwhile blog -- but life is busy and it's almost 11 p.m. here, and I'm tired.

Monday was a pretty exciting day in some respects. I was considering trekking up to Olympic National Park to hang with Ladonna and her family. Alas, that did not happen. And actually, it was probably better that way. I wouldn't have been able to get away from the funeral home (we are short-staffed in admin most Mondays) until around 1:30, so I wouldn't have made it up there until maybe 3 p.m. And Ladonna told me that they were going to stay overnight here anyway and so we could go out that night. So they got into town very late (like after 9 p.m.) so we ended up just meeting at their hotel and then heading over to the Dairy Queen for ice cream. Which was fine. We had fun catching up. We closed down the DQ, and hung out in the hotel lobby where her daughters made me a few crafty things for gifts, which you will see in the following pictures. Now just so you know... Ladonna was my Mia Maid leader when I was 14 and 15 in Panama. I saw her as a friend. She introduced me to horseback riding lessons back in Panama (which I only really took for a little over a year and never was really awesome at it, but I liked it a lot). I used to babysit for her first daughter who was born in Panama and who is now about 2 inches taller than I am! I also visited Ladonna in Louisiana in 2000. I was a young 19 year old with the whole world in front of me. (Now I'm 29 with a whole heap of life's experiences behind me -- some I could have done without, in my opinion ;)!!). And her daughter Stefanie had been born by then and was about 10 months old. I wish I had access to pictures from that trip, because I'd do a "now and then" deal. Sadly, all my photo albums are safely packed away in boxes in the garage. And so you just get the "now" pictures.

I left the hotel at about 11:30 after reminiscences of crushes from my teenage years, puppy-dogging boys, and laughter. Plenty of laughter. A short visit, yes. But lovely. And how nice it is for Ladonna to think of me when she is passing through or near my current place of residence. It is true what Stacy's quote from a gift given to me says: "...some people leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same."

Tuesday was a more relaxing day in most ways. Granted, I did work both jobs. And granted, I did learn that I did not get that other job in the boondocks. But actually that was a good thing ;). I walked with Sue after work. Oh, after I checked on my garden. I'm having doubts about the strength of some of my tomato plants.... I fear any tomatoes they might produce will cause them to topple. But we shall see ;). After walking with Sue and having a shower, I went by John's and watched Rat Race. That movie cracks me up. I hadn't seen it in years.

Today I worked both jobs. It was Wednesday, which is usually a fun day (at least until next week when it will be a new day), because Lea and I have the same shift and since "it is only fun when it's fun," it is generally fun when we work together. We didn't have to do anything whacky today. Oh, well, except I had to help my boss count "copier money." This happens at least once a month. It is not exciting by any means. Basically we get the money out of the copy machine and do a daily cash out sheet or whatever. Well today, being the end of the month, she told me we also had to go get the money out of the tampon box. Because we sell tampons and pads in our women's bathroom, and we only have to count that money at the end of the month. Anyway, so all the keys are like uber-locked up in various places around the library. So she walks by me and says, "Oh! I have to get the tampon key." And so I walked with her and said, "So it's that time of the month, huh?" And I chuckled on the inside, because I thought it was clever (and for the record, so did Lea when I told her -- she laughed). My boss totally didn't get it and just said, "Yeah it is." I don't think she gets my wit. I, personally, am still laughing about it. Because, let's face it, it works on two levels ;). I crack myself up. Anyway, after the library, I went by Brad and Tarylyn's to watch the kiddos for an hour for them. The kids are funny. At one point, I bumped Saria's bottom and she ran out saying, "My bootie! My bootie" being all silly. And Samuel turned to me and said with a smile: "That means her butt." You can't help but laugh at that kid. I asked him if he thought I didn't know what a bootie was. Funny guy. Then I went back to the funeral home and worked for about 2 hours. Then I came home, changed into walking clothes, and headed over to Lea's. She and I walked our route and then got to her house and ate dinner which her husband and son prepared, and then we watched Love Happens. It was cute, but not one to own -- at least for me. They gave me several tomato stand thingies since I didn't have enough and my garden is looking totally ghetto once again with some tomato plants being held up by wooden headless flamingoes. You have to see it to believe it, folks. Perhaps I'll take a picture for proof ;). Look, desperate times call for desperate measures!

Tomorrow (Thursday), I will work. And I will somehow manage to find the time to come up with some awesome drink idea and/or green salad idea for movie night at Wendy's with Heidi and Wendy. We are having homemade mac and cheese, Heidi is bringing a dessert, and I'm in charge of either drinks or salad, but I figure I will probably do both. It is sure to be a fun time. Now to remember to give Wendy back her keys from when I house-sat last week... Duh! Sometimes I'm such a spazz!

Friday will be work as usual. But then Lea invited me over for her son's family birthday thing. So we will be eating lasagna and cake for dessert and just hanging out, kind of like we did last week for her daughter's birthday. Again, should be fun. Perhaps we will start watching some of the first season of Scrubs that I lent her.

And I think that's everything I have planned thus far. I am house-sitting a couple nights for Bob again (Saturday and Sunday nights). And I know we are working on planning a family thing hopefully on Monday at some point, since the funeral home is closed, and plus it's my mom's birthday.

So yeah... Busy. But often busy = fun :). And it has certainly been a fun week so far. And it's looking like it will continue that trend! After all, it is that time of the month ;). hahahaha. (And it has not escaped me that my brief synopsis is not-so-brief. It's the Nilla way, after all :)).

This Just In

I got the phone call about the job today. They did not offer it to me. But I am totally fine with it. I was not technically qualified, because I do not have supervisory experience. And it is entirely possible that they chose someone who is closer to the area anyway. Which makes a lot more sense. And I'm so relieved I didn't have to find a way of politely declining the job, because I really knew it wasn't for me (I tend to know this when I hope that they don't offer me the job after I have interviewed -- or even before! This is my 3rd experience with that feeling. As Julie says, 'it's very telling'). I'm glad I went. Glad I got the experience of interviewing. And it has to say something that they interviewed me for that level of a position, so all around, it was a good experience and a good thing. And hopefully eventually the right thing will come along. Until then, I will keep on keeping on.

I will have a couple of pictures to post -- probably tomorrow -- from my brief visit with Ladonna. The whole Olympic National Park thing didn't end up happening, but we still were able to visit and spend some time, and it was enjoyable. I will write more about that when I post the pictures. And I'll write more about my week at that time too. I will have a lot of fun stuff to do this week -- always a grand time :).

So, that's it for now. Back to work :)! Just wanted to update.

The Low-Down on the Small Town

So Friday I had my job interview.

Because of where the job interview was (about 3 hours away from me), and because my interview was scheduled for 8:30 in the morning (gross), my mom and I decided to drive down the night before and stay in a hotel. My older brother came to stay with my grandmother and my mom and I headed down. We had an enjoyable trip, and I think it was nice for my mom to have the opportunity to get away for a night. Plus we got to see an area of the state we hadn't seen before. So we got there and ate at a Mexican place and then went and checked in to the hotel. And we just relaxed. We turned out lights around 10:30 and within about 5 minutes, my mom was out. I didn't sleep all that well, and then when she woke up at 5 in the morning, I woke up too. I tried to go back to sleep. I mostly failed. My alarm was set for 6:30 so I could get ready and we still had to drive another 45 minutes to where the actual location really was. So at about 6:15, I heard my phone. At first it registered (in my somewhat comatose state) as my alarm. But it turned out it was 3 texts from Lea in succession. Hahaha. So I was up at 6:15 for sure. And so I went down to the hotel lobby and ate some raisin bran and then came back to the room to start getting ready. My mom and I drove north 45 minutes after checking out of the hotel. We got to the library. And that is in a one-horse town for sure! It didn't even have a stop sign that I could see. I got nervous at first, because I was the only one there! Turned out my interviewers who were coming from the service center were late. I was really starting to get nervous, because I was worried that maybe I was supposed to have gone to the service center for the interview and that I'd gotten the information wrong! And man oh man, that would have been a long way to go to be wrong. But they showed up. And I interviewed. And I think the interview went well. The library is adorable. Right up my alley, really. I'd be supervising 2 other people if they were to offer me the job. Smaller than Ashford, though. Smaller collection (though it is a shared collection, so that changes things a bit). I got a lot of those "what would you do if..." questions. Or "where would you go to look for this if a patron wanted it..." I also had to come up with a program for families based on a book they handed me, and I had to explain to them what I would do. So anyway... I think the interview went well. I am one of 5 candidates they interviewed. But the truth is... I probably won't take the job if they offer it to me. It is just too much in the middle of nowhere. And it turns out this Nilla Wafer is not a one-horse town kind of gal. I don't care to live in Seattle. But I sure need more than a gas station without an attendant that only takes debit or credit and therefore only has outhouses for bathrooms (ask my mom). The job really appeals to me in so many ways. But I could never be happy 40 minutes away from any real city in a town where everyone knows my business and I know everyone else's (these were the interviewers' words, not mine). And I'm not saying I know they will offer it to me. I'm just saying I am pretty positive I will turn it down if they do.

After the interview, we headed back. A long story ensues here that I will not share, but basically, the clock was ticking and my boss at the library was expecting me back there if I made it to the library where I work before the end of my regular shift. You see... They paid me for the day whether I was interviewing or driving or doing my regular job -- but only between the hours of 9:45 and 1:45, as that is my regular shift. My interview, which started and ended before 9:45, didn't even count. And so, I ended up getting back to the library with an hour and a half to work -- in heels and my interview suit. Fun. During the drive back in, we stopped for a potty break (and to get some food) and this is where I discovered I had put my nylons (or pantyhose, hose, or stockings ;)) on backwards. The really sad part about this is that I had already peed at the library before my interview, and I didn’t notice this at that time. (Is that TMI ;)?)

So that was the day. Very exhausting, and by that evening, I was bushed. I’ve spent the weekend resting, hanging with friends, and laughing. Last night I hung out with Lea and her family. And I learned a new term. Probably a made-up one, but funny. Right up there with “wacka-wacka.” Zeeba-zaba. This is a person who speaks English, but you need subtitles to understand them. Hahahaha.

And tomorrow, if things swing the way I’d like them to, I may have the opportunity to see someone I haven’t seen in 10 years! One of my Young Women leaders from Panama is in the area with her family and I might be able to spend the day in Olympic National Park with them. Even if I cannot, though, Ladonna assures me they will not leave the area without seeing me, even if only for an hour or something. So how cool is that!?!

Not That Kind of Gal

Today I discovered that I'm not a one-horse town kind of gal.

Nor am I the kind of gal who functions well at 6:30 in the morning (just ask the pantyhose I put on backwards -- and didn't discover that I did until much later in the day).

I'm also not the kind of gal who can watch X-Files alone when I'm in a house alone. I suspected as much. I confirmed it while I was house-sitting this past week. I made it through one episode, even though the cat freaked out in the middle of it, because the washer I had going started making weird noises -- and so I had to check that out, just in case ;). Then I stopped. Because even the music for the following episode was creeping me out. I'm wimpy like that. Hahaha.

I had my interview today. I think it went well. I will elaborate more at a later date.

Crabby and Squiddy

Sometimes a picture (even a cell-phone quality one) is worth a thousand words :).

Today was Whacky Wednesday at the library for the Summer Reading Program. So we got to wear hats to go with our "Make a Splash" theme. That's Lea in the crab hat. It was pretty funny all day long. Apparently one kid came in while I was at the desk and started laughing when he saw Lea's hat. Then he looked at mine and said, "Ewww!" and pointed. Lea thought that was hilarious. Yep, it was a fun day today. The looks you get when you have an octopus on your head... And a pink one at that!

So a Dog Peed on My Foot Today...

And no, this isn't a bad joke. I'm house-sitting again this week for someone from church. I went by her house to pick up the keys, and while I was in there (shoes off, mind you, walking around in my stockinged feet), the little dog got so excited by my presence (yes, I know I have this effect on people -- the excitement, not the peeing) that the dog peed. And ended up peeing on my foot as well as the carpet. Gross! So I got back to my car, peeled off my peepee knee-high (and the other one, because you look kind of ridiculous with one nylon on and one off -- and it's very noticeable when you are as white as I am) and proceeded to hand-sanitize my foot. Ugh! I'm happy to say the dog is going to visit the gal's family. I'm in charge of the house and the cats. Cats are cool. They don't get excited about a person's presence. And even if they do, they don't pee over it! Hahaha. So I texted this to my mom, and she told people at work, so good ol' Bob had this sitting on my desk when I got back to work:
It's a sticky note on a big bottle of hand sanitizer. In case you can't read it, it says "I thought you may need this for your foot. Bob." Hilarious.

Here's To You, Dad...

...my long-distance phone call chuckle.

...my driver's ed teacher.

...my cross-country-in-a-U-Haul-towing-my-car chauffer.

...my blood-test fear soother when I was 10.

...my not-so-mango-tree mechanic :).

...my Pinto interior decorator.

...my icy-road driver (so I don't have to).

...my apartment-hunting companion in Tuscaloosa (an emotional day for us both!).

...my Panama vacation companion.

...my childhood feet tickler/torcherer ;).

...my convincor (is that a word?) for buying my set of tools "because every girl should have them."

...my nicknamer (from sweetheart and honey-bunch when I was a little girl to drill seargent, mandamas, and dictator more recently ;)).

...my "monster" who "scared" us up the stairs when we were supposed to be in bed.

Here's to you, Dad. The best Dad in the world. I love you. Happy Father's Day.

Dot Gov

So I'm trying to figure out the crazy application process for civil service jobs. What an adventure. It's asking me to remember all the classes I took for my highest degree. Thank goodness there were only 12 of them. And thank goodness for internet and course listings online. This is nutty!

I Said Hey... What's Going On?

I came up with a song-title post. It's been a while ;). And P.S... I do not care for having to watch a dumb commercial before seeing the youtube video. I shouldn't be surprised. I find it interesting that life is made up of highs and lows. I have been really happy lately. Not that there aren't blah moments. But overall, I've been so happy :). So here's what's going on in the Nilla Life this week -- so far.

Garden, garden, garden. Is that all I ever talk about? Well sort of. Mostly I'm just posting a couple of pictures here this time. But here's my commentary. I hoed the garden. My mom bought a new hoe, because the last one broke. Bummer. But I think I'm getting better at this and I'm really breaking in my body! The last two times I hoed the garden, my opposable thumbs wouldn't work right (ie for things that require a lot of thumb usage like texting). I might as well have been a monkey! Hahaha. I'm a dork. Anyway. I didn't have any thumb soreness this time. Also I didn't get tired as easily. I hoed my whole garden in one fell swoop! And watered it with the sprinkler -- ghetto style by moving the sprinkler from spot to spot. And I got soaked from the waist down, because sometimes I don't think things through. See, the neighbor has seen me out there hoeing twice now. So today he asked if we'd like some of his roll of stuff (don't know what it's called) that you put down in your garden and it prevents the weeds from growing much, because it blocks the sun. You just cut out little holes for your plants. So this sounded like a fabulous idea (less hoeing!). What I didn't really think about is that it was probably the smarter thing to lay this stuff down first and then water. But no. That's just not the Nilla way. Nilla waters first and turns the garden into a muddy mess so that when she's trying to lay down the papery stuff, she is sinking into the mud. Ah yes. The Nilla brain is a very scary place. And nevermind how hard it is to cut spots for your plants to grow through. Grrr. This was not a fun project. And I was already sweaty and hot (it was almost 80 degrees this past weekend -- and now we are cooling off again and tomorrow should be highs in the low 60s -- and I ain't complaining!) and therefore irritated. So I gave up after 2 rows. I will go back to it another day. And boy oh boy was I stanky when I was done (and it wasn't even midnight ;)!). I was in dire need of a shower. So I got one at the house rather than at Bob's house, even though I was still house-sitting. I also weed-whacked the rest of the yard before starting on the garden. And also some of the side yard that was way overgrown. Sigh. It's hard work. But to see strawberries and tomato buds is very exciting! And that's what the pictures are of. And cucumbers. Because I gave up and bought some since my seedlings mysteriously disappeared. Maybe I'll start them indoors next year.

House-sitting is over. For now. (I included a picture of Max who made himself at home on my lap on the couch while I watched tv.) I'm actually house-sitting for Wendy next week. Woohoo! I picked Bob and his wife up and his wife's sister and husband also at the ferry. I drove Bob's big old Titan truck. And I am not good at parking big vehicles. I couldn't tell how close I was to the wall in front of me. I looked pretty darn close. So I parked and got out. Shoot, I was practically a mile away! Oh well. Better that way than scratching it up by hitting the wall. I don't make a habit of driving other people's vehicles. But that was the only way 5 adults and a bunch of luggage was going to fit. On the up-side, I do manage to stay in my lane and only my lane ;).

I made my last payment on my student loan today!!! I'm so happy! Of course, it won't clear for a couple of days. But it's floating out there in cyberspace somewhere. And it'll be posted soon. And I will have met one of my huge goals for the year :). I am out of debt.

I got a phone call from the service center of my library system today. They left a message, because I was out in the fileroom shifting files and didn't have my phone. I took my time in calling back. I was nervous. I figured this was about the job for which I applied at the end of April. The one I figured I wasn't being considered for since I'm in my probation period. And I was okay with that. Well, so I got the call today. And I'm being considered. And asked to interview. And so I am going to interview. Next Friday. At 8:30 in the morning. 3 hours away. Ugh. So my mom and I are going to go down the night before and just get a hotel. Mommies are wonderful, by the way. I think it'll be nice for me and my mom to go have a night hanging out and seeing somewhere new. I still have reservations about the job. Mostly about how far away it is. When I moved to Tuscaloosa, that was really hard for me. I knew no one. I was 4 hours from my dad and everything familiar. And when I left there, I told myself I wouldn't do that again. Not because I couldn't (because obviously I succeeded and made new friends etc). But because I decided I wanted to be close to my family. And so this would kind of fly in the face of that. So... I'm not sure about it. And I'm not saying they are going to offer the job to me or anything. But I always think ahead. Just so I can worry pointlessly for 2 weeks before I even interview. It's the Nilla way. Ask anyone who has known me for any length of time ;). But I want to go and check it out and see how it feels. It would look great on a resume. I'd be making more than I'm making now and be working a lot fewer hours (28 per week, to be exact).

So today was a nutty day. Full of interesting happenings. And it was only Monday! I wonder what this week will bring.

Oh! But I've also made another new friend! She works at the funeral home and is the new location manager there. She is a lot of fun. We've been talking and laughing for about a month now and we just click. It's awesome to meet new friends and just click with them!

And I finished the Michael J. Fox biography I was reading. I really liked it. And if he can be up-beat and optimistic with his disease (which sounds horrible, by the way), then I have no reason not to be! So, here's to always looking up :). Which actually works on two levels, if you ask me :).

House-Sitting

So this week I am house-sitting and cat-sitting. It is nice to have a place to myself and to have command of the tv. Not that there is anything on, by the way. I'm pretty sure I won't pay for cable tv when I move out. I'd rather pay for internet and watch the shows I like on hulu or something. Anyway, so yeah. House-sitting is good. Except for when I psych myself out at night because one of the cats is always staring into the dark living room after I turn out the lights as though she sees something. So then I have to turn on the lights and check it out. I'm kind of wimpy like that. Do you ever stop to realize that, if something goes bump in the night, you might have to be the one who investigates? Yikes! When did we get old enough for that job!?! I can actually remember the first time that occurred to me. I was a newly-wed in our first apartment. And our bedroom had no windows. So when the lights went out, it was literally pitch black. And I remember saying to Heath, "You realize that if we hear something, it's either you or me that has to check it out? I mean, we're it. There's no mom or dad here to take care of it for us." And that spooked us both a little bit. And from then on, we kept the bathroom light on. I guess it was just at that moment that I realized that you aren't suddenly infused with this courage that makes you not afraid to battle bad guys should they come into your home. And so it was then that I realized my parents were probably frightened too, when the burglar alarm went off or they heard banging on the door (that turned out to be people trying to break in through the window in Panama). But they were the grown-ups. And they had a family to protect. And so they did. So anyway. I'm not really all that spooked. Just when I turn off the lights to head back to the bedroom to read and the cat starts acting weird. Then I get all kookie too. And so I won't allow myself to watch X-Files there, even though it would be a good way to watch the episodes before the dumb thing is due back.

In other news... Samuel turned 6 on Friday. He is getting so big! I simply cannot believe it's been 6 years since we drove to Valdosta and I held my new nephew who looked so much like a bald-headed Brad. So my mom and I went over and enjoyed cake and ice cream with them and watched Sam open all his presents. Samuel is a great kid. He is hilarious, just with his matter-of-fact statements. Apparently his teacher was "interviewing" him for a thing for Mother's Day, and in the middle of all the questions she was asking, Samuel said, "I'm too little for this." Funny funny kid. I love him so.

Monday was quite a fun day at the funeral home. We took a staff group photo, which took 6 tries for a variety of reasons. And then Sue and I made new centerpieces out of fake flowers for the friendship room. I'll just add Nilla Wafer, flower arranger extraordinaire to my resume. Ha! Yeah right. Sue told me what to do and I did it. Not only can I write instruction manuals, I can also follow directions :)! So anyway, here is our staff photo. We are missing two of the grounds crew, because Bob is on vacation and Jeffrey was off that day. But pretty much all the rest of us are in the photo I think.

I planted my cucumber plants and my acorn squash. And while I was there at the house yesterday planting and weed-whacking, my mom pointed out that I have 5 strawberries coming up! Woohoo!!! They are still green. But I'm excited :). Especially since I kept hearing I wouldn't get any this year. I'll let you know if they are juicy good. I will hopefully get pictures of them. Also. I have a picture here of my buds on my biggest plant. You can see how they have flowered, which is cool. The tomato is supposed to grow out there and the flower part will be on the bottom of the tomato. According to he kids' book on growing tomatoes that I keep looking at while I'm out shelving ;). Oh! And almost all of my tomato plants have buds! I'm a little concerned, because my plants are spindly, and that is because it took me so long to get them outside and into a place where their roots could spread out :). But it's all a learning experience. That's what it's all about. (The Hokey Pokey just popped into my head).Well, I shall depart for now. But this is a quick catch up :).

Lost

Well, it took me 2 weeks, but I finally finished out Lost. I'm a bit torn on how I feel about the series finale. And I'm kind of surprised I managed to not run into any spoilers, so I was able to be totally surprised by the ending. I can't believe 6 years have passed since they started the show. Time is really flying.

So this was a totally unimportant thing about which to blog. But I felt like it. So I did. So ha.

Space Case

Yep, so it finally happened. I space-cased a commitment. And I feel like a heel. I was supposed to be home tonight to talk to April when she called. Because some friendships are worth the effort it takes to maintain in spite of miles and miles between us. I have a lot of those friendships. And I try to always make it a point to maintain them. And today I blew it. And I'm so sorry April. I just totally spaced it. That's what I mean about being a beaver lately (in my prior post). What I neglected to do was explain the personality of a beaver. A beaver personality will over-extend itself. It will commit to a bunch of different things and then not be able to fulfill those committments. Not intentionally, of course. Just out of sheer impossibility. One cannot be in two places at once. And, as in my case today, I totally spaced something I myself scheduled. Ugh. I am a heel.

Lea texted me last minute and invited me to go to her son's choir concert. I thought to myself, "I was just going to work in the garden, and that can wait until tomorrow" and so I agreed to go. The concert was really awesome. Her son has some serious talent. He sang this song as a dedication to the seniors (he is a freshman). It was cool to hear all the singing from these high school and junior high school kids who have some massive talents. And it was fun to hang with Lea and her family. I still feel guilty, though, for spacing the phone call. Ugh. Sorry April. I need to decide to do a day planner. Perhaps that will help ;).

The remainder of my week went thusly:

Memorial Day at the funeral home. The weather was totally crappy. It rained all weekend until about noon on Monday. We ate really well, though. And we worked it the entire time. It's really a big party for the most part. We ride around in golf carts. We hang around. We eat our weight in hot dogs (okay, I only ate one, but some people ate a lot of hot dogs, since we provide them for the Scouts). The night of the program, Brad and Tarylyn came with the kids and so did Christina with the girls. And at the end was fireworks. And watching fireworks with kids is a whole new experience. Every firework, regardless of how small, is "cool" and "wow". Gotta love the sweet innocence of the kids. Christina had told Desiree there was a surprise, but not what that surprise was (the fireworks). So when the fireworks were going off, Desiree turned to me and said, "I think this is the surprise." And she had the cutest smile. And I said, "I think you're right." And Emily is walking all over the place and has a ton of teeth. She loves her Aunt Hila, but isn't too keen on going to her grandma. Poor Mom. Emily has just been around me more, is the only reason. She knows me and recognizes me more than she does my mom.

So yeah, that was the weekend as far as work goes. Long. Tiring. But good. I went to that barbecue with my newly painted toes. And what d'ya know? They worked! Hahaha. Nah, I'm kidding. Kind of. The bbq was slightly awkward, because I don't mingle well in big crowds of people I don't really know. So I didn't stay too terribly long. But then, neither did this other guy there who came over and talked to me and who had asked me out in the past, but for a multitude of reasons, we'd never gone out -- not for lack of interest, though. Anyway, so we ended up going and getting an Italian Cream soda at a local diner. It was fun and enjoyable. But it's not going to go anywhere. Religion seems to be my (worthwhile) issue of choice. Heavy sigh. But the evening was nice, and I'm glad we had the opportunity to go out and get to know each other better, even if it is what it is. I'm still leaning toward the possibility of being the weird old cat lady in the corner house ;). Because the guys I am interested in -- well there is always something making it a no-go situation (usually religion). And the guys who could be a "go" situation (at least as far as religion goes) are not particularly interesting to me. At least the ones so far. For example, I went on a kind of double date with a guy about a month ago and a couple from church, and the guy wasn't interesting to me at all. He was nice, not a bad looking guy. But not interesting to me in any romantic sense at all. So yeah... cat lady.

Speaking of cats and houses... I'm house-sitting next week for Alligator Bob and his wife while they go on a cruise. They have 3 cats.

And also speaking of houses... I'm feeling the urge to become a homeowner. So I'm getting up the nerve to start looking into that (can I really be old enough for this?). I am unsure that I will qualify for a loan, seeing as my employment situation doesn't look awesome on paper. But my credit is rockin' awesome (my new favorite phrase ;)), and it doesn't hurt to try. I have my eye on a cute little house. Of course, there are a million things I don't even know about. But I suppose if it's meant to be, it will all work out. And if not, I continue to try to exercise that trait I lack so much known as patience ;).

So aside from all of these exciting things and walking (I did over 17 miles between Monday and Tuesday! -- not such great numbers to report today), there isn't much else going on. But I think that's really about enough. Obviously I'm not doing such a good job of keeping up with just those things ;).

Although. We can't forget the garden. I need to work in it. With the whole weekend being spent at work, I didn't do much in it. I'm thinking I need to be more wary of slugs, since it's been so rainy here. I have buds on 4 of my plants now. I'm uber-excited about this. All of my cucumber seedlings went the way of the dodo (I think the birds ate them), so I'm going to look into buying some cucumber plants. Hopefully. I think slugs may have gotten to one of my pepper plants and started munching on the leaves. If I catch them, I will salt them. Gross. And I am told my strawberries will not produce the first year. Bummer. So if I do get a house, guess who will be transporting strawberry plants? But that's a big if.

And so that is the Nilla Life. In a nutshell.