Re-Capping... With Pictures!

So I have about a week's worth of pictures here to explain. I will try to keep it brief. However, brevity was never my strong point :).

Tuesday the 19th, we went to see Saria in a "play" of sorts. It was put on by the 3rd grade classes of her school and was mostly the songs from "School House Rocks." Saria had a speaking part :). We didn't have the greatest of seats, and my camera doesn't have the greatest of zoom capabilities (it's a little out-dated, but the picture quality if pretty awesome, so I keep it), so this was the best shot I got during the program, when Saria was at the microphone saying her part. She did a great job. She is wearing pj's in the picture, because she was part of the "Saturday Morning Kids" group.
Here she is after the play, outside of her school. She is just such a pretty little girl.
I house-sat for Bob and Melanie over the weekend. Got to hang out with their 3 cats. I also borrowed Bob's weed whacker, since our yard was pretty much overgrown. Now that it is cut back, we can maintain it with the lawn mower. And in a couple more weeks, I'll be tilling the garden section anyway. Don't I look lovely after a couple of hours with the weed whacker? I'm pretty sure I got slug guts on my shirt (not the one in the picture -- I just threw on these pajamas so I could go get a shower). Gross. Note to self: next time wear a hat and long sleeves...
On Saturday, I went to the Dollar Tree and got stuff for the kids for Easter. Below you will see what they got from me and my mom, excluding the eggs we hid for them to hunt. My mom and I thought the pooping cow and the laying chickens (though we still said the chickens were pooping too, because it's funnier that way ;)) were hilarious! So did the kids. We got Emily the cow, because she's really too young for bubble gum.
Here is Desiree in the pantry trying to find any eggs that were for her. The weather was cruddy on Easter, so I hid all the eggs inside.
And Samuel looking for his eggs.
Saria with some of her eggs.
And Christina helping Emily get her eggs in the pantry. I don't know why I took so many pantry pictures. It was convenient, I guess.
To keep the kids entertained while dinner was a-cookin', and since it wasn't raining at the time (which would have been nice to know and then I would've hid some of the eggs outside), we took the kids down the hill to the park.
Not surprisingly, it started raining about 10 minutes after we got there. So we trudged back up the hill. So we got back to the house and it was almost time to eat anyway. So Desiree and I sat down and took a picture.
After everyone ate and was full, we went to do cake, ice cream, and presents for Saria's 10th birthday. She had a Tangled cake and so many candles, she couldn't get them all in one blow!Because she's starting to be such a young lady, her presents are becoming more and more mature. She got a watch, some cute clothes, several pairs of earrings, a couple of movies, and I gave her a movie ticket.
Here she is wearing a brand new pair of earrings she got from her daddy. She felt so excited about her "big girl" earrings.
And because Desiree knew her Grandpa would be seeing these pictures, she wanted him to see her pierced ears with earrings too :). So here you go, Dad. Two of the prettiest girls in the world.
Wednesday the 27th was Administrative Professionals Day. So the admin staff got to go to lunch. And John, since he types up a lot of death certificates and such, and therefore, the boss qualified him as admin for the funeral side of things. We let him crash our party ;). So I ordered a BLT and fries. And, ugly picture of me aside, this is proof the boss likes us enough to feed us... occasionally.

Then, in the evening, the boss brought in a fish for the reception desk. I don't really know why. We decided to name him Alpha, because he's a Betta fish. So now he is Alpha Betta. Haha. Bob came up with that. He's quite clever. Alpha spends a lot of time laying on the rocks at the bottom of the tank. It's kind of strange.
Wednesday was Saria's official birthday! Ten years old. I remember when she was born. She's always been an adorable kid, but she is truly growing into a lovely young lady. Ben and Michele stopped by the house also, so we tried to take a picture with me as photographer. You see how that went...
So we got my mom to shoot a picture of the three of us. You know, so we could all actually be in the shot :).
And then I took a picture with Samuel. I'm pretty sure I was still talking when the picture took...
So that's my week and a half review in pictures! There's been lots going on, and that won't be letting up anytime soon. This weekend I am going to Time Out For Women in Seattle with a bunch of ladies from church, so that should be a lot of fun :).

Oh, and I have two bell pepper seedlings finally! I am hoping my garden will produce magnificently again this year, and this time, it will be a variety :).

Silence Is Golden

Well, the song has no application. Well, not really. Aside from that one line, since I have been rather silent for a couple of weeks.

It's been a long couple of weeks. Life is good at hitting you with unexpected things. And sometimes it doesn't aim directly for you, but because it so deeply affects someone you love, in turn, it affects you as well. And that's all I have to say about that. Because in some circumstances, silence is golden.

I do not have my camera handy, so I cannot upload the photos from Easter. But this year I went and got Easter buckets for the kiddos and found various things to put in them. It was exciting for me to do for the babies. And I promise to upload all the photos and tell more about it in a couple of days. Because I think the pictures are an important part of any story :). So I'll wait until then to tell all about Easter.

Plus there is Saria's birthday. Which is officially tomorrow (she'll be 10!!!), but which got celebrated, partially, on Sunday evening. So I have pictures from that also, though because I was a dolt and forgot my camera, they are cell phone quality. Plus, as her birthday present, I gave her a movie ticket so she and I can go see a movie. I'm a little bummed because the AMC theater here is not playing RIO. But maybe the one 20 minutes North is... Hmmm. There's a thought. I think it will be nice for me and Saria to go out and celebrate the joy that is Saria -- just the two of us. She's so special, and deserves to be recognized for that. I can't believe she'll be 10. And she really is growing into herself. A beautiful girl who is really starting to mature in her attitude and personality in so many ways. I love her.

So it's been a busy week. Funeral Home has been busy, so I've been working a lot on very busy days! The weather is warming up, and I have a ton of seedlings. My zucchini and pumpkin have really taken off. I'm excited to be doing another garden soon :).

And life in general is interesting. But I wanted to assure everyone I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. Too bad for those of you who may have been wishing for that very event ;). And eventually, I'll be back up to speed with blogging more often. Tonight we are doing Tasty Tuesday Treats, since we had to postpone Marvelous Monday Meals. I'm making Pretzel Ice Cream Cake. And sauteed spinach. Yummm-o! Not sure what Lea is doing for side dish and main. But I'm sure it will be good :).

[I] Gotta Keep [You All Updated]!

So how crazy is it that I have been listening to a bit of The Offspring lately? I don't know why, but I recently downloaded one of their songs from freegal and now I'm linking this one to satisfy my song-title post :). I hadn't listened to the songs (or thought of the band much) in probably 5 years or so... But, conveniently, they have a song that fit syllabically (I think I just made that word up) with my life! And there's nothing like the hard-rock music of the mid-90s which I remember listening to on Casey Kasem's weekly top 40 countdown. I can picture myself at age 14 laying on the floor in my bedroom listening to the one English station we had. The band wavelength number escapes me. (And perhaps I'm not even calling that by the right name... But I know what I'm talking about :)).

So the big news in my life was all about the county job. I did not get the job. I got called just a little bit ago. I went in for my second interview yesterday, and found out I was one of two final candidates. And the official count of how many applied initially was over 60. My second interview was with the three commissioners for the county, because I'd have been working directly for them. The woman who called me was so nice! She told me that the reason the other candidate was chosen was because he had experience with cold calls from citizens and other constituents, and that was his strength. And then she proceeded to say a million really nice things about me. I mean, seriously glowing things. She told me she had really been pulling for me to get the job. She told me that she wished she had my credentials (I didn't even know I had credentials ;)), and that I was just such a pleasure to meet and interview. AND, probably most significantly, she requested that she be able to keep my resume on file, and when I said that I'd be thrilled for her to do so, she said, "Wonderful!" And she told me there are a couple of job openings that may be coming open there soon. She spoke of how over-qualified I actually was for this particular position because it was an entry-level position, and that she really wanted me to know that it was nothing I didn't do or did wrong that made me the second choice. It was simply that the other candidate had a strength I didn't have that was particularly useful for the job. At the end of our conversation, I expressed my gratitude for their time and consideration, etc. All those polite things. And, because she seems like such a nice lady (I really liked visiting with her yesterday when we were waiting for the commissioners to be free to meet with me. She was very nice and down-to-earth and also very friendly and "normal" for lack of a better term ;)), I said, "Well, I wish you all the best with your new employee and hope that he fits right in and that the transition is very smooth. Because it's just really nice when that happens." She said, "Yes, it is nice when that happens. And if it doesn't, well you might be hearing from us again soon!" So there you go. I didn't get it, but I was second choice, and that's not bad. And there is definitely nothing bad about having people in the county know my face and my name. It's not a bad thing that one of the commissioners was particularly impressed with me, and that I made a good impression on someone who was part of the interview team (the lady who ultimately called me today). In fact, yesterday, before I went in to meet the commissioners, she said, "Don't be nervous. I know you will shine." How kind she was!

So while it's not the news I was hoping for, it's not exactly bad news. I have my name out there now -- and my credentials. Hahaha... And who knows where this will lead. And maybe it won't lead anywhere at all. But you just never know!

Meanwhile, I have an application still out for a librarian position about 2.5 hours from here. It's been over a month and I hadn't heard anything, but then neither did one of my former co-workers, who also applied for it. So I emailed them and just asked what the status was. And it turns out, they are only just now going through the applications. Don't know why it's been so long, but you know what? No big deal. Though I'm quite under-qualified for that particular position, I might have a shot. So we just wait and see.

The truth is, I feel very hopeful in the future. I feel happy.

In other news, my last day at the library was Saturday. In celebration of National Library Week (which is this week), the library took us all out to Red Robin for dinner on Saturday. And they planned it for Saturday so I could be included. Which was very nice. So I rode with Lea and Chuck (who went, but sat by himself... hahaha). He was useful there by taking our picture :).
What you can't see in the picture was the bunch of helium balloons someone brought me for my going away. I was quite the spectacle leaving the packed restaurant with these balloons. All the little kids watched, pointed, and said, "I want a balloon!" Poor kids. Then Chuck, Lea, and I went to Target and then to Coldstone where we celebrated my last day with the library. Then we went to Lea's and watched the end of the Seattle Mariner's game. Gasp! What!?! The Nilla watching pro-sports on tv!?! I know. So out-of-character for me. I'm a little shocked myself. And even more shocked by what I'm about to admit... I kind of enjoyed it! Hahaha. Probably won't ever schedule my life around it, but it wasn't so bad to watch the last 2 innings with friends. Because then you can comment on the players that pick wedgies, blow snot-rockets, and are otherwise cute. Hahahaha. I still haven't gotten into watching football. Maybe I will one day, who knows. I know nothing about sports, really. In fact, I went to one of Morgan's softball games a couple weeks ago and saw the umpire had these shiny new-looking fancy-looking shoes. I turned to Lea and said, "Wow! Look at his fancy shoes! Is he trying to make a statement?" She looked where I was indicating, laughed her butt off, and then informed me that those were part of the shin guards (which were not visible underneath is pants) and that the bottoms of them cover and protect the shoes. Hahahahaha. Fancy shoes indeed! I'm a work in progress.

On Sunday we took Desiree and Emily to church. It had been 3 weeks since I'd seen them. How I miss them when I don't see them for a while. The day before, we had called Christina to see if we were taking the girls to church. Desiree wanted to talk to us. I told her I had missed her. She said (quite matter-of-factly), "Well you won't miss me anymore because you will see me at church tomorrow!" Sweet girl. Emily got on the phone to say hi. And she said, "Hi Ha!" Ha. That's what she calls me. "C'mon Ha!" Desiree drew me a picture of me. It was starting to sprinkle when we were leaving church, and Emily started singing "It's raining it's pouring!" That's the only part of the song she knows, so she kept singing that over and over. But it's way cute. Because she still doesn't enunciate everything correctly, so Desiree actually had to "interpret" that the first time she did it. But she's sure got the tune down! And actually, Desiree is the one who "interprets" a lot for us. It amazes me how well Desiree understand everything Emily says and wants. She is such a wonderful and loving big sister.

So that's it for now.

Music and Lyrics

So this was the view yesterday evening from where I'm house-sitting. We have had two beautiful days. Cold. But beautiful. Actually the temperatures warmed up nicely during the day, but brrrr! They started out cold. But with temperatures hitting into the 50s now (and sometimes nearing the 60s!), it is a definite thing that Spring is, well... springing!

And to go along with springing Spring, more of my plants are sprouting! I think all of the lettuce seeds I planted were successful in germinating and showing themselves. Tonight my mom reported that I have a zucchini plant sprouted and a spinach one! Yay! It's so exciting!

As you probably well know, I love quotes. I love music. I love lyrics. Shocking, huh? I listen to a lot of different music. And I enjoy singing along. But sometimes a lyric will smack me out of nowhere! I've had that experience a few times in recent weeks and days. For example, one day while driving back from the library, I heard a song on the radio. It was one I had heard before. By a band that has a few songs I like (such as Walking Contradiction and Basket Case). The band is Green Day. Anyway, the song I heard the other day... It was never a favorite song by them, at least not for me. But there I was, contemplating my current situation. Contemplating my next steps. Realizing the library job was not going to be able to be continued. And here is what I heard:

"Another turning point; a fork stuck in the road. Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go. So make the best of this test and don't ask why. It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time. It's something unpredictable, that in the end is right... I hope you had the time of your life."

I never really thought of those words before that moment. But I can guarantee you that I will never forget them now. Because those lyrics really struck me. They were so applicable to me. And I do believe that will forever more be one of my favorite songs. (It's called "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day). Granted, I know it wasn't exactly talking about my situation. But it was what I needed to hear. Because it turned out I was, in a way, at a turning point. And though unpredictable, perhaps, in the end, it will end up being right.

Then a few days ago, I believe the day of my interview, I was driving into the library and heard another song on the radio. One I hadn't heard in years. By Sheryl Crow. Again, not a song I particularly considered a favorite. It was jaunty, so I'd listen to it if I had nothing better to listen to. But it isn't on my mp3 player, if you know what I mean ;). I hadn't even thought of the song in years. But suddenly I heard these lyrics, and, again, they struck me. And put me in the best mood.

"It's not having what you want.... It's wanting what you've got!"

Those lyrics are from "Soak Up the Sun." And how true they are. I have what I have. And maybe one day I'll have more... even more of what I want. But until that time, I should want what I have. Because it's really not too shabby, and I have much for which to be grateful.

So yep, definitely.... I love music. And lyrics. Sometimes I just listen to the song without actually hearing the lyrics. And then, when I finally hear them... Well sometimes it's quite an amazing experience :).

In other news, the county people called my references. Don't know how many they actually talked to. But they called them. Good sign, no? Well, then they called me Thursday afternoon. I will be going in Monday afternoon for a meet and greet -- sort of a second interview. I don't have the job. Well, I might. I don't really know. But I think I must be being highly considered for them to have me be going back in for this. I don't know if there are others who were called to do the same thing, and if there are, how many others... I guess I will know more answers after Monday! In the meantime, I get to be super-nervous all weekend! Aaaaahhhhh!

But even so, and regardless of what happens... Well, I'm gonna soak up the sun :).

She's Got Legs!

So I woke up bright and early this morning. Mostly because I was anxious about my interview. There's a lot to prepare when you know you have an interview coming up. For one thing, you have to get yourself into a brand new pair of nylons (the all-the-way-up ones) without putting a run in them. That's an adventure right there. If you are not of the female persuasion, just take my word for it.

So I wore my interview suit into the funeral home, but opted to wear a white shirt underneath the jacket this time. But I wanted to make sure it didn't look too casual (the type of material could have it mistaken for a t-shirt, which it isn't), so I also took my nicer button-down shirt with me so that I could get my mom's opinion. Now keep in mind that I pretty much always wear pants, unless it's church. So pretty much nobody at the funeral home has ever seen me in anything but pants. I got a lot of compliments on my outfit. And right in the middle of the morning meeting, John said, "Hey! Hila has legs!" Which made everyone look at my legs. And I turned red. Because, well... It kind of made me super-self-conscious! Hahaha. And so, in honor of that comment, you have your song title post song :).

In the interest of not being on my feet all day in heels or getting anything on the white shirt... I opted to put a blue t-shirt over the white shirt and wore my red crocs to the library. I briefly considered just going to the interview like this...
And then thought better of it. Hahaha... Bob said, "You know, with those shoes and the skirt, it looks like you have clown feet! So true... Without my "flare" pants, which is what I usually wear, the crocs looked ginormous. So when Lea got to the library, I went up to the desk so she could check out my get-up (I'd already texted her telling her "wait til you see what I look like..."). She busted out laughing. And then we took a picture to commemorate the moment :).

So while pondering what I must look like to the average Joe Patron... It was hard not to laugh at what they might be thinking. I mean, everyone I work with knew I had an interview. But not the patrons. They were left up to their own imaginations to answer the question as to why the crazy lady was wearing a Coast Guard t-shirt (navy blue), a black nice skirt, nylons, and bright red Alabama Crimson Tide crocs... I came up with two movie quotes that I felt were hilariously appropriate for what may have been going through people's minds. Gold star if you know either or both! (And I adapted them to fit my gender, but in both cases, the actual quotes were referring to a "he.")

"Aw! [She] must be in special ed."
and...
"Well, uh, let's see... was wearing a red argyle sweater, and tan trousers, and red shoes. What? No [she's] not retarded!"

I love pop culture. There's a movie quote or a song for every occasion :).

In all seriousness, though... I didn't go to the interview that way. That was just for comfort and convenience at the library. Here's what I really looked like:
I didn't have my camera with me, so I used the funeral home camera to take the picture... I think it's not the best quality. This is like the 4th picture I've used from that camera, and each one has been blurry. And they were all taken by different people. So yeah, I think it's just a cheap camera. But you get the gist anyway.

So how was the interview? Not bad. Do I think I got the job? No idea. I'm not sweating it. It would be cool to get it. No doubt about that. But if it doesn't work out, I'll have other opportunities. I think it's pretty awesome I got to this point in the selection process, because if I had to take a stab at how many people initially applied for the position, I'd guess at between 75 and 100. I mean, they tested 40. The three ladies who interviewed me were very nice. But you know... I've been turned down for jobs before. So if that happens again, then it happens.

And because I'm sure you wanted to know... I'm pretty stoked as far as putting on that suit, because the last time I put it on, it was a tight fit. This time, I had so much room that my cell phone wouldn't stay in place! (When I don't have pockets, I use the waistband of whatever I'm wearing. Heehee :)).

Also, it has not escaped my attention that I am due my quarterly update about how my goals are going for the year... I'll get around to it sooner or later.

Oh and!!! I have a bunch of romaine lettuce seedlings!! Nothing else has started growing yet, but I remain hopeful :). If nothing else, I'll have lots of lettuce!

Feelin' [Bloggy]

I don't really know why, but I have been feeling bloggy lately. I know you like that I make up words :). Anyway, take a listen to the song I butchered to make my title :). I grew up on that song. Shoot, I grew up on Simon and Garfunkel, if you want to know the truth of it. So before I delve into the way things are, I will tell you about the way things were once upon a time. A memory solicited from Simon and Garfunkel.

We had a two-story (aka upstairs/downstairs) duplex in Panama. There were exactly 14 steps. Twelve went straight up, and the bottom 2 were perpendicular to those. Check out this blog post from yesteryear for a semi-idea of what it looked like, if you're all that curious. Some of you have the unique privilege of having experienced it first-hand at some long-ago time. For those of you who didn't... Well, you can sort of imagine our stairwell from that picture :). So now imagine a couple of kids -- probably 11 and 12 years old. Brad (11) and me (12). My mom had her record of Simon and Garfunkel playing this song in the living room. And for some reason, we thought it was a ridiculously silly song. So one day, we sat on the stairs making fun of it, and Brad started kicking his legs in the air (or maybe it was me), sort of like doing a sitting can-can, whenever they would say "Yes he did!" and "Joy joy joy joy joy joy..." And then we laughed hysterically. More proof we could probably compete in "The World's Dorkiest Kids" competition. And probably place. I'd like to say we grew out of our dorkiness... But that would be lying ;).

And while we're visiting my yesteryears, and since I keep linking cool-awesome songs... How about I link one more, also applicable to my yesteryears in Panama, and which I only just found last night. It seriously brought a smile to my face. Because, if you knew what I know... You would understand. And maybe this will help you see :).

So now that I've told you about yesteryear, how about I tell you about next year? Or at least somebody's idea of what next year will be. I just finished watching 2012. Which I now need to take off my hold list at the library, since I watched it on Netflix while house-sitting. I'm going to go ahead and say I do not know why I keep subjecting myself to intense books and movies about massive natural disasters. It doesn't do good things for my nerves. It stresses me out. And gives me an overwhelming desire to become prepared. Which is where beef jerky comes in. But I'll get to that. Anyway... Right after the Japan earthquake and tsunami (which happened while I was house-sitting for my friend John), my dad called me early that morning to tell me the tsunami warnings were indicating a tsunami hit along the West Coast. Well, we really didn't see much of anything here, which is wonderful. But then I kept hearing about some predictions that we along the West Coast are pretty much due a massive earthquake. (I don't believe I realized I was moving to the Ring of Fire when I moved here... And not the cool one that Johnny Cash was singing about.) Anyway... Freaked me out. For one thing, I don't want to do the whole earthquake experience. I'm cool with missing out on that mortal experience. For another thing, if I have to experience it, I don't want it to happen when I'm all alone. Wimpy? Probably. But I don't care. That's scary! So I filled everything I could in John's house with water. Just in case. (It didn't help I was reading the 3rd book in that series about the moon being closer in orbit to the earth...). Laugh all you want. I don't care. It freaked me out. Thankfully, we didn't have the earthquake that was being predicted for the end of March. But that doesn't mean we won't ever have one. And I want to be prepared! As much as I can, at any rate.

And that's where beef jerky comes in :). See? I told you I would get there. One of my goals this year is to get my 72-hour kit ready. I'm starting to think maybe I'll maybe make two. One to keep in my car, and one to keep in the house. You want to know why I haven't even started on that goal? Because I don't have a convenient place to keep it all. Like the thing I would grab in an emergency, in which all my things would be inside of. What a dumb reason, no? I think I've made a decision, though, and this will help me get on my way with this goal. I'm also going to get a list going for the things I need to get. Lists focus me. I have pretty much decided that beef jerky is going on the list. It's delicious. It's protein. And it's good for a year. And it's pretty easy to pack, since it can squish a bit here and there. I believe I got this idea from reading Jessica's blog, in which she said they were eating their 72-hour kit food during Conference (to make sure it gets eaten -- and then they go out and replenish with fresh supplies). What a genius idea! On all accounts! A consistent way to rotate the food, and a brilliant idea for something healthy, etc. that is practical. Also, not heavy.

So aside from working (same shift as Lea, so mostly a fun time), shopping for ingredients to make arroz con pollo for Monday Meals, listening to the bits and pieces of Conference I could catch when I wasn't at work, watching a freak-me-out movie, and chillin' at Wendy's in blissful peace and solitude... Other than that, it was a regular old Saturday.

Oh, except here's a sad note to self -- and to anyone else who cares. So I was so craving nachos. Junk food, I know. I don't care. I love them. So I went to 2 different grocery stores to look for nacho cheese in a can. I know they make it in the big bulk cans at Costco or something. But I don't need that much cheese. I was hopeful it existed in smaller cans. Well, if it does, I don't know where to look. But I noticed, while I was in Safeway, that the Cheese Whiz jar claimed that it could be used for nachos. I figured, 'Okay... I have some leftover from the gourmet hot dogs Monday Meal back in who-knows-when (and I paid a pretty penny for it, so I don't want it to go to waste), so I might as well give it a shot.' So I went back by the house and got it. Yeah, totally not the same experience. Not even close. Cheese whiz is way too rich. I was pretty much sick halfway into my bowl of nachos. What a total bust. I should write the company that manufactures Cheese Whiz and tell them to remove "nachos" from the lid as being something you can put cheese Whiz on. It's like an insult to real nachos everywhere :).

P.S... I didn't watch the girls tonight. Christina and Nick cancelled :(. I sure miss those babies when I don't see them for a while.

Good Day With Bad Food

I do want to make sure everyone knows that I'm not down-in-the-dumps about the library job thing not working out. Seriously am not. Overall, I have seriously been pretty happy as of late. Life, as it always will, has had its bumps. But nothing tragic. Nothing that has ruined my happy state.

I have an interview Tuesday afternoon. It is for a job that is not in any way library-related. Go figure. It's an administrative position with the county. If it works out and I get the job, great. If not... No biggie. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. Including applying for jobs in yonder ;). But either way, I've survived two cuts with this job. So that's good for something at least ;).

Yesterday was a fun day. And also a "bad food" day. I'll recap for your benefit. Like you wanted to know... I went to the funeral home in the morning, because I had changed my shift at the library at the request of my boss (just for the day). So the project at the funeral home was filling bins with all the crap that has needed to be shredded for years and years. We got quite a bit cleared out. But we aren't anywhere near done. Unfortunately, there weren't enough bins. But we filled what we had. Woohoo! In the middle of that, Lea texted me and told me to meet me at the front of the funeral home. She and Morgan had brought me (and the staff) a box of celebratory donuts. And that made Lea the cool person as far as my co-workers were concerned. So I exercised self-control and only had half a donut. They were fresh and yummy too. But then lunch rolled around, and I hadn't brought anything for lunch. So I decided I'd go up to Jack-in-the-Box and grab something. Ended up with a sourdough burger and cheese fries. Man, when I saw those pictured on the menu... I had to. I loved those things at the cafetorium in Panama at CJHS. There's a place in the mall in Dothan that also sells them, and I bought them there on several occasions. I didn't eat all the cheese-fries. Couldn't. But I had enough to make me smile :). Then Cindy (at the funeral home) had a birthday, so they got a really nice cake for her. Way pretty. I didn't have any at that point, but decided I'd take a couple small pieces for me and Lea on our break at the library. Lea picked me up at 2:45 and we headed to the library. Well, Karen had made mini cheesecakes with surprises at the bottom (either a Hershey kiss or a Reese's Pnut Butter Cup). So of course we sampled those. Plus Lea had brought strawberries and biscuits for our break too (leftovers from her son's big breakfast with friends). When she showed me all of that, I said, "Man, we're going to have a veritable feast!" I don't even know what that word means, but I heard that phrase once, and it sounded good ;). So once we got to break time, we ate all that stuff. And I didn't intend to eat dinner, but when I got home, my mom was already cooking dinner for me (a chicken patty). So definitely not a good food day. But eh... Sometimes that just happens. And it was such a good day all around that I think there was plenty of cause to celebrate anyhow.

I got my 300-something pictures in the mail yesterday. Good gracious alive that's a lot of pictures! And that's only from my life since August!!! Only 243 of them are not duplicates. But even so... How am I ever going to catch up!!?! True, there are also a lot of food ones in triplicate from Monday Meals. Getting ready to work on the cookbooks :).

Now to start ordering from the past... Hahaha. I still haven't ordered pictures from my trip to Panama in 2008! Slacker.

Maybe I'll start writing on the backs of the pictures tonight while I watch some Futurama.

Plus I need to get ready for house-sitting tomorrow and next week for Wendy. Plus I'll be watching Desiree and Emily tomorrow night so Christina and Nick can go out to celebrate 5 years of marriage. I do believe we will watch Tangled, since my mom bought it :).