No Teeth Allowed

Well I am successfully on my way to renewing my pasaporte (that's espanol, by the way). I have the application. I even have the photos. Now there's a story. So I go to the courthouse here, go through the metal detector thing -- kind of reminiscent of the airport, but it has less people. Oh, and I don't get frisked for being a "secondary female". Anyway, they look at my passport upstairs. Did you know I have an official passport? Mine is burgundy. How cool is that? I will be trading burgundy for blue, though, as I am no longer travelling on "official business" as I once was when my dad was civil service. Darn. I wonder if it's more of a hassle to get through customs with a blue one? I guess I'll find out. Anyway, so they told me to come back with the things I need. The only thing I didn't have at the time was my photo. So I went straight over to FedEx/Kinko's (they recommended this because they said sometimes CVS and Walgreens don't take them well enough and they are therefore unusable). I got my pictures in mere minutes. But check this out. The dude tells me I'm not allowed to show my teeth in my smile! Is this a lie? It doesn't matter now, as I have already complied with the ridiculous maybe-rule (it has yet to be verified, so he might have just been handing me a line). Let me just say that, compared with my new picture, Stefanie is right -- I do look like a model in the old picture. But only in comparison to the new one. It is horrible! I couldn't show my teeth in my smile! I look like a total dork! And that will plague me for the whole 10 years I have my passport! Oh well. As long as I get one, and as long as they let me into the countries into which I wish to go, I don't care. Trust me, I don't look like a threat in my photo. I look like a dweeb. So, once I had my pictures, my next step was to fill out the application. I totally could have had it done in time. But there were two things I didn't remember, and if I don't find out soon where my mom was born (what city), I won't be able to turn it in on Friday. But they told me it should take about 4 weeks. So yay. And I'm seriously hoping it only costs $100 since that's what I've been planning on. Amber said hers cost her over $200. And since she needed to get hers expedited at the end, which cost her an extra $100, she says hers cost her a total of over $300. I really don't want to pay that much.

Oh, in other trip news... I informed my dad that I have already started making a list of where I want to go. He told me, "Well, you make your list. But I have to go to Boquete to check on that land for a couple of days." So, I'm thinking I have a driver's license now. And I'm old enough to drive the rental car (ah..... the perks of being old are few and far between. And they aren't even very exciting perks. But hey -- you take what you can get.), so I'm thinking I could just drop him off and leave :). (Okay, totally kidding here -- where would I go? We'd be about 6 hours away from anything I know, since we only went to Boquete and Volcan once when I lived there, and I was all of 12 -- around the time of my last passport, in fact). So anyway, perhaps my dad will humor me and let me accomplish at least the majority of the many items on my list. Good grief, I hope this all works out. Because I am totally psyched about it now.

I went and walked again at Shelby Park with some other Strive for Fivers. Annie was there this time. There were still only 5 of us, but we enjoyed it. Fact: Women in groups of 2 or more, even if they are strangers, can always have fabulous conversation. Translation: women can talk... a lot. Fact: I am a woman. Conclusion: I can talk... a lot. I spent the evening working on shool stuff (believe it or not). I didn't get very far on the literature review re-do, but I have found a few things. Yay. Of course, I will have to pay my $6.00 library fine in order to check out anything. Yes, you read that right. The librarian has a $6.00 library fine. And here's the kicker, it was so unintentional. Okay, I checked out 5 bound periodicals in an honest attempt to find material for that lit review. I found nothing in the 2 I looked in. Oh, and the bound periodicals can only be checked out by graduate students. And then, only for 5 days apparently. I thought I had a week. So, I had looked in 2 of them, found nothing, and returned them quickly. The other 3 really enjoyed the excitement of riding around in my back seat, so I figured I'd let them have their cheap thrills. Until last Wednesday when I thought they were due. So I dropped them in the box on the way in that morning. I got to my desk and had an over-due notice in my email! They were 2 days overdue!! What?!? I hadn't even had them a week by that point! But whatever. And why don't they send an overdue notice (if it's electronic) the DAY they are due, rather than wait? I mean, I've gotten reminder emails before for books. Why not these? Anyway, so I was like, "Well, it's okay. They are already in there and I'll just owe a little bit." Well, so I get to my desk Thursday and find an email announcing my fine. $6.00. Can you believe that? Bound periodicals are $1.00 per day per periodical??? Good grief. What a rip-off. I still haven't paid it. Perhaps I will be forced to. Or perhaps I can just use the book I need to use and skim it and annotate it while in class tonight... Hmmm... Beats paying the $6.00 at the moment. I will have to eventually, of course. They won't let me graduate otherwise. I still can't believe that though. $6.00. Yeesh. Such drama. Anyway, I did finish my abstract last night for our poster session. So all my group work is now pretty much done. Yippee!

And finally... I don't really know how my mind works. It's a mystery even to me. But I was on my way to work, and I hit a red light. I was in the left-turn lane. I hoped to get a green arrow. I did not. So I said to myself, "I wonder why I never get the green arrow at this light?" And then the phrase "Follow the yellow brick road!" popped into my head. Not from The Wizard of Oz. Although I know that is where it originated. This was from this old cartoon called "The Mad Scientist." Brad used to laugh at that part. I tried to find a sample of the cartoon on youtube, but was not successful. Anyway, I'm not sure why a green arrow led to a yellow brick road in my mind. But it did. I'm so random.

Light My Fire

Okay, don't light a fire. But you can listen to the song here. We had an unexpected fire drill this morning. The buzzer is right across from my cube, so it scared the mess out of me. And it's been so long since I've heard it go off, that at first I didn't even know what it was! So I walked around to Annie's cube and said, "What is that for?" She said, "It's the fire alarm!" So, I gathered up my stuff and we headed down the many flights of stairs. On the way out, we heard that it was a drill and not real. Anyway, we headed out to our meeting spot and spent between 5 and 10 minutes out there. It was rather chilly, and I wore short sleeves today and forgot my jacket at my desk. So, I stood in the sun :). The good news is that there wasn't a fire. At least I think that's the good news :). I was going to use the Roof is on Fire song, but it turns out that's a really bad bad song. So don't listen to it.

So, yesterday I went and walked with a few people for the Strive for Five type thing... There were only 5 of us who showed up. Amber who led the walking, myself from the library, a woman from the career center, and two women from the facilities department. So, I met people I'd never otherwise meet, even though we all work on the same campus. This is a huge campus. And I am pretty much self-contained in the library... I don't even know a fraction of the other buildings on campus. Anyway, after walking, I went over to the library. I love the library. I checked out a book called Daddy-Long-Legs, which is a book my friend Tammy said she loves. I'd never even heard of it, so I looked it up. It sounds cute. So, I'm going to give it a whirl. It's in the juvenile section, so I am sure I should be able to whip through it pretty quickly. Although, at the rate I've been reading, maybe not... I did do a little bit of reading for the literature review re-do. Ugh. I don't know if I'll ever get that thing done. And then Stefanie and Pace invited me to watch Phenomenon with them. Okay, I'd never seen that movie before, so don't be shocked when I say that I did not see that coming... I so prefer when movies end the way I think they should. If they don't end the way I think they should, then I say they did not end well. So, just FYI -- the movie A Beautiful Mind did not end well. So says the Nilla. (You got that Juliebean :)?)

Oh, and you know, the weeks really are flying by. I can't believe it's Thursday already!

So, I'm thinking I haven't done a memory lane post in a while. So, Elka, this one is especially for you, since I'm sure you will see why (and I'll tell you why at the end in case you don't get it :)). So, back when I was about 13 or so, I went to church girls' camp. We were actually camping (ick...) (oh, so it turns out, Elka, that there are more than one reason for this story to be especially for you :)). I don't like camping. Well, we had porta-potties there at Gatun Lake in Gamboa, which is where we were camping. In this huge grassy field. Full of mosquitos. Seriously. I counted something like 36 bites after that week was over, and I'm not kidding. Anyway, I had invited my twin friends to go to camp with me. Their names were Chantal and Nicole. Well, porta-potties are not exciting for me. They are nasty. So, we made it a point to only use them twice a day. No, this did not mean we used the grass or trees the rest of the time. This just means we learned how to hold it. So we went once in the morning and once at night. And since the porta-potties were a ways away from the campsite, we had to use the buddy system. Well, so 4 of us would go together: Chantal, Nicole, Rebecca, and myself. At night-time, it was dark, so we took flashlights. Three of us would shine our lights into the openings at the top of the porta-potty while the 4th person went in... that way they had light without having to juggle holding their flashlight inside... And goodness knows there was nowhere safe to set down a flashlight inside. I'm telling you, we women really got a rotten deal when it comes to porta-potties. We need both hands free, thank you very much. Not to mention we have to do all this while holding our breath, trying to avoid touching anything with as much of our bodies as possible, and struggling to hover... So, we'd been doing this for several days. Suddenly one night, Chantal is the one on the inside, and for some reason she had taken her light in with her... Maybe she thought she could hold it under her chin??? (I know all you women out there are actually nodding your heads, because you've probably tried this in one scenario or another). Or maybe she didn't take it in and just noticed something and demonstrated for us when she was done... It's a little fuzzy. And after a couple of seconds, Chantal says, "Hey guys! It's cool! I found a flashlight holder in here! It holds your flashlight so it shines up!" So we are beyond baffled. I mean, we've been using these things for several days and none of us ever saw a flashlight holder... So, when she comes out, she either shows us where she has her flashlight in the "flashlight holder" or she takes her flashlight from whomever was holding it for her on the outside, and plunks it down in the "holder" for us to see. Either way, I know that at some point, her flashlight was put into the "flashlight holder." Which is also known as the men's urinal that was built into the wall of the porta-potty. So gross. Needless to say, she carried her flashlight back to camp by the very top of it... Not at the handle part, since that had been in the oh-so-convenient "flashlight holder." Seriously cracked up just sitting here remembering this... So, this was also the camp when my monthly friend decided to make its appearance, and I had to go to one of my leaders to ask for a pad.... That was back in the day when it was still a mortifying thing to admit. You know, the days when I would make my mother walk to the necessary aisle with the cart so I could quickly throw my needed products in the cart so no one would see. As though anyone really cared.... But in my mind, it was a spectacle. Obviously it's not anymore, since I've shared that story with the blogosphere :). And Elka, my original reason for thinking you'd love this is your attachment to port-o-pots (the 3-day and your picture for your profile...). But the camping thing seems to fit well too :).

Drum Roll Please!

Okay, I usually try to wait until after my 9:00 class to post, because then I can include my Strive for Five success and/or failure. Today I'm expecting a failure, by the way. But what I'll do is just edit this later and record for sure what the results were. But I really have to post this, because it is great. I got my test back for this crazy class (the one I will be in at 9:00). Woo hoo! And my grade is... Drum roll please... a book!!! Yep, that's right. A book. Don't believe me? Well, I knew you wouldn't, so I brought proof (and you can even check my answers for clarity and understanding ;)):You see, my genius surpasses the traditional grading system of A, B, C, D, and F. When it comes to the Nilla, the mold is broken every time. I knew it was only a matter of time before the mold in grading would have to be broken, and a new form of grading would have to be developed to encompass and give credit to my brilliance.

Okay, are you done wading in that pile of you-know-what? Yeah, I thought so. That red book really is my grade though. At least for the moment. And according to the key she sent us, that red book translates into something (but not a grade!). Let me see if I can give you the key so you believe me :).

(Well, I had to print it out and take another picture for you, but I really wanted you guys to see this, and the meaning of the symbols).

I mean, I think I have a pretty good knack for fiction (remember, I hope to one day write a novel), but even I couldn't have made this stuff up. Okay, so I'm pretty thrilled that I got a book, which is the highest level she's willing to impart. But please notice that, even at the best "grade" (or symbol, however you want to see it), one still only has "pretty good understanding." Apparently having excellent understanding in this course is an impossibility (which doesn't acutally surprise me). However, I also noticed that there is "pretty good understanding" and then "good understanding." It seems to me that good understanding is better than pretty good understanding. Maybe she reversed those so that the eye is actually better? I don't really know. The rest of it seems to be in descending order... Anyway, we're going to discuss this in class today, so I will report on how it translates (obviously it's going to be a rough translation) into a grade or points. Ought to be interesting. And since I'm not entirely sure now that the book was the highest "grade" in the class, I won't continue to toot my own horn at this particular juncture in time. (Mostly I was going to point out that receiving such "good" grades when I have not actually read the material doesn't give me a whole lot of motivation to go out and read the material from here on out... I told you I'm a bad student). Oh yeah, and this was the professor's comments in the email that had the answer key: "We will discuss the grading system – which is somewhat creative – tomorrow in class". Now there's the understatement of the year!

And, in other excellent school news, it seems (although I have not gotten an official notice from the library school) that they have found someone to teach the technology class which I need to be able to graduate in August!!! Yay!!! One of the other students who was petitioning for the class got an email (under-the-table, if you will) from her advisor who imparted this information. And she forwarded that email on to those of us who want to know! Yay Yay Yay! (I feel like a cheerleader! Rah rah rah! Give me an H! (H) Give me an I! (I) Give me an L! (L)... Yeah, you get the idea :)).

Oh, and so Institute rocks! Elka rocks! Juliebean rocks! April rocks! Okay, so basically, all of you rock! There are too many to list, since I know you're all out there reading this :). But those are the people (and events) that applied to the rest of yesterday... It's Wednesday, which means I just have to get up early 2 more mornings this week, and then it's Spring Break! It's a beautiful day! (And I even thought I'd give you a song to apply that phrase to, so thanks U2!!! I like U2!). And who cares if the scale isn't my friend today? It'll change by next week :). Because it will WANT to be friends with the NILLA :). Okay, I'm done :). I'll report on the Strive for Five in a few hours :).

UPDATE:
Okay, so the verdict on Stive for Five: Yep, I gained another 1.4 pounds. But overall, I still maintained. And it's such a beautiful day, it doesn't even phase me :). Oh, and we got a lunch box sack with the university's name on it as our prize this time.

The verdict on the "grade"?: Just as unknown as before, except that she did say she sees that list as a hierarchy, so that means "pretty good" is better than "good." As for the rest of it... Sigh. Too much to really explain. Except I think I'm inching my way back into her good graces. Oh, and she's not going to assign "grades" per se to the symbols. And the question she asked was, "Do you really think any of this is going to damage you?" As in, do we really think these are going to count against us. So, I'm thinking she's using the test to gauge our understanding. Which, she told me in the hall when I went to ask her a question for our group, that I did really well on the test and she thanked me for bringing up the fact that I am an inside-of-the-box thinker (which is so very true). So yay!!! I'm so not stressing over this class anymore. Okay, that's it. I just wanted to fill you in :).

Grab a Clue

Well, for any of you who were waiting with bated breath for the answer to the trivia questions: Baby's real name was Frances Houseman... after the first lady in the Cabinet. Good job, Elka, on guessing the first name right! And Julie, thanks for calling me up with this fun trivia question! I love trivia! Especially 80s trivia! (I know you know that already :)).

Good news! I'm well on my way to finishing that paper! Yippee! I still have at least 6 pages to write, but I have a lot of "categories" still to fill in. That's how I write my papers... I outline the sections of my paper (like one section in this paper is "What is information literacy?"). Then I go through all my notes and number the notes according to what section of my paper they should be in. And then I start writing it. That has worked for me for every paper I've had to write since starting this program. I think this is effective for me with research papers. I don't think this would work for me with critical papers, because I usually don't have many notes with critical papers. I like critical papers a lot more, because they don't usually require any research :). I'm just not a researcher. So anyway, that's my secret to writing research papers.

I want to briefly focus your attention on today's quote :). I just want to say that that is how I feel :). So, to all of my friends out there, you are like my family. And to my family, you are like my friends ;). How blessed I am.

Side note: My coworker William just came in. He looked at me and asked if I bought a straightener. I told him I've had one, but some days I just don't care. So on those days, I come to work looking like vaNILLA Hila. I told him that this way, I can change it up, and people never know what to expect. And I said, "Today I'm Saucy Hila." He laughed. I keep telling him he's going to miss me when I'm gone. He just never knows what's going to come out of my mouth.

Okay, so yesterday, I had class. It wasn't so bad, because we had a guest speaker and she made class much more engaging than class usually is. Well, so the second half of class was good. And we got out about 15 minutes early (can you say hallelujah?). And you've seen my Strive for Five results (gained 1.6 pounds). I guess I'm maintaining my weight. Which isn't a bad thing. After work (I got off at 3:30), I went home and worked on my paper some more. And washed a load of clothes. Then I headed over to Emily's house. Emily S helps in the nursery with me. She's super sweet. She invited Candace and me over to just hang out and do girlie stuff. We didn't know what all we were going to do, but we were just going to hang out. It was so much fun! We ended up ordering a pizza (Pizza Hut pan pizza with bacon topping, because Emily doesn't like pepperoni) and playing CLUE. I hadn't played CLUE in years! But it was so much fun! And of course we did a lot of gabbing. We're women, what do you expect? I looked through Emily's wedding album. She got married in November. The pizza was delicious. I love the pan pizza. It's so bad for you, but it is so good. Also, Emily has a jar of m&ms. I'm talking about a big jar with all sorts of m&ms mixed in. She also had Reese's Pieces mixed in. And there's a spoon in the jar so you can get them out. Well, Candace was like, "Does Jeff eat off the spoon? Because then there'd be spit all over the other m&ms." Emily assured us Jeff (her husband, who was at work) does not. But we laughed anyway, and neither Candace nor I wanted to try the m&ms. Well, then Michael (Candace's husband) showed up to pick up Candace (they had to be somewhere at 8), and he sat down and asked if he could have some m&ms. Emily told him yes, and that there were surprises mixed in with the m&ms. He was like, "What is it?" Emily told him he'd know them when he got to them. So I was thinking it'd be something like Skittles (that would be gross, but very obvious). Turns out it was the reese's. But anyway, when Michael asked that (as he was sitting there eating them by the handful), Candace said, "the surprise is baba." It took me a second to realize what she was saying (since I probably haven't heard this term in at least 1o years), but once it dawned on me, I was like, "EWWW!" In Spanish, baba = spit. So gross! So Michael was like, "What's baba?" And of course, Emily was asking the same thing. So Candace and I answered at the same time. And Michael freaked out. He was like, "really!?" We laughed. Anyway, eventually we all got brave enough to eat some m&ms and Reese's pieces mix, whether or not there was baba on them or not. I ended up taking Candace home so she could stay and finish our game of CLUE. Lucky for her, since she ended up winning. It was Mrs. Peacock, in the ballroom, with the lead pipe. Also, it turns out I had forgotten all the rules of the game... I kept rolling even though I was already in a stinkin' room. So, I'd have to leave the room, because I rolled the dice. Arg. Also, I totally gave away one of my cards in the beginning, because I'm a dope. And then it didn't occur to me, when they couldn't help me (which meant I could disprove myself, since I was holding the room card in my hand) that that meant I had put the right person and the right weapon in the room. So I could have been way ahead of the game on that one if I'd have realized it before the end of the game... I'm such a dope. But anyway, so here we all are... Candace, me, and Emily.
Oh, and if you look closely, you can see the jar of possibly baba-tainted m&ms between me and Candace...

On Being Tested

Strive for Five weigh in was today, of course. I lost 3 pounds! Yipee! I don't know how that happened (I mean, you saw the lovely menu at the Pink Party!). Maybe it was my lack of groceries until last night.... Hmmm....

Well, I just got out of my first test in the crazy class. It took me about an hour and a half to complete. There were a possible 15 points (although she made a note that, if you got a perfect score on the test, it was actually 16 points, but it would only count as 15...). I'm not even remotely hoping for a perfect score. But it's one test down in there, one to go. April and I spent the remainder of class time talking and visiting. April's big complaint: the study questions she gave us didn't have anything to do with the test. Which doesn't really surprise me. I'd heard so many horror stories about people getting 4 out of 15 when they actually read the books and studied for the test. So, let me just say that I didn't put that much effort into preparing for it. It was open-book and open-note. I guess we'll see how much that helped me.

It did get me to wax philosophical about tests in general though. I mean, who really likes tests? I'm sure there are those random people out there who do, in fact, enjoy them. I think they should have their heads examined :). But, I'm sure they exist. While today's test, I'm sure, will not be a defining moment in my life, I am equally sure that I have had other kinds of tests that have been defining moments. And I know I will continue to have those. And again, who really likes tests? They are hard. Especially the ones that have significance. So, I thought I would search for the word "test" in the scriptures. I didn't find it. So then I thought about the word "tried." Because that's the same thing. There are many scriptures with this word. But the first one I got was pretty awesome and seems to have great application to my life.

James 1:3 - Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Yep, there's that nemesis of mine... patience. I lack it, seriously. I know I've shared that in the past, my lack of patience. I also know I've mentioned that my mom's favorite phrase to me when I was growing up was "Patience is a virtue." Apparently I should have worked harder at developing patience back then. Maybe I wouldn't be having to learn it now :). So, anyway, a while back (about a year and a half ago now), I looked up scriptures on patience. And a few really struck me at the time. One of them happens to be the next scripture in James:

James 1:4 - But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

And also:

Romans 5:3-4 - And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope.

Of course, I find it amazing that all of these scriptures tie back in together with tests, trials, and tribulations, since really, those three words are conveying the same idea. I do know that it is through our trials and tests that we grow. We really wouldn't grow any other way. Without opposition, we would be content to be what we were and never try to become better. So, we are forced to grow through tests and trials. And it is amazing what we can become. This brings to mind a song I have on a CD in my car by Hilary Weeks. It's called "Be Still," and it is based on the scripture in Psalms 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." (Of course, this is also saying to be patient in a way too). The song is beautiful. It's done in two parts. One part has a woman pleading in prayer, saying:

Another day, I'll try again.
Can you tell me, will this hurting ever end?
I've been taught, and I believe.
But it's been a while since I've been on my knees.
And I need You by my side.
I don't have the strength to make it on my own.
And Lord, do You hear my prayer?
How soon will You answer me?

Oh how familiar I am with the emotions and feelings set forth in those words. And that used to make me cry every time I heard it. Because I've felt that anguish, that feeling of being lost and alone, afraid and weak. Now, the part that brings tears to my eyes is the part in which "the Lord" replies:

I've watched you struggle.
And yet I can see how much you've grown.
Child could you feel My power in your darkest hour?
You were not alone.
I know you're weary.
I know you've had all you can bear
And now you ask of me, on bended knee.
I promise I'll be there.

Be still and know that I am God.
I'm by your side, whom shall you fear?
I'll hold you close, my child.
I am here.
Be still and know that I am God.
And there's no prayer that I won't hear.
Lift up your voice, my child.
I am here.

I know I still have a lot of growing to do. But one day, as I was listening to this song on the way to church, the phrase "I've watched you struggle. And yet I can see how much you've grown" really hit me. And I understood. I understood why I have gone through some of what I have gone through. It does not make it easier to struggle, but it makes it easier to endure. To know that I am being tried and tested so that I can become stronger. And as I've looked back on this stage of my life, a stage of life I never wanted and never saw myself as being in, I too can see how much I have grown. Knowing that does give me more courage to face future trials and tests. No, I don't necessarily want to have to go through more trials. Who does? But they will come. And I am being prepared now to face what is coming.

I don't know if these thoughts are all jumbled up, or if they even make sense. It was just something I was pondering. So, I thought I would share :).

A Blah Day

Well, I am having a blah day. I am bloated and retaining water (which I can tell by the size of my wrists!) -- and all you women understand this feeling -- and I really could have handled staying in bed. I seriously might have called in if it wasn't for that ridiculous class I have on Wednesdays. I'm not sick or anything. Just having one of "those" days where I look blah and feel blah and would love to be asleep. I am tired! And it was frigid outside this morning (and yesterday was relatively warm, so that's always fun). Although I wasn't able to experience it, since it wasn't happening when I got in to work at 7 this morning (okay, okay, I'll admit it... It was more like 7:10), apparently it started snowing again. I think it may have stopped by now. It's funny, because I am going through my old posts to add labels (to avoid too much repetition for you guys) and I saw the one where I talked about the possibility of seeing snow in the Northeast. I made the comment that I hoped to get to see it, but if I didn't, it would be okay, since I was going to move to WA next year and by then I would surely see snow. I said I'd made it 27 years without really seeing snow and I figured one more year wouldn't kill me. Ironic that I not only saw snow in the Northeast, but I also saw it here in Alabama this year! And apparently would have seen it again had I stepped outside this morning ;). But anyway, so yeah, it's cold here.

I was incredibly popular during class today. My dad called, my friend Virginia called (she was worried about me, since I didn't return her email and hadn't blogged yet and there's a flu going around here), and my brother Brad called. I felt loved. I never get phone calls during the day! Well, correction... I hardly ever get phone calls during the day. Elka called me yesterday and that was a fun conversation :). But I never get 3 in 3 hours!

Speaking of class... I'm not going to complain about it (although, believe me, I could). I will say that there is this one guy in there that really doesn't like the teacher. And she doesn't like him. And boy do they ever clash. She separated us into assigned groups before class today, so when we walked in, we had tables that had our names on them. Well, that guy decided he didn't like his group, since he didn't know anyone in it, and he changed his name to another group. Well, the teacher saw it when she came in and made him go back to the other group. Then later he was talking about statistics and she totally blasted him out of the water. And he was so mad, he was like breathing in and out to control himself. And then, because he kept shaking his head (his back was to her), she finally said, "Well, I'm sorry that you think you know so much more about this stuff than I do." Oh my gosh. And then, after class, April (who is in his group) told me that when he was presenting his article review, the teacher was making faces about his stuff. Which I find totally inappropriate. Oh yeah, and we got the scale on how she grades class participation. Let's just say that I will be getting a 2 out of 5 every day. Because I don't feel any need to run my mouth about stuff when I'm there to learn it from the teacher (and please understand that, in this class, I use the term "learn" loosely). Good grief. This is the worst class ever... Okay, sorry, I guess I did end up complaining a little bit. But seriously... And I wonder if I should fear that that guy (he also has a law degree) might start picking people off one day...

And, Strive for Five. Well, as I said, I am bloated and retaining water. The results showed up on the scale. I gained back the 2 pounds I had lost last week. Sigh. But I'm not going to stress over it too much, since I am pretty sure I know the culprit.

Well, this afternoon I am hanging out with Jeni again to visit the other two sisters we were unable to visit on Sunday. So that should be fun. I need to start working on several school projects some more, and if I can get a lot of that done quickly tonight, then maybe I'll reward myself by watching a cute movie :). I think my condition calls for a chick flick and some Edy's Thin Mint ice cream (which is suprisingly and depressingly short on the Thin Mints).

Whiny and Complainy and Cool!

I told you that complaining was one of my bad habits. I know I shouldn't be complaining. I do know this. I'm almost done with school. But my goodness. Why oh why did I have to take this class? Why oh why is it required? I think the teacher hates me already. Seriously. The girl next to me leaned over to ask me a question (she asked me how many articles I've already read for the class, since last semester I was studious and worked on getting stuff done fast... NOT SO with this semester...). So I answered her that I have not done any so far. And the teacher goes, "Do you have a question?" And I look up and she's looking at me. I just shook my head and went back to writing on my syllabus. Add that to the fact that last week, I was the one looking at the clock when it was time to go, which made her comment that "some people are looking at the clock" and I am pretty sure I can expect a bad grade in that class. Oh well. Oh, and shocker of all shockers... we didn't get out on time today either. This is going to be a LONG semester. She even made the comment at one point that she can't see the clock from where she stands. Okay, so doesn't that beg a solution? And isn't the solution simple? Don't stand there. Find a new place to stand. Duh. And don't read the book to us. I've had almost 20 years of schooling, so I promise I can read. ARGGGG. Oh yeah, and she gives us the schedule for when we have to present our article reviews to the class. I go next week. Yeah, I think she hates me already... Oh and also... (sorry, there was a lot to say about this class). She is totally against technology (ironic in a program that includes a technology class as a required course) and refuses to post the syllabus online like the other professors do. She keeps saying, "We'll just kill a lot of trees." As though that is funny or something. And then... And this is the cherry on top... She literally takes notes on who speaks in class. Literally. Okay, I'm just not one of those people who likes to pontificate for the sake of hearing myself talk. At least not in a class. If I have something to say, fine, I say it. But I'm not going to create something to say every class just to get a participation grade. That's just ridiculous. I do my pontificating on my blog :). Believe me, I've been in classes that have people who always have a comment. And, I'm not a fan. I'm not going to be one of those students. I seriously can't get over how she pulled out her notepad and started writing down the people who actually talked. Well, let me stop pontificating on this matter ;).

And on a cool and up-note: I think I should make a new diet plan. It shall be called the "Eat donuts, drink soda, and abstain from meat diet." Haha!!! Because I weighed-in and lost 1.2 pounds. I'm pretty sure that this won't continue, but it'll be fun while it lasts ;).

Class and Striving for Five Again

Okay, so for anyone who hasn't already checked today, this is my second post of the day. I don't usually do this, because I do tend to like to save something for a boring day (like I had yesterday). But I've had a kind of eventful (at least for my life) 4 hours.

April called to tell me that she was stuck at a dead stop on the Interstate. Turns out that power lines fell across the whole Interstate last night at 11 p.m., so they were re-routing people off the Interstate. All four lanes were closed for 10 miles. Poor April. She didn't even make it to class until about 11:00. Yuck.

So class... The professor begins by saying, "I don't anticipate us taking the whole class time, since this is our first meeting. We will probably get out early." So, 10 minutes AFTER class was supposed to end, I finally got to leave class. Which is nice for me, since I'm supposed to return to work, and I worked in a 15-minute "pad-time" so that I can stuff some food into my mouth. Of course, this all worked out okay for me today (even though she consumed 10 of those 15 minutes), since I did, after all, forget my lunch.

So I went down to the first floor and bought my lunch. The only thing you can purchase there that does not require a body part for payment is a 99 cent bag of some sort of chips. In their defense, they are the larger bags. So, I bought some cheetos, because, although the worst (of the available selection) for you, they are also the best bang for your buck. So, that is my lunch: water and a bag of cheetos (30 grams of fat, in case you wondered).

Which is ironic, because I return to my desk with my bag of cheetos, planning to eat them while working, since I no longer have anymore time and am due back at work, and there are papers and notes from Annie and Le letting me know that they signed me back up for Strive for Five. Oh sweet irony, thy name is cheetos! Whatever, it sounded funny :). (in my mind at least). So I ran downstairs to see what all I had to do (since, in my absence, I was re-elected team captain). Turns out Amber (the friend from church who had the potluck last week) is heading it up, so she was able to inform me quite well. We do not weigh as a team anymore, but rather individually. I am amazingly blase about doing this. It does not embarass me anymore. And coolly enough (is that even a word?), I weigh less this weigh in than I did at the last one I did for the first Strive for Five. And I've felt particularly heiferish lately (probably because I've been gorging on all the junk from Christmas that I've been trying to eat), so I am sure I am heavier now than I was 2 weeks ago when I first got back from Dothan. And yet, still lighter than I was before Christmas. So hey... No complaints here.
Cheetos... They're what's for linner. (Because really, I'm eating lunch, but that doesn't fit in the saying. Oh, and "linner" is a mix between lunch and dinner. Because, for any of you who need to know the 'proper' terminology: it's dinner, not supper ;) ).

Failed Cookies and Strive for Five

So the Relief Society is having a Christmas function tonight at church and part of it is a cookie swap. So I went through my "Christmas Cookies" cookbook and found a recipe for kiss cookies for which I had all the ingredients except Hershey's Kisses. So I went to Wal-Mart again (I had to get a few other things that I didn't get on Tuesday night) and got mint truffle Hershey's Kisses. Because I love mint and chocolate together. I got home and got a shower and then started getting ready to make the cookies. Well, at this point I actually read through the recipe directions and learn that it's a cookie press recipe. Well, just great. Like I have a cookie press. So I try to find another recipe for these same basic types of cookies, but in all of my cookbooks, nothing. So I call Brad (because I figured he could look up a recipe online, since I don't have Internet at home) and he looks in one of their cookbooks and gives me one that calls for peanut butter. Which is all well and good, but it also calls for brown sugar and shortening, neither of which I have. So then I call my mom at work to ask her if she thinks it really matters if you use a cookie press. She said she didn't think so. So, I gave it a shot. Yeah, a total bummer. They are edible, but totally didn't turn out right. Especially the first batch, since I didn't make a hole in the cookie for the chocolate kiss to sit in. And so they melted and slid all over the place (which prompted me to put them, and the wire rack upon which they sat, into the refrigerator). (Oh, and I put the Kisses on AFTER I took the cookies out of the oven, in case anyone was wondering):
Notice the sad looking kisses that have melted to the point of no longer having a point... Anyway, the second batch came out slightly better, but they still don't look all that great:
I mean, they are edible, but they aren't anywhere near as good as I was imagining they'd be. Once again, this is why I don't generally attempt to break out of the Nilla mold. I should have gone with regular old chocolate chip :).

I spent the rest of the evening watching THE GREAT OUTDOORS (I bought it at Wal-Mart, because I just think I should own it :) ) and wrapping Christmas presents. I'm almost done, which is good, because I have to get the package in the mail to my family in Washington. I will finish up the wrapping tonight and mail it tomorrow. I think it will get there in time.

I so dislike getting up in the mornings. I think I have hit a wall, because I have not been able to get out of bed! I have rolled into work at least 5 minutes late each day this week. I doubt I'll redeem myself tomorrow... I don't know what the solution is, because it's not like I didn't just have a vacation... And even before that, I had a week off that I spent in Dothan. Maybe I'm still just trying to catch up on my sleep from my blitz weekend :).

Okay, so this morning, they had the awards ceremony for Strive for Five. Well, our genius idea was to take the bus, because we had to go to the Stadium and I was wearing heels and Annie said she didn't feel like walking over to the stadium. Well, we finally figured out which bus to take, and then we didn't know where "The Zone" is in the Stadium. So we literally walked all the way around the Stadium (this is no small stadium, by the way), before discovering that we had to go INSIDE. So we got there late. Anyway, there were refreshments and they were giving out awards for the teams that lost the most weight. I was amazed at how much weight some of the teams lost. One team lost a total of 66 pounds!!! Wow! Our team was somewhere at 7 pounds. Of course, I think we would have had more loss accounted for if I'd have been here last week to weigh in with my team. Instead, I was on a flight to Philly. I guess you can't have it all :). And at least they didn't weigh us today, since I certainly did heifer it up in the Northeast... Everything was about the food :).

After all the awards and stuff, we took a huge group picture in the stadium. And then, if we wanted to, we could get team pictures done by the professional photographer in the stadium as well. Well, you know I took my camera, because this was going to be the only time I was ever going to go inside the stadium. So we got a professional picture and then he also took a picture of the three of us with my camera. Okay, I totally don't like these pictures. I look TERRIBLE (which is a hazard of getting up with barely enough time to throw on clothes, and forget makeup). And my nose looks so fat! Too bad, too. Because the photographer was cute. Not that I was thinking he was a prospect or anything like that... But when you see a cute guy, you kinda hope you look semi-decent. Sigh... But I will share the pictures anyway. This is Le and me. And this is our team.

A True Nerd

Well, I finally made it down to scan in all my pictures. And this time I remembered the pictures. Okay, before I post any of the pictures, here's what I'm going to tell you about class last night: I gave my presentation. It went well. We had a good discussion afterwards. I'm now coasting in that class as well. And, to make up for my morning class running late, we got out of class last night early. And we had a thunderstorm here last night. Very rainy with lots of thunder and lightning. Of course, this brought the temperature drop. We spent the last couple of days hanging out in the high 70s and low 80s. Actually nice weather. This morning it was back in the 30s. We have unpredictable weather here :). And also, since I promised I'd post the original Strive For Five picture of all three of us on the scale when I got it, here it is (please note our weight is clearly displayed -- well, in case you can't click the picture, it says 432.8):And now for the moment for which you've all been waiting, it's the pictures I've been talking about for weeks!:

(see, I was cute once :))

And now for the ultimate icky photo. This one was actually taken when I was 12 (not 10 as I previously stated). I was a true nerd. I was in the Talented and Gifted program (TAG) in elementary school, because my grades were good and I excelled, and so I was able to be pulled out of class once a week to do other projects. One year I, along with several others, put on a play about nature (until recently (actually, I may only think it's recent, but I'm sitting here thinking it might have been back in 1998, when we moved to Dothan), I still had the shirt my mom made for it with raindrops and a sun -- too bad I didn't keep that). Another year, I had a massive project in which I researched and reported on the endangered mammals of Panama. I still have this project; in fact, I came across it in that box of memorabilia through which I looked the other week. I had to make transparencies and stuff on a copy machine. That was cutting-edge technology at the time ;). I was in 5th grade, so that would have been around 1991. Anyway, I was originally only going to present that thing to my class, and maybe the other 5th grade class. But, by the end of the whole thing, I think I had presented to most of the classes at Los Rios Elementary, as well having to present to a group of people at the annual Science Fair at the elementary school. Perhaps this is why I have no problem getting up in front of people to speak... I have seriously been doing it, through church, school, and other things, for many many years. Anyway, the other project was the Campbell Soup labels (which is why I'm holding those up in this lovely picture). We sent notes home with each child at the school to have parents send any Campbell Soup labels in, and when we reached a certain number, the school could turn them in for some neat piece of equipment. I'm not entirely sure what our school ended up getting, but I know we reached our goal. Part of my job was to go around from classroom to classroom and collect the labels. Then I had to count them. Oh, also in other nerdy elementary school news... I was also in Math Olympiads, and I won a trophy the year this photo was taken. I was not expecting it. Apparently a kid named Derek (I think I mentioned him before, because I had a serious crush on him that year) and I scored the highest overall in Math Olympiads.

Okay, I know this post has gotten way out of hand (seriously, this one was supposed to be short because I had 'nothing' to say). But this just has been floating around in my mind since I told you about the endangered animals of Panama presentations. That year (5th grade), I dressed up in skirts and stuff (and leggings, for all you 80s lovers out there) every day because I had this huge crush on this boy named Romel. And for some reason, even at the age of 10 or 11, I figured the best thing to do was to wear dressy clothes and always have my hair done up with some cutsie hair thing (usually compliments of my grandparents in Washington). Okay, so there's no real point to this story (I've been told in the past -- as in 9th grade -- that my stories never have a point), but I just vividly remember wearing dresses and skirts (and, eek, the most hideously-colored leggings of all time) to school every day for the sole purpose of impressing Romel. Yeesh, some things are just better forgotten. Too bad I have that freakish memory, right Juliebean?

Okay, so, picture:
And for the record, I'm still a nerd. This is what I was pondering last night in class, mostly because the topic of computerized library catalogs was brought up in one of the presentations: my children will not know how to locate a book the old-timey way, because by the time I have kids, there probably won't be many (if any) standing card catalogs left. Don't you remember going to those little drawers and pulling them out and flipping through index cards to find your book? Don't you remember having to learn that there are three different sections of those cards: author, title, and subject? What a tragedy that my children won't understand that... Won't know that. Okay, well, it's tragic for me. So, here's my plan: (obviously this will wait until after I am out of school and have more free time... Also until all my books are unpacked, which ain't happenin' anytime soon). I'm going to create a card catalog system for my own personal library. Yep, that's right. And one day, I'll be able to show my kids how it used to be done. I told you, I'm a total nerd.

I'm Popular

Okay, so not really... But it totally fits with my post, and the song I wanted to use fits with my post and you'll see why, so read on...

First off, I talked to my cousin (this would be Elka) on the phone yesterday. Funny how you picture someone sounding one way and then they don't, and you kind of have to get used to it :). I was wrong, though... I told her it had been like 17 years since we last spoke. However, that's not true. Back in 1995 (man, that must have been a banner year, since that's the year I'm going to talk about some more in this post), well, maybe it was 1996, she and her sister went down to Panama, because they had other cousins there as well. So I actually have a bunch of pictures from the day they came to spend with us... After my trip to the Northeast, I will post a now and then :). Funny how you forget about those things!!! So, it's only been 11 years since I last saw her :). But life sure has changed since then... Anyway, I told her she sounded different than I imagined she would. She laughed and said I sound older than she thought I would (another confirmation about Grandma Hila??? :) ). haha... Anyway, I commented that I probably sound Southern (and to you lifetime Southerners, I know I don't sound Southern to you, but I know from experience that, when I speak with someone with whom I haven't spoken in 10 years, they notice the difference) and she said, "Yeah, you do have some of that Southern drawl in you..." So, I guess that confirms it, I'm going to really stand out as an obnoxious tourist when I go up to the NE in a month - no chance to blend in (of course, I don't know if I could do the Northern "New Yawk" thing like a native Yankee anyway :)).... Anyway, she and I had a fun conversation, and I just keep getting more excited every day about my trip and seeing her and my aunt and meeting others I haven't met yet :).

So, fast foward a few hours... I sat in class last night (instead of listening to the presentation - bad Hila) pondering how to fit everything into this blog. And the solution presented itself so well... So well, in fact, that I started smiling and then had to remember to STOP smiling because the presenters might think I'm strange... (Side-note: I have changed the word 'presenters' to 'presentors' and back again like 5 times, because I can't decide which is right and I'm too lazy to go look it up... So just know that it's one of those two, and if I chose the wrong one in the end, I'm sorry).

So, the song for this post is Nada Surf's "Popular." For those of you who don't know where this song is from... It came out the summer of 1995 (I know this because I was recording MTV videos back then, and I have this video recorded on a VHS tape). Okay, I just watched the video... Probably don't watch the whole thing (man, it seems tons worse now than it did when I recorded it 12 years ago).

So, this was my thought process while thinking up this blog post (and now you can see how my crazy mind works)... So I'm sitting in class last night, before class started. I'm telling my class-mate Andrea all about how I'm going to go to the Northeast. She's actually taking a weekend trip to New York in about a week and going to see a Broadway Play, so she was very understanding of my excitement :). So, my friend April walks into class, and she has a box that she sets in front of me and says, "Happy Birthday!" So I open the box. This is what was inside:

Ohhhhh Does that not look completely sinful and heavenly? (is that an oxymoron - sinful and heavenly? -- funny how we use those two words for things of this nature, and we use them interchangeably!!! -- sorry, random Nilla thought). It's almost too pretty to eat. But it smells sooo good. I have not eaten it yet, but I will keep you informed on what I'm sure will be one of the greatest taste adventures of my life. So, April had stopped at Edgar's Bakery in Birmingham (oh oh oh oh oh, soooo good) and bought me this individual cake. Okay, so I'm pretty sure it doesn't have the calories and fat of just an individual cake, but I bet every single calorie and gram of fat is worth it... Thanks again April!

So, I'm sitting there in class, thinking about telling Julie about this cake from Edgar's (because she and I went there together once), and I'm thinking she's going to say, "Oh my gosh! That's so nice..." or something along those lines. Which leads me to thinking about making some sarcastic comment about my popularity (hahaha). Which leads me directly to the song Popular by Nada Surf, and why? Well, because April has given me a recent connection to them...

So flashback: Last week, April was a bad student (just kidding)... She skipped class to go to.... (wait for it) ... a Nada Surf concert!! When she told me about it the previous week, she was like, "It's this band called Nada Surf." As though I didn't know who they were (because I guess a lot of people don't). So I was like, "As in the song 'Popular' Nada Surf???" And she was like, "YES!!" So I totally knew who she was talking about, and I thought that was totally cool that she was going to this concert (because, even though they have continued to produce albums, I only know them from the mid-90's, and this was a blast from the past for me). So then April calls me Sunday and tells me about how she actually got to meet the lead singer (whose name is Matthew). I asked: Did you take a picture with him? And she said "Yep! I'll send it to you!" So she did, and so, with her permission, I will post it here. How cool is that?? (Okay, maybe I'm a dork, but I think it's cool -- oh, and I'm probably a dork for like totally using the words 'like' and 'totally' like 5 million times in this blog post).

Haha... She told me that if I posted it, I had to say it was a picture of her and her boyfriend... Then she said she was kidding... But I did it anyway :). So, this is April with the lead singer of Nada Surf, whose video I recorded in 1995, and whose song (the same song: Popular) is currently one of my songs on my MP3 CD.

Okay, so that is how I made the leap from my mental sarcastic remark to Julie to Nada Surf and their song, and how I combined them all to make my blog post :) :) :). And now, perhaps, you have a better idea of how my crazy mind works... Aren't our brains wonderful???

And you know what? I'll go ahead and make this long, because I'm not going to be here tomorrow to torture you with another blog post :). So...

Today was the last day for Strive for Five. Good news all around!!! Yay! I personally have lost a total of 2.1 pounds since the beginning (okay, so not stellar weight loss, but weight loss nonetheless). Also, I'm shocked I didn't gain 5 pounds by just breathing in the wonderful aroma of that chocolate decadent cake last night... (and this morning)... My team did not quite reach its goal of losing 10 pounds, but we did lose over half of the goal. We started out at 432 and finished up at 426.6. So we were excited. We each got a certificate for finishing, a T-shirt, and we were supposed to get a picture of all of us on the scale. Well, for some reason, ours was like the only one not down there. They said they would track us down and give us the picture. Here's to hoping, because I was totally bummed that we didn't get our picture and therefore I could not blog it today... (if we ever get it, I'll post it then).

But, then it occurred to me: I brought my camera in for the cake pictures!!! So, I made us all put on our t-shirts and take a picture. So, here we are in all our Striving for Five glory (L to R - Le, Annie, and Hila):

And before long, I'll be free for the day, so it's been a WONDERFUL week, turning 27 and all :).

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 :).

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!"

A-Weighing We Will Go

Okay, so let's see where I can start. I'll start with yesterday afternoon. So, trying to meet my "Strive For Five" goals of 5 fruits/veggies each day, I was sitting at my desk eating canned peaches. Okay, I know fresh is always better. But I don't have any more fresh fruits at home, so I bought some canned fruits to supplement. I would love to have the moolah necessary to go out and buy more fresh fruits. However, I live within a very strict budget, so I do not go to the grocery store very often. So, canned fruit it is... So I'm sitting here with a book in my lap for which I'm creating a bibliographic record. My desk is L-shaped, and my peaches are sitting on the "long part" of the L (the vertical line) and I'm facing the "short" leg of the L (the horizontal line). So, I don't want to pick up the bowl of peaches, because I don't want to drip any syrup on the book. So I twist my body and pick up the spoon and manage to get a peach onto the spoon. I'm slowly bringing it to my mouth, thinking, "Okay peach, don't fall, don't fall..." Not that the peach listened. Splat. Right on the floor. And just about that time, the telephone guy came into my cube to finish fixing my phone. Yay. So, I sheepishly make some comment about eating peaches and dropping one on the floor, and I have to pick the peach up with my bare hands (sticky) because he has to get onto the floor to get under the desk to get whatever gadget he'd left plugged into the phone socket. Great stuff. Moral of this story: put the book down and out of the way and pick up the bowl of peaches to eat them.


Brad called me on his way home from work to tell me that I "have not yet reached the age of reason." Then he laughed. Okay, story: back in 1993, Brad and I had to get our passports renewed. Strange to think of, now that I haven't had a current passport in almost 10 years. But while we lived overseas, we had to keep them current. Well, Brad and I had to go down to the U.S. Embassy in Panama City to get this done. I was 12 and Brad was 11. So the guy calls both of us over, and then one at a time, informs us (in his most solemn voice, I might add) that we have not yet reached the age of reason. He actually told us each that individually, but he told me first and Brad was standing right there. Brad, being younger than I am, obviously hadn't reached the coveted "age of reason" if I hadn't, but for whatever reason, he felt the need to break Brad's heart as well and tell him that he, too, had "not yet reached the age of reason." Basically, all that meant was that my mom had to sign our names on the passports, we couldn't. Whatever. I can tell you, we were totally crushed. We laughed the whole way home because "we had not yet reached the age of reason." Who says that? Just say, "Hey kids... You're not old enough to sign your own passports, so your mom's going to have to do it for you." But then, we wouldn't have that story to make us laugh 14 years later if he did it that way...


Twinkies... Okay, did you know that they once made Strawberry Twinkies? They did. Years ago. Obviously they went over like a lead balloon, but that is beside the point. Well, back when Brad was around 8 or 9, he had some friends spend the night for his birthday. My mom had bought both types of twinkies (original and strawberry). Well, this was indeed a treat, because my dad didn't like that kind of junk food. So, you never found potato chips or twinkies or any other bad-for-you (but oh SO GOOD) food in our pantry. At least, not the ones packed full of preservatives. They say the only food that could survive a nuclear explosion are twinkies. So, the preservative thing is probably true 100-fold for twinkies. Anyway, so my mom had bought these for this rare and special occasion. So we were totally psyched (how's that for an 80s word?). We decided to save the strawberry ones for very late at night (because, at spend-the-night parties, we HAVE to stay up late). Well, it got to the time when it was "late enough" to eat the twinkies. One of the party guests (Kristian) had fallen asleep. But we knew he was just as excited about the twinkies as we were, so we just knew he wouldn't want to miss it. So we woke him up and asked him if he was ready to eat his twinkie. He cried. I don't know why, but he cried. So, I had remembered that story last Wednesday night, because my group took twinkies for our class presentation (another long story that I will spare you). I just kept forgetting to tell the story to Brad. But when I finally remembered it last night, I called him and told him. Yep, he'd forgotten, and so it gave him a good laugh. Brad's response is always the same when I remind him of something like this. He says, "Oh yeah.." And then I can hear his "Brad-laugh" immediately.


Twinkie side-note: did you know that in the South, you can fry anything? They even fry twinkies here. I've never had one, but people say they are delicious.

Oh yeah, and my team weighed in today. We lost 9 pounds as a team (I lost 2 of them, so at least there's that) and so now we are actually .4 pounds lighter than we were when we first weighed 2 weeks ago. Hopefully this will continue... Especially me losing weight.

Sink or Swim

I feel like I am sinking. I keep finishing projects for school, but then get another one assigned. Or time seems to be running out on the next one due. Who knew one extra graduate class would make me stress out so much over classes? Okay, so I admit I'm a lousy student. I am not a fan of giving up my personal time to do school work. But that is not looking like an option. Either way, it's stressing me out, and I don't usually get stressed out over school. I know I'll be fine, and I even happened to make the comment (about sinking) to one of my professors last night (he is my professor for 2 of the 3 classes I'm taking this semester) and he said not to worry about his classes because I'm doing fine in them. So it's not that I'm worried about my grades so much as I'm worried about the deadlines. I don't like deadlines. Obviously I was not cut-out for the corporate world. So, probably I have chosen a pretty good profession for me :).

On to other depressing news... Today was Strive for Five weigh-in day. The whole time I'm just hoping I won't be the one who gained weight. Well, truthfully, we all did. But I gained the most of it. Almost 4 pounds. And I really don't get it, because I walked to work 2 times this week! And I don't think I have changed my eating habits. Oh well... the comfort is in that I wasn't the only one to gain, and also that they used a different scale this week than last week (okay, so I probably can't put a lot of weight -- no pun intended -- on this excuse, but my team seems to agree on it :)). Anyway, in total, my team gained 8.6 pounds. Ick. But I will push forward and try to have better results next week.

Oh, and a word to the wise... When you bite into a burrito and it burns (because it hasn't cooled off yet), don't continue to take the bite just because you're trying to hurry so you can get to Institute. You will end up with: a) a numb tongue on the parts where you have burned off your tastebuds; and b) a blister on the roof of your mouth that doesn't feel all that great. (And even if you're not hurrying to get to Institute, still don't do this :)). Seriously, I do believe this is the first time I've ever had a 2nd-degree burn in my mouth.

So, with my plethora of "complaints," I guess I should dedicate a paragraph to the great things in life :). I love my family and they are awesome (cousins and aunts, etc. included). My siblings are all doing well: Ben and Michelle, Sean, Tony, and Royce are all moved in to their new house - only minutes away from the rest of my WA family; Brad and Tarylyn, Saria, Samuel, and Benjamin are all moved in and settled into their new house -- only minutes away from the rest of my WA family (are we seeing a trend here? what am I doing in Alabama?); Brad's new job is going well; and everything seems to be quiet on the Western front (that is, the Pacific North-Western front :)). The weather is still nice in Alabama (I think I will bask in it for the next several months :)). I have a good job and, although I feel like I can't meet the deadlines, school is really going well and I am blessed to have the opportunities I'm having. Oh, and I have become the Smoothie Queen :). I have learned how to make my very own fruit smoothies and they are YUMMY.

Striving for Five

For the record... I am exhausted. This is how I feel:Okay, so here at the University, they have implemented a program called "Strive For Five" for the faculty and staff. Next year, they will expand it to students as well. Basically, the goal is to adopt a healthier lifestyle by each week: eating 5 fruits and veggies a day, drinking 5 glasses of water each day, thinking 5 positive thoughts each day, moving (exercising), and losing 5% of your team's total weight. There are three people per team and we weigh together, not separately. Anyway, so my team formed today and we went down to sign up. They have one big scale for us to all stand on. I will tell you that my team's weight came in at 435. Although I did weigh individually, I will not divulge that information :). In the end, if we complete a month of the program, we get a water bottle, and if we complete 5 check-ins at the end of the 2-month period, we get a free t-shirt. So yay. I like free stuff. And they give away free things at each weigh-in. Today, we got free fruit (I got a banana) and a free pedometer. Not that that's why I'm doing it. But it's fun to get free stuff :). Anyway, so here goes. My team has set a goal to lose a total of 10 pounds (although that is not 5%). Actually, the goal is to MAINTAIN the weight we have, but they did ask us to set a goal for losing weight as well. Either way, I just hope I don't let my team down. No, the stakes aren't high, but I don't want to be the loser of the bunch!

There is a farmer's market on-campus today as well. I am excited to see what kind of local fruits and veggies I can get there.

In other good news: I got home from work and school last night and found my package with my CDs. Yay!! I will again have to plug cdbaby.com for anyone wanting Shorty & Slim CDs or any other CDs from independent artists. That is what their business is. I was very impressed with their service. I mean, literally, they got me my purchase in 2 days. And they are clear off in Portland, OR. And they took a loss on the shipping costs.