YIKES!

So I had this dream last night/this morning... 

Apparently I decided it was acceptable to walk to a produce stand in the nude. 

And look at the produce. 

And feel bad when none of the other shoppers wanted to buy the produce I'd just been around.

On the up-side, I did have the presence of mind (or decency) to not take the beaten path on the walk home.  And to try to hide behind the umbrella I was carrying.

And I did feel somewhat awkward in the dream.

But I feel way more awkward about it in real life!!!

Here's to hoping for better (and less disturbing) dreams tonight :).

Soggified

Well, it has definitely changed weatherwise here!  We have been soggified.  Saturday was a deluge.

We had quite a bit going on the last few days.  Jeremy had a 5 day weekend, and we braved Lynnaea spending the night with her aunt and uncle so that we could go on a special date.  And because they'd been begging to do it for quite some time.  And she did great.  Which is bittersweet.  I don't think she missed me very much!  Haha...  But I'm so glad that it went well, because it would have been heart breaking if she'd screamed the whole time.  So Jeremy and I went to Seattle and ate at the Cheesecake Factory (he'd never been there).  For the first time ever, there was no wait!  And we were there a little after 5 p.m.!  I was shocked.  The food was delicious, and we tried the new S'mores Cheesecake.  That was a bit too rich for me, actually.  Then we rode the ferry back home and watched Cars, because Jeremy had never seen it.  We got Lynnaea on Saturday and spent time with the family eating dinner and just visiting.  All in all it was a good weekend.

Tuesday was sort of sad :(.  Lynnaea got her 4 month shots.  I so hate that.  But I know there's a good reason.  She also had her 4 month check up!  Sweet girl is in the 74th percentile for weight (15 pounds 13 ounces) and the 73rd for height (25.25 inches!).  The doctor said everything looks great and she's proportional, which is good :).  He said just keep doing what we're doing!  And that we can start her on cereal whenever we're ready.  So we did that today!  And the reason is because I'm hoping it will help lessen her spit-ups.  She was still spitting up quite a bit.

And so, before I post pictures, I have to share the dream I had when I was taking my nap this morning!  It was crazy!  So I was in Tuscaloosa visiting and it was about lunch time, so I realized I should call Annie to see if she wanted to meet up for lunch.  When I was looking up her number in my phone, I saw that it was misspelled and said "Anie."  Weird.  Anyway, she answered and I started talking to her, but I was groggy in the way I was talking, because it turned out that had been a dream, and I was waking up from the dream and had actually called her!  So I was telling her that I had dreamed about calling her and actually did in "real life" and I was sorry to bother her in the middle of the day at work!  And she said she felt touched that I had called her.  And then it turned out that was a dream too!  So I woke up and was telling Jeremy about both dreams!  And we got up and walked into the kitchen, which had been rearranged, because Jeremy pulled out the counter space separating the dining area from the kitchen.  I looked at him and said, "Oh no... This won't work.  It is a lot more open and I like that, but I don't have enough counter space!"  And then I woke up again and I was laying in my bed.  And that time I really did wake up.  Haha...  That was crazy.  And since Jeremy was taking a nap with me (he is still on swings), I ended up telling him all three of those dreams :).  He mostly laughed about my reaction to his fixing the kitchen!

Anyway... random.  But here are the pictures of our sweetness! (Some from last week :))

 Chillin' at home on a rainy day last week.  I should probably stay in my pj's less... 

 This was our final harvest.  I've used up most of those tomatoes now (once they'd ripened).  I'm scalding, peeling, chopping, and freezing for use in soups and such in place of canned diced tomatoes.  The easiest way for me to use them up right now and it does save a little bit of money :).

 We did tummy time together.  She still hasn't rolled over without her daddy's help yet.  But she'll get there.

 These two pictures are from Sunday.  Someone I used to work with at the funeral home gave me this pink hat and a white one very similar.  I know my dad is rolling his eyes right about now :)...  The outfit is for a 6 month old.  Yep, she's a big baby.  But with me and Jeremy as her parents, she had no hope of ever being petite...  Clearly we have to work on her modesty ;).  Haha... just kidding.

Eating some cereal for the first time today.

And not sure what to think about it.



 Don't worry.... we got smart and added a bib.

 Here... Let me wipe my mouth off...

 

And I packed up all the newborn to 3 month stuff...  It's sort of bittersweet.  I'm so happy Lynnaea is strong and healthy and growing.  And I'm so thankful we're getting more sleep!  But every milestone with her is a one-way street.  There's no going back.  And sometimes...  Sometimes I just miss her tiny little body that even the newborn clothes were a little big on.

P.S....  Yes, Jeremy is still having to go in to work.  We don't know yet (well, he probably does, but since he's at work right now, I don't) if he should expect a regular paycheck or not at this point.  But he didn't get furloughed like several others that work there...

These Dreams...

Sometimes you dream something, and you decide you need to act on it.

That happened to me today.  And I'll tell you about it.  The dream is in italics.

I'm still working at the County.  And I'm at work.  I'm randomly exploring various cubicles of people (not like snooping, just being in their cubicle).  I realize I need to pee.  (Sorry if saying it so bluntly is uncouth.  But you know... I kinda am sometimes).  So I decide it would be wise to go the bathroom.  And I start walking -- toward the bathroom, I suppose.  Only I end up in the kitchen.  And my boss is in there talking to some random guy I have never seen before.  And I'm irritated, because with them in there, I realize I can't pull my pants down as I'm crawling into the refrigerator to pee.  (I have no idea...).  So I manage to get into the fridge, and I really have to pee.  But I have to pull my pants down.  And I have to lay down in the fridge, of course, because there's not enough room.  And it's really hard to get my pants down in this position with such limited space.  And so I am getting really frustrated and angry.  And hot.  Like this is taking a lot of effort to try to wiggle around in there.  And I really have to pee.  

And I wake up.  And I have to pee.  And I'm really, really hot.  (I get hot when I sleep, especially lately).  So, I decided I probably needed to act on that dream.  I got up and went pee.  And when I got back in bed, I didn't put the covers back on.  I was hot.  Haha...  The only thing I can figure as far as that strange dream of me planning to use the fridge as a potty (as though it was the most normal thing in the world to do...) is that I was hot and my subconscious somehow decided a refrigerator was a good place to go to cool off...?  Maybe?  Who knows.  I laughed about this dream.  And so did Jeremy when I told him about it.

I had another dream a few weeks back where the baby was moving a lot and the more the baby moved, the more transparent my stomach was, and I could actually see the baby's form.  And then I could completely see the baby.  And it was a girl, and she bore an uncanny resemblance to my sister when she was a baby.  And even had pierced ears.  Weird, huh?

Well, now that I've sucked you in with my wacko dreams...  I'll torture you with more news about pregnancy.  Hahaha.  And other stuff.  As promised, here is the glider we got:

It irritates me when blogger uploads these pictures sideways for no rhyme or reason.  Sorry about that, but whatever.  I don't know how to rotate it.  But you get the gist.  I'm pretty satisfied with it (the glider) :).

A lady from church stopped by Wednesday and dropped off a box full of baby stuff.  3 packs of jumbo pack pampers diapers (sizes 1 & 2), 2 blankets (one pink, one green), 4 sleep & play outfits, 5 other outfits of different sizes, and a box of wipes.  She is a wonderful lady, and I've had the opportunity to work with her when I was in Relief Society, and now in Primary.  She and her husband are very generous, and she always likes to bring all the Primary kids a treat on the holidays.  Anyway, I thought it was really sweet of her, and I totally didn't expect it!

I will have back-to-back (2 Saturdays in a row) baby showers.  April 27 and May 4.  Crazy!  And by then, I'll only have 3 to 4 weeks to go!  Ack!  We haven't registered, and we probably won't.  We are lame like that.  But I figure things like diapers are always necessities, and you don't really need to register for them...  I took a gift to a baby shower last Saturday, and got stuff off her registry.  One of the items was nursing pads.  When I brought them home to wrap them, Jeremy saw them, and he was like, "What are these!?!"  So then he read the box and got quite the education on a pregnancy "must-have" if you don't want an embarrassing moment and are planning on breast-feeding.  Ah yes... This is going to be an adventure indeed.  Because truthfully, though I am fully aware of things like nursing pads, I hadn't given one iota of thought to them.  And now I'm contemplating whether or not I want a breast pump.  Decisions, decisions.  Aren't you glad I shared ;)?

And ah, yes...  Today was our 1 year anniversary :)!  This has been a wonderful year.  To celebrate, we had linner (late lunch, early dinner) at The Olive Garden.  We like to miss the crowds :).  We actually really enjoyed our meal of unlimited salad and breadsticks, bruschetta appetizer, and I got the Garlic Tuscan Chicken while Jeremy got 4 Cheese Ziti al Forno (whatever that is...).  It was a lot of food, but they have this deal going right now, so we went for it.  And it was good!  And Jeremy can eat a lot of food -- even when I can't :(.  I told him that we needed to take a picture on our anniversary.  So this is what I got :).  He was headed outside to work on something, hence the headlight ;).  Yeah, we're pretty much done for the day, so we are all pj'd up. 

It was a great day, though :).  Baby has been active a lot.  We feel like we got stuff accomplished, and we got to enjoy a nice meal out to celebrate our special day :).  One down...  And to infinity and beyond!  :). 

And P.S...  Did I mention this was a song title post?  Oops :).

Factoids

My dreams amuse me. And it's funny how my dream is brought to my conscious memory by a random thing I encounter during my day. Today I was looking through a kids' cookbook during my break at the library and saw the ingredient "cilantro". I was thinking to myself that in Panama, we grew culantro (related to cilantro) in our backyard, and it was soooo good. And then I remembered I dreamed about picking some last night, because I guess I was back in Panama. Only it didn't smell quite right. Because culantro has a very distinct, very strong smell. Weird.

I love the movie Where the Heart Is. I'm watching it now. It is just such a feel good movie :).

The new Taco Bell cantina tacos are gross. Not worth $1.49. They are dry. Their $2.00 meal deals are an awesome bargain, though. Especially for their 5-layer beef and bean burrito. Oh my gosh. Talk about filling. For like $2. 34 or so. And it's good too. (Even if it does resemble horse tongue...).

I have to apply for another job here in the next couple of days. It's nearby. It's a librarian position. It's part-time. I doubt I'll get it, because again, I'm underqualified according to what they want. I have not worked as a professional librarian for 3 years. (This means working as a librarian for 3 years post-graduate degree). But I'm going to apply anyway. Because why not?

I apparently don't have rhythm. Or something. I cannot keep up with the dancing off the pounds video. Not because I'm tired. I just can't learn the steps. Yikes! My dream of learning how to ballroom dance might not ever be fulfilled ;).

Despite my undying love for sugar cereals (like Fruity Pebbles and Cap'n Crunch), they just don't "stick" with me. But raisin bran does. And I love that. I will likely continue to buy the sugar cereals on occasion because they are good (and nobody makes fun of Nilla's cereal ;)). But I like that, if I eat raisin bran for breakfast, I am not hungry for a loooong time.

I went to get groceries for our back-to-school themed party and also for the dessert I'm making to take to Lea's on Monday as well as a few of the fixings for our taco dinner. My total came to exactly $20. Which I thought was cool :).

I'm going to go finish reading my book. Because I want to move on to the next one ;). I like to cross things off my list like that :).

Nothing to Write Home About

That's my life. Dull. Boring. Routine. Though Alysha tells me she loves my life, because I am always hanging out with friends. She must text me when I'm doing something more interesting than working, because I'm not sure what she's talking about ;). Because here's a typical day in Nilla-land:

My alarm starts going off at 7:30 in the morning. I usually hit the snooze button at least once, so that's an extra 5 minutes. Sometimes I hit it 2 times, though :). I'm a girl who loves her morning sleep. I drag out of bed, utter morning prayers (and I'm not going to lie... they could be a lot better and more ponderous rather than me just trying to stay awake during them), and haul myself out for my morning routine, which consists of washing my face, putting in my contacts, and brushing my teeth. Then I come back to my room and decide what I'm going to wear. Some days I'm a bit smarter than others, and I start pondering my wardrobe while brushing my teeth or whatever. I grab my laptop bag -- with laptop, of course, my purse, and I head upstairs. I pour some orange juice in a bottle and take it with me to the funeral home. I usually also try to find something quick I can grab for lunch. Then it's off to the funeral home, where I work from 8 to 9:15. Then I drive 20 minutes to the library -- and drink my OJ on the way. I work at the library from 9:45 to 1:45. If I'm wearing my pockets, then you can text me and I will respond. If not, my phone will be locked up in my locker. Some days I make the mail run -- which takes between 15 and 20 minutes. Other days the boss makes the mail run. By 1:45, I'm ready to head out. And so I do. Back to the funeral home, where I continue to work (and work the crossword puzzle with Bob) until 5:15 or 6, depending on the day of the week. If it's Monday, Wednesday, or Friday and not rainy (yesterday was terribly rainy and windy), I meet Wendy at the walking track, and we walk for about 45 minutes. I come home, water my tomato plants (the tallest of which is now about 2 feet -- and they still have about 2 weeks before ground planting...), and get a shower. Sometimes I go watch a movie with a friend. Sometimes I run errands at the store. Sometimes I hang out at home. It's really not thrilling at all.

Today they did a grill out at the funeral home. Not really sure why. But whatever. Buck and Bob were so nice, they cooked up my steak when I got back from the library so that I wouldn't have to have a cold or re-heated one. Plus they saved me a baked potato and brownie. Such nice guys.
I had a dream the other night in which I lost three of my top teeth on the left side. They were the three right behind my pointy canine tooth, and they all came out at the same time, because for some reason, they were all attached to each other. And I remember later in the dream, I had more teeth fall out, and I put them in a glass of milk, because they say you are supposed to do that if you have a tooth come out with its root attached (true story). My mind is strange. It juggles around a lot of different stuff and sticks it all together in a semi-cohesive dream. The losing my teeth thing is a recurring dream (or should I say nightmare?) thing for me. I think I have a serious subconscious fear of it.

I made a list of most of my movies. Last count was somewhere around 110. That's both VHS and DVD, and it doesn't include my tv episodes. I don't know why I love to buy movies so much.

My laptop battery is about to die. It's going on midnight. I have to go to sleep. So I am done :). Just felt like doing a little bloggity blog.

P.S. Today Saria turned 9. That seems unbelievable to me. Next year is double digits. Scary thought.

Lessons and Facts From The Nilla Life

At least from the last couple of days. You can pick which are lessons and which are facts :). Or maybe they are all both?

1. The Nilla subconscious is a scary place. The night before last night I had a dream that a pteradactyl was in my neighborhood in Cardenas in Panama. It was hanging from electric lines, and I thought it was dead. Then it moved and started flying at me really low overhead so as to scare me. Because it told me that it couldn't actually eat me, because I was too big to fit in its mouth. Yes, the pteradactyl (an exctint dinosaur bird) talked to me. Anyway, then 2 of my cats showed up. Both of them were calico cats. One was Mittens, who really was my cat about 15 years ago. And the other cat I don't know. It wasn't Callie the work cat, though. Anyway, immediately the pteradactyl spots the cats and flies toward them and eats one. The one I don't know but is somehow mine. So I'm running after Mittens, screaming, "Run Mittens!" After a harrowing experience on my part of trying to get my cat safe and the pteradactyl trying relentlessly to get the cat, the pteradactyl gets sick and throws up cat (gross, I know, but in my dream it wasn't vivid or gross-looking, I just know that's what it was). And so then the pteradactyl is laying on its back and looks gold-colored. And it also looks like Heckyl and Jeckyl. If you have no idea who they are, click here. (And I have no idea the last time I even thought of these cartoon characters, so why they would show up in a dream is beyond me... But then, I can't explain why a pteradactyl is in my dream either.) And my mom, ever the care-taker, wants to nurse the pteradactyl back to health, because we feel sorry for it. So she starts dosing it with root beer. Yes, I said root beer. And then it turns like fire-engine red and starts sweating. Around this time I woke up. I have no idea what this dream was about, much less where it came from. I wonder what Freud would say. I still think my subconscious is a scary -- though amusing -- place.

2. You cannot have your monthly car insurance bill put on your credit card. I was going to just have it billed to my credit card every month so that essentially all I will do is write one check for one bill each month and gain credit card points to boot. So much for that big plan. Oh well.

3. Grocery stores will sell an item on its expiration date (or sell by date) for really cheap. But don't go back the next day and hope to still get it. It will be destroyed, gone, unsellable. With milk, I can see this as valid. With Frosted Flakes, not so much. It's not that I don't understand why they won't sell it (I mean, that's a lawsuit just waiting to happen for our sue-happy society), but something tells me that Frosted Flakes are still going to be non-deadly the day after their sell-by date. Furthermore, the way I see it is that if you are "dumb" enough to buy Frosted Flakes the day after their "sell by" date, and then you eat them, then, if they make you sick, you deserved it and shouldn't be suing the company who sold them. But anyway. I'm not complaining, just pontificating. I would have bought a couple of boxes for 50 cents each -- even a day after their sell-by date. And I would have eaten them. Which is why I felt like I could put "dumb" up there, because I would so be in that category. For Frosted Flakes. Not for milk. But it's a moot point, because I passed up the deal on the "sell-by" date (which was Thursday), and when I went back on Friday, they were gone, and the ones in their place were over $2 a box. Not a good deal in my book.

4. I talk with my hands. And not in the sign language-y useful and cool way. I've mentioned this before. But I noticed yesterday that I do it more when I'm nervous. Which is probably the least opportune time to do it more. But oh well. That's me for you...

5. Read faster. I only had 100 pages left in Ender's Game. I was sure I'd be able to re-check it. But there were holds. Half of me wanted to just keep it overdue. But that's not very librarian of me, so I didn't. And now who knows when I'll get to finish it. Which messes me all up, because I don't like to start another book before I finish the one I'm reading.

6. Make sure you look around the kitchen at work and ensure that there are, in fact, no paper plates, before you put your cheese chunks you just cut up into a plastic cup and have Mary laugh at you for your "newly invented fast food item" (available now at all fast-food establishments...): the cup of cheese.

7. Working with someone (or multiple someones) who leave a skid-mark on the back of the toilet seat (and who will hereafter be referred to as Mr. Skid) is disgusting. Mary and I always seem to be the fortunate ones who walk into the restroom after Mr. Skid has vacated at some unknown prior time. Today Mr. Skid struck again. And so we had to clean it up. Gross. When Mary and I determined (based on when these things occur and who is here when they do) that there are very likely two Mr. Skids, Mary so eloquently said, "You mean they are pulling double duty!?!" And then we rolled with laughter. She said doodie!!! Hahahaha!!! (Okay, we're a little bit juvenile...)

8. Do not have the cup of cheese mentioned in item 6 sitting out on the reception desk in anticipation of you eating it for lunch after you return from performing the duties unfortunately associated with item 7, because you will keep smelling the cheese (not realizing it is the cheese) and thinking maybe -- by some horrible unspeakable possibility -- something got on your hands from the above-menitoned Mr. Skid "present" -- even though you doubled up the Clorox wipes and only used 2 fingers to hold the Clorox wipe against the seat and, well, wipe away the nasty and you washed thoroughly after the clean-up was done -- and that is what you are smelling. But it turns out it's just the cheese -- which doesn't make you all that keen on eating the cheese, but you have to put something in your stomach for lunch, right?

There were probably others. Probably others that were more deep and less silly. But I was feeling light, airy, and silly. Thought I'd pass the feeling along for anyone needing a laugh :).

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes

A couple of thoughts about this song title post (the song can be heard here)...

1. If my dreams are an indication of my heart's wishes, then my heart is just as crazy as my head ;).
2. Something tells me some of my dreams will never actually take place ;). Like the one that I'm about to share!


I had this dream about a week ago -- before Christmas. And it all took place in about 15 minutes of real time (between 8:15 when my alarm went off and 8:32 when I got a text). So here's the dream...

I'm sitting at a long table with a bunch of little chairs. I'm sitting amongst a bunch of 5 year olds in a classroom at Los Rios Elementary School (in Panama). At the table across from mine is another adult who I recognize as Mrs. Zapata, who was my 1st grade teacher (in real life). It is time to go around the room and introduce ourselves, so I stand up (a giant amidst all these kids) and I say, "Hi, my name is Hila. I'm 29 years old. Fifteen years ago, Mrs. Zapata was actually my kindergarten teacher, and now I'm back in her class!"

Commentary: Please note that that is bad math. And I'm really not that bad at math in real life. Let me explain... 1. Mrs. Zapata was my 1st grade teacher in real life. And I was not in kindergarten 15 years ago (though that could go one of 2 ways for me... I could either be 20 now with a whole heap of education behind me because I was so smart (not likely); or I could have been really really dumb and been in kindergarten at the age of 14 (more likely, but not true ;)). So yeah. Bad math in my dreams. Apparently that's not my subconscious strong-point. Math should go in the axis of evil according to "Dream Nilla". Hahahaha. Okay, enough. Back to the dream.

So at this point, I'm thinking: "How do I explain to a group of 5 year olds the concept of a bachelor's degree?" Because I start saying to them: "I got my bachelor's degree in English..." But I stop myself. Because what 5 year old knows what a Bachelor's degree is anyway? So, I mentally think this out and this is what I end up saying to my classmates (because, yes, I am in fact a student in the classroom at the age of 29)... "I went to school for grown-ups and I learned a lot about English. And then I went to more school so I could learn how to be a librarian, because I like books, and I like to help people find good books to read."

Commentary: Wow... I'm articulate in my dreams! (that was sarcasm, by the way).

Anyway, at about this time, my phone went off indicating I had a text message. So I woke up. But what a crazy dream! I mean, I was literally the age I am now with the knowledge I have now, but I was in kindergarten. And somehow it seemed perfectly normal to me and everyone else around me!

A couple of days later, I had another dream that I remembered. I was in Panama -- again the age I am now. I was at our old house in Cardenas. Christina was there, but she was younger, beecause we were sharing our old bedroom, and she was still asleep in the bed. I was getting into the upper right-hand drawer to get out socks. And I specifically remember I was getting my 2nd pair of toe socks (like the ones Le sent me for Christmas last year that I love for winter flip-flop wearing :)).

Commentary: I only own one pair of those toe socks in reality. Also, I wouldn't have a reason to wear toe socks with flip flops in Panama since it never gets cold there...

So, question: If a dream is a wish your heart makes, what does that say about me and my dreams ;)?!!! Hahahaha... I'm so crazy. Although I have definitely said a number of times that I wouldn't mind going back to being a kid with my knowledge as a 29 year old (because let's face it, my knowledge and experience has been hard-won). However, in saying that, I don't actually want to be a giant 29-year old in a kindergarten class :). I want to blend a little :).

And I don't know about you, but I'm starting off to an interesting 2010. Life. It's never dull, is it? Or is that just the "Nilla Life?"

Cuz [I] Had a [Blah] Day

Yeah, I guess this a pretty lame song-title post :). But it popped into my head, so I used it :).

Seriously, today has been the longest day I've ever spent at work. Usually it's fun and something is always going on. But today, the time seems to be ticking by soooo slowly. I looked at the clock at one point, and it wasn't even 3 p.m.! Perhaps it's the weather. Winter has set in here in Washington. I think our temperature today was 46 degrees. We have been getting ice on some days. So far I haven't had to scrape my car off. I know it's coming, though. Perhaps the one thing that is saving me is that I don't actually get up until after 8 every morning. So maybe that gives the sun time to heat up and melt away the ice :). I'm all about doing things au natural. That's why I love blackberries. They grow in abundance without any effort. Is that lazy? Don't answer that ;). Anyway... I have to be at a church meeting at 7 tomorrow morning, so I'm pretty sure I'll be scraping my car in the morning. Oh well, c'est la vie. I'm feeling French today :). Want another one? Ambiance. Not pronounced like the a in ant :). Or ambient (as in temperature ;)).

Okay, I'm being goofy.

Anyway, so yeah, today wasn't an exciting day. But that's okay. I did some shopping last night. Went back to this cool grocery store that is full of great deals. So you have to bag your own groceries... who cares? If it means my bill will be smaller, I'll take it :). Tonight I'm going to go to several stores. I'm in the Christmas shopping mood. I've made my list. I've checked it twice. I've also checked off the things I've already purchased. Oh how I love lists. Right after work I'm going to shoot over to St. Vinny's, which is one of my favorite places. It's like Goodwill or whatever. They have great stuff. Anyway, they always have a lot of books for sale, and I'm going to go pick some up for Christina as part of her Christmas. And no, I don't think it's tacky to get used books as Christmas presents. They aren't her only gift. So fret not, my peeps :). Plus she knows about them, because I have been giving her new authors to read, and she tried Iris Johansen, and she liked her book, so now she needs to be kept in supply :). Oh how I am babbling...

In other news... Julie texted me today and we discussed, briefly, Christmas gifts. She asked me what I am asking for this year. Truthfully, the only thing I really want right now is a laptop. But that's a big-ticket item, and I'm not actually asking for it. I will save up the money for it eventually. I have recently done the math and know that I will be credit card debt-free in January. And completely debt-free (as in I will have my student loan paid off) no later than December. December 2010, that is. It's the worst-case scenario of all things being equal. But with tax season coming up, that should help move that up to much sooner.

Anyway, so far the only thing I have thought of that I would like to own is the movie Serendipity. Oh, and season 3 of Arrested Development. I actually bought the first 2 seasons the other day, because they were on sale at Target. And okay, I also bought seasons 3 and 4 of Everybody Loves Raymond. Because it was a total of $14.99 (plus tax -- that darn tax, I should move to Oregon ;)) for both of them.

In still other news, I have had some of the strangest dreams this past week. One night I dreamed I had to do an IRLA (which is some kind of verification they have to do on the cemetery grounds to prevent improper burial -- and this is something only the grounds crew does, so who knows why I dreamed that...). One night I dreamed I was going to Germany with Julie. We started out in my house in Panama, and I was packing. And then we were on this huge airplane that had restaurants on it, like a food court in the mall. Bizarre. And I know there was another one, but now I don't remember it. I knew I should have written it down sooner. Oh well. It's just my crazy mind anyway :).

Wow, today my life sounds truly vanilla. Anyway, I alleviated some of my boredom :). Have a lovely week :)!

Burning the Candle at Both Ends

Yeah, that's what I feel like I've been doing. I'm tired! And it feels like I'm always on the go. I had quite a busy week.

I babysat one evening for a friend from church. She had an obligation with her 9-year old son, so I watched her 1 and 2 year olds. They are funny kids, and very well-behaved. It was an easy time, and it was fun. We even watched some Inspector Gadget cartoon episodes (from the 80s) from NetFlix.

I walked 3 days this week, and two of those days, I walked 2 miles! Yippeee!!! I'm trying to stay motivated.

I had a rather odd dream about my filing at the funeral home. Or should I say nightmare? Because, in the dream, my filing system wasn't working!!! I was horrified, and I was telling my boss, "I just don't know what to do! All of this (and I motioned to all the index cards I'd made up so far) has just been a waste!" And at one point, I even started pulling random index cards and handing them out to people who work there and telling them to try to locate what was on the card with the new filing system. And only one person was able to locate theirs. And it was a magazine article. And the lot card (the index card) actually had the magazine article listed on it, rather than anything that has to do with a funeral home(more like periodicals in a library). Hahahaha... I guess I was mixing up my work history. I am, after all, a funeral home librarian ;). Hahaha...

I made jam with some ladies from church on Tuesday night. We made three types to give away at Enrichment Meeting on Thursday night: blueberry rhubarb, strawberry rhubarb, and raspberry rhubarb. I have to say the strawberry is my favorite, but they are all really good. And then Enrichment went really well last night. We learned how to be more consumer-aware and how to make healthier choices at the grocery store.

We're in the middle of planning an 80s party for the funeral home. It is scheduled for next Friday, and it's going to be way awesome. In addition to the 80s menu I posted previously, we've also come up with other items. Mary came up with "Breakfast Club Sandwich" and I thought of "Where's the Beef" and Onion Cheeseball with "Putting on the Ritz" crackers :). And hopefully my sister will read this blog post so she can see that I linked that song just for her :). Anyway, so you know I'll be taking pictures. I'm pretty excited about it :). I even made up a flier that has gotten a few chuckles.

And I'm also starting the search for my next plane tickets. I'm looking at schedules and prices and getting excited about going to see April get married in October! Woohoo!

So, I guess my life doesn't seem so on-the-go when I put it in writing. But, it sure feels like it is! My days start early (well, okay, 8:00 is early to me :)), and end late -- like midnight or later. So I feel pretty darn tired. But it's fun, and so I'm not complaining :).

[I] Can Dance if [I] Want To

This has to be one of the most awesome songs of all time. I don't know why, but it's one I can always listen to. There's no real point to the song, and yet I love it. Plus it's totally 80s. Who can ask for more than that!?!

So, in an attempt to catch you up with the last 3 weeks of my life (scary that it's already been 3 weeks, roughly, since I came back from Julie's), this post will be a hodge podge of all the Nilla-Waferly goodness that is my life ;).

So we begin with the story that inspired my awesomely 80s song-title post. And actually this happened before I went to Florida to see Julie. But it's so classic me that it must be told. So, I was filing the new index cards that I have been working on. So I was working the "old" file room, because that is where we are keeping the index cards with purchasers and decedents. And I was, as always, listening to my mp3 player. Now, because I was inside the building, I know better than to sing. So, I wasn't doing that. I did, however, have the headphones in and the music cranked up. I was behind the door, though the door to the room was open. And as I got caught up in all the wonderfulness that is The Spice Girls' Wannabe (don't laugh -- you know you love that song too), I, for some inexplicable reason, closed my eyes and started dancing in place. You know, bopping my head... swishing my hips to the beat. And I happen to turn and open my eyes, and there is Bob (not the chocolate alligator Bob, but another Bob), standing there. In one motion, I pull out one of the headphones and cover my mouth with my hand in complete shock and embarassment. And I know I was turning red. And Bob just smiled and walked out of the room and up the stairs. Mary was on her way downstairs and said, "Uh-oh, Bob's smiling. What did you do, Bob? It's never good when you are smiling like that." And Bob said, "I'll let Hila tell you that story." And so I did. And Mary laughed her butt off. And let's just say that it got brought up in the morning meeting the next morning.... the comment that, if you go out to the file room (the new one), to make sure you let the receptionist know, because you might be out there for a while since there's a rumor going around that you might get entertainment while you're out there... I turned so red once again... Ah, yes. Classic. So, yeah. I can dance if I want to. And I do :). And sometimes I get cold-busted.

After returning from Florida, I was doing my usual at work one afternoon. I was supposed to be gone already, but was hanging around telling stories with Mary. And somehow the story about how I stink after midnight came up. And so I told the story. Because, really, I think it's a hilarious one, and I can laugh. If you need a refresher for this story, please refer to this link. And scroll down to #3 -- the Midnight Funk. Anyway, Bob, the same Bob from the dancing story above, overheard the story, so he printed out a sign for me, which he left on the desk I usually work at. So I found it the next morning and proudly taped it up and posed for a picture with it :).


On Saturday, June 6, Saria was baptized. I wasn't able to get pictures there, since I was playing the piano and also giving a talk. And plus my mom and I were a little late, because of work. So I'm kind of bummed that I don't have pictures of that. But afterwards, we celebrated Samuel's 5th birthday. I can't believe the boy is 5. I was there the day after he was born. The time goes by way too fast.... Anyway, so here's the birthday boy with his cake:

And here I am with all the little babies:

Don't make fun of my white legs ;).

In other totally radical news, while at Wal-Mart for mom to get Sam's birthday present, I saw Barbie and the Rockers Barbie from 1986!!!! If I had $40 to throw away on 80s memorabilia, I would totally buy it. I guess it's Barbie's 50th anniversary, so they have redone Barbies from different decades. And Barbie and the Rockers (I totally had her in the 80s... along with the Ken from the Rockers, and he had "real" hair -- not the painted plastic) is representing the awesome decade that is the 80s. So I took a picture with my cell phone. But I'm too lazy to send it to my email so I can post it here ;). Just take my word for it. And if you really need to see what she looks like, click here.

My sister-in-law Michele celebrated a birthday on the 12th. We wanted to suprise her for her birthday, so we set it all up with Ben so that we could show up on the 11th with cupcakes and ice cream and sing happy birthday :). So, Christina and I spent that afternoon together taking Emily to her well-baby check-up (poor thing had to get 3 shots) and then making cupcakes. And the cupcakes were made with lots of love, especially by Desiree who got to do the sprinkles:


Here's the finished product:


It was fun to get to the door and have Michele conveniently open it before we even knocked, because she was going to come out and say something to Royce! Do you think she was surprised?


So we visited a while and sang Happy Birthday, and then we took a picture of all the girls. And this is a horrible picture of me, but oh well:


On Friday, the 12th, I ended up going out to eat Chinese food with Mary after work. We had a blast. We went to a relatively new Chinese buffet about 15 minutes from work, and it was really good. We made total pigs of ourselves, returning for like 3 trips, plus dessert. Oh, and word to the wise: don't eat the cream puffs. It's like eating cardboard. Blech. We just gabbed and chatted... for 3 hours. I kid you not. Oh my gosh we laughed so hard. We were starting to get a complex, because they tried to seat 3 different sets of people right next to us, and all 3 sets declined. We still aren't sure if they were wanting to get away from us or if it was just a coincidence. But oh my gosh, we laughed so hard! Mary is awesome, and it's scary how alike she and I are.

Also on Friday, Ben stopped by with Tony and Sean after Sean's graduation. So I was able to get pictures of Sean in his cap and gown. Like many graduations these days, only a limited number of tickets are distributed (I remember this from my high school graduation -- 10 years ago... sigh), so we weren't able to go to Sean's graduation, but it was neat to get to see him all dressed in his regalia:


Oh, and meanwhile I am having weird dreams some nights. One night I dreamed I was on this huge jet that had like 3 sets of seats (I haven't seen these kinds of planes in years). All I remember from this particular dream, other than being on the plane, is that for some reason the plane landed early -- in the middle of a city. And so the pilot is driving on the roads, trying to find a stretch of straight road to take-off again, and we end up clipping a stop light with the wing or something. Weird, I know.

Last night, I spent the night at Christina's. We watched 13 Going on 30 and just spent time together. It was fun. Though I will say I'm exhausted. After the movie and after Desiree went to sleep, Christina, Nick, and I played Disney's Scene It board-game. Nick won, but only just barely! It was a lot of fun, though. I finally got to sleep after 1:30 this morning. And then Emily woke up at 7 cooing, and I could hear her, so I got up and got her. She's such a happy baby. And Desiree learned a new game: "Copy Aunt Hila." So everything I'd say or do, she copied. She was really good at it. It was funny. And she called grandma (my mom) a rotten. And that was hilarious. Because we call my mom rotten because she's always getting stuff for the kids. So, Desiree picked up on it. Oh, the other thing that she did that was so adorable was when she was pretending to talk to me on a cell phone. She said, "My phone is breaking up!" I laughed!!! So there you go Dad... Even Desiree's pretend cell phone breaks up ;). Before I went to work this morning, Christina wanted to do my hair and make-up like she used to. So here is my hair:

She did a good job, and I got a lot of compliments at work. And here is a shot of me, Christina, and Desiree:

And one of Emily. She is so long! And she always lays straight like this. It's so funny and cute!


So now you can consider yourself caught up with the Nilla Life ;). Whacky, I know. Oh yeah, and if you want to see the pictures of me and Julie before I post them here, click on her blog link. She put up the one from 10 years ago and the one from 3 weeks ago :).

I'm [Walking] in the Rain

For the lovers of musicals out there... This is my song-title post song. I suppose I could've been singing in the rain. But, I didn't do that. I did, however, walk in it today ;). I'll get there.

Today was Monday. But, it didn't feel like Monday. Perhaps it was the way I woke up. I literally woke up laughing. Let me tell you about it. Okay, so I had a weird dream. About five of us were going to a company function. I only remember 3 of the five. Me, my mom, and Buck. I know there were 2 others, because I remember us sitting at a table with 5 chairs, and that we all had a chair. I just don't remember who the other 2 were. So I don't know why, but in the dream, Buck had shoulder-length hair and he was wearing a suit. Only the suit had stripes that were kind of disco-ballish. Like, they would shimmer different colors when he would move. And okay, you have to know Buck to know this is nothing like him. So that in and of itself is hilarious. Anyway, so right after we get seated, Buck stands up and is waiting because he's been asked to assist on an autopsy. Okay, Buck is in charge of the grounds at the cemetery, so he has nothing to do with anything like that. And we don't do autopsies at the funeral home. So this is just random Nilla-brain stuff. But anyway, finally this door opens and this huge procession, carrying a casket, marches by our table, and Buck goes with them. Then another huge procession comes through the doors. I'm talking about people in choir robes, singing. And it was like a Christmas song. Only it was really peppy, beat-wise. And so suddenly the chairs were bouncing up and down to the beat of the music. And my mom fell off her chair. And she and I were laughing. And that's when I woke up, and I was literally laughing as I woke up. And that was even weirder! Now, I've had dreams before that were upsetting and so real that I was crying in the dream, and I woke up breathing hard like I had been crying for real. But this was the first time I literally woke up with my shoulders shaking, because I was actually laughing along with my dream, for real. Hahahaha.... Toooo funny! My mind is weird.

Anyway, so I went to work, and I got a lot accomplished today. I went to Taco Bell with John for lunch, and then I worked some more. And by the end of the day, it was raining. Not the typical drizzle that is Washington State. But actual raindrops. Not huge downpours, of course. But harder than an Alabama sprinkle ;). So, my church walking buddies cancelled. But, Sue from work was still going to walk. So, I joined her. Shoot, I've been motivated to walk lately. So, I'm going to go ahead and grasp that feeling :). And so, this is how wet I got from all that rain:


Anyway, so that's it. Nothing else to report :). Just crazy Nilla Wafer stuff.

Spanish and Birthdays and Files, Oh My!

So as I mentioned last week, or earlier this past week (so much for that great memory...), I had to go do some English to Spanish translating. And did I mention I was a little nervous about it? Let me tell you just how nervous: I dreamed about it. I had no idea what to expect for this test (okay, what I didn't mention earlier was that this was for a job possibility, and the job requires Spanish and English fluency -- how fluent am I???). I was seriously hoping it wouldn't be oral, because I get so flustered when I speak in Spanish. It's not that I can't hold my own. It's just that I get nervous and self-conscious and end up slipping and tripping all over my words. Which, of course, totally helps to calm me down and do a better job, right? Anyway, so Thursday night, I actually dreamed about it. I dreamed they handed me a sheet of paper with the months and days of the week written in Spanish and they wanted me to pronounce them. So, I began... "Enero, Febrero..." Is it weird that I can read stuff written in my dreams? Do any of you do that? I can literally see things written and they are real words. Is it weird that I can dream in another language? Apparently both written and verbal... Huh. Anyway, so to say I was nervous is an understatement. So, I get in there about 30 minutes before I am due to go. Oh, but here's a shot of Mt. Rainier (or Fudge Mountain, if you're Sam) on my way down. It wasn't the clearest of days, but you could still see the mountain.

Oh, and I should also tell you that I was giving a chocolate cake a ride in the backseat. I'll explain why later :). So, anyway, I get there earlier than I was due, and they ended up just having me go back with all the others at the 10:30 slot. When I walked in, I was shocked to see so many people. But, the reason there were so many was because they were taking other tests that I had already taken previously (proof I can write a cohesive memo, I can file alpha-numerically, and I am at least a little bit library-savvy). So I just had to take the Spanish part. Well, it was written. Phew! I was still nervous, though. And I had to think as I translated, so it wasn't helpful when the lady started giving loud instructions to everyone else... But, I finished in about 10 minutes (I had to translate the instructions on one of the tests I took previously (the writing sample) from English to Spanish). I don't know how I did, but I hope it wasn't bad. I'll tell you what I didn't know: how to say "suddenly" in Spanish. I thought about it yesterday, and I think I could have put "de un momento," but maybe that isn't right either... Oh well. I'll keep you posted. Even if it's bad news :(.

So, then I went and picked up frosting and ice cream for Christina's birthday celebration! Because she turned 24, you know. And Desiree turned 4, but I think Christina and Tarylyn are doing a joint-birthday for Desiree and Benjamin again this year. So, Friday's celebration was all about Christina! I wanted to do something unique to her, and I had been thinking about it for a while. I finally came up with it! I decided to decorate her cake with things from things we both like! And I know that made a lot of sense. But, so you know... We both like Bones, and Roswell, and Twilight. So, I found gummy vampire teeth to symbolize Twilight. I found little green aliens to stand for Roswell, and I couldn't find any of those Halloween candy skeletons they have (go figure, since it's nowhere near Halloween!), but I remembered a skull lollipop we actually had in the candy stash upstairs (it's not chocolate, so it was safe)!! And the skull was to represent Bones. And I even made it look like it had been buried and dug up :). See!!!

My one mistake was thinking I could use the candles to form the letters for each thing... Not so much. Thank goodness Tarylyn had a thing I could squeeze the frosting through and fix my mistakes and write the letters! Too bad I didn't have a different color of icing, though :(. But, it was sooo fun! And here was Christina's reaction:


Brad's reaction was that he called me a dork. However, my recollection is that my rock says conceited and his says dork. So, there! Anyway, we ate pizza, drank sodas, and had cake and ice cream and peanut butter blossoms that Christina made (and I couldn't tell her about the cake, or that would ruin the surprise!). But they were so good anyway, so no complaints here! We also played Apples to Apples, which is always fun. Sometimes we laugh sooo hard!

And oh yeah... Check out how bright the room was with just the candles! You are an old lady, Christina!


So here we are, right before we were leaving for the night... Sam should be a poster-child for good dental hygiene. He was brushing his teeth during the picture. Funny kid.


On Saturday, believe it or not, I went to work. With my mom. This is mostly because we needed to do some serious work on that filing room (including moving filing cabinets... Good grief that was some hard work!). My mom had taken Friday off to take my grandfather in for a minor surgery, so she was making up the day on Saturday. I went in to get ahead on my hours in case something last minute came up this week... since that seems to happen a lot. This way I have some leniency in my hours and can hopefully get all 30 this week. So this is the file room...


And this is how I felt about it at the end of the day... After moving 6 or 7 filing cabinets, which we could only do after we emptied the files (hence the boxes on the floor full of files) and then re-filling the cabinets in the reverse order of how they were put in there in the first place! My defense is that I didn't give the go-ahead on the funeral files. I was in charge of the cemetery files. They are in there just fine and dandy. And the funeral ones would have been okay, but for the fact that you have to account for expansion and what is easiest in that regard. Anyway, it's unfinished (those boxes of files are still on the floor as I type), and I'm hoping no one goes in and has a heart attack tomorrow morning!


And this is what I look like when Desiree takes a picture of me :).


And this is something I got that made me smile :). Julie found a friendship journal idea and so we are going to start it! We are going to write our favorite memories we've shared in this journal and take turns. Like one month I'll have it, and then the next month she will. And it'll be so fun to see each other's perspectives on things! And see what one remembers that the other doesn't! I'm so excited about it!

Keeping You Updated

Well, in the interest of not getting berated by Elka and Juliebean again.... :). I will post a blog entry. But there really isn't much to say. Not that I ever had very much to say before, and yet I somehow always came up with something!

In addition to filling out applications for jobs (I finished one last night for the community college here as an adjunct librarian), I have mostly been spending time with my nieces and nephews. Monday was Labor Day, so my mom was off work. We spent the morning cleaning, and then we went to the grocery store. We got milk (at $1.98 a gallon!). We skipped the lemons (at 99 cents each!). I guess you can't win them all. But man, milk is cheap up here! Lemons aren't, though. Well, at least not in the regular grocery store. So, my mom took me by this little hole-in-the-wall type store called Cash and Carry. It's designed for small businesses, but everyone can shop there. So you basically buy in bulk, and it's a lot cheaper. We got a bag of almost 20 lemons for $5. A much better price than 99 cents per lemon! Anyway, then we went to Brad and Tarylyn's and spent time with them. Then it was back to a grocery store to get a rotisserie chicken (I think I spelled that wrong, but who cares?) for our salad. We had big beautiful salads with chicken in them :). Yummy. That made up for our Sunday night feast of homemade mac and cheese (made by my mom) and rootbeer floats for dessert :). Yesterday I went by the public library to see about volunteering. Let me tell you, they are serious about their libraries here! I even have to fill out an online form (with references) just to volunteer! It's crazy! Then I had nothing else to do, so I went by Christina's and dressed Miss Desiree up as a princess in one (okay several) of her blankets. Then we did her hair all pretty. She wanted all her hair clips in her hair. Both me and Christina got to be her prince at one point and we had to dance with her at the ball. And I had to sing the Ariel song while we danced. I left there and went to Brad's and picked some more blackberries and played with the kids. Benjamin is getting to an age where he'll interact with me now. Used to be he could take me or leave me, and Saria and Samuel were the ones all excited about me being there. I wouldn't say Benjamin is exactly excited, but at the very least he likes for me to pick him up sometimes now :). He's a cutie. We got attacked by bees, so we quit the blackberry picking. I got home and watched some TV with Grandma and Grandpa until my mom got home. Then she and I worked on dinner... including blackberry lemonade! Here was our final product:

And it was yummy! (As usual, clicking on the picture will take you to other photos :)). So, now the plan is to pick more blackberries so we can freeze them to have them to make blackberry lemonade for the family reunion!!! Yippee!!

And so I think I will go pick some blackberries in a few minutes while I wait until time to take Grandma to her doctor's appointment.

Oh, I will say I have been having some of the most vivid dreams as of late. And they haven't been good. They've been disturbing in a way. Last night I dreamed I was in Panama at Los Rios Pool. I was swimming there, and noticing that the floor of the pool looked really dirty and that of the three private showers in the ladies' room, only one of them was really private anymore, because the other 2 were missing their shower curtains. There was more to the dream, but it's hard to explain. Sometimes I wonder how my mind comes up with the craziness :).

I'm Getting Old!

But it was a wonderful weekend. Although it was very, very busy! And I am exhausted!

Friday, I left work and went home to get a shower. Then Virginia came by and picked me up and we drove over to the hospital here to meet up with Stephanie Vickery who has been in town because her dad is in the hospital. The three of us went to the Temple. On the way there, we hit torrential rain, and several people actually pulled off of the interstate. But, the most awesome thing I've ever seen.... A complete rainbow. We could see where it looked like it ended on both sides. It looked like it was right over the interstate and we could see the whole thing. It also seemed as thought it was moving with us, and I could look out my side window and see where it looked like it touched the ground. I have never seen anything like it. It was amazing. (There was no visible pot of gold ;)). After about 10 minutes of driving in the downpour, we were out of the worst of it, and eventually we drove out of the rain completely. We swung into a drive-thru to grab dinner. We at in the parking lot at the Temple. Then we got out and took pictures.

I got home some time around 11:30 that night. I was tired! And I full enjoyed my last night of sleeping in my bed for who knows how long. Except that I woke up at 6:30 Saturday morning because I'd dreamed about giving a talk in church (probably because I really was giving a talk in church :)). In the dream, I was trying to give the talk, but the microphone was on this really long metal arm that was bendable (best way I can describe it is to tell you to picture a metal fold-out contraption or Johnny 5's arm from Short Circuit). Anyway, for the life of me I could not get that microphone to be in the right place where both everyone could see me and I could talk into it comfortably. Yeah, I have strange dreams. Anyway, I have weird dreams. I was able to go back to sleep and slept until 8:30 when I got up, ate strawberry banana oatmeal, and got to work on more packing. I took apart my bed and maneuvered all that to the wall. My room was so empty! It's amazing. I moved all my boxes to the living room so they were all ready to go. I was so disillusioned that it started raining 2 hours before we were supposed to start moving. And it didn't look like there was in an end in sight. I called Virginia, who looked itt up on the weather.com, and she said it wasn't listed as being isolated thunder storms until 6 p.m. I was concerned. It's not like I have a lot of time to work with here ;). But, in answer to prayer, the rain stopped, and we were able to get my stuff moved in 2 loads. A great big thank-you to Thad, Chris, and Virginia who helped me move!!! So, now all my stuff is in an 8 1/2 by 5ish foot space in Virginia's apartment for 3 weeks. It's rather amusing to see the pile against the wall. After eating some dinner, I went home and got a shower. Then I went back to Virginia's to use her computer and she and I also went to Wal-Mart. I was pretty bushed by 10:00, so I headed home. I talked to my dad for a while, and then read a little before bed. I had decided not to blow up the air mattress, because I'll just have to deflate it in a couple of days, and I figured sleeping on the floor wouldn't be so bad. I used to do it all the time when I was a kid. Okay, so not the most brilliant of ideas... espcially after a day of moving. I ached in some severe ways. And every time I thought, "oh my back!" I felt like an old lady ;). And let's just say I made a decision to make good use of the couch until Rachel comes to get it.

My talk in church went well. I spoke on temple work, and I got several compliments. I went to nursery for the last time (I was released as nursery leader, since I'll be heading out). One of the parents brought me a rose and thanked me for taking such good care of her child. I thought that was so sweet.

Of course, it's not sweet that I can't seem to take a decent picture to save my life here recently.

After church, I went to Virginia's to burn the last of the family DVDs (nothing like cutting it short, right ;)?) and the B.C. Thanksgiving and Christmas DVDs. Plus we had root-beer floats. Yummy :). I like the fizzy bubbles. I got home around 4:30, got the chicken marinating for stir fry, read, took a shower, cooked and ate dinner. Stefanie went to the church with Allyson and Stephen to meet the missionaries and a guy from her work. She came home around 9:30 with Allyson and Stephen, and I was on the couch in my jammies. Because the couch is the only comfortable place I have to go to read now. So we sat up talking and laughing until about midnight when Allyson and Stephen left and then Stefanie and I talked until about 1 this morning. I slept on the couch -- much more comfy than the floor. But I am soooo very tired. I just can't do this 1:00 in the morning thing and then get up for work and not feel tired thing anymore ;). I like my sleep! I had another weird dream about all these people I used to know in Panama. It was all of my old guy friends from there and their spouses, and we were all in the ward building in Cardenas at one point and I remember saying, "Man, it seems like no time has passed at all, but I know that it's been 11 years! You guys are all married with children now, so obviously time has passed!" Yeah, I dream a lot. I know I've said that a lot, but it's true.

Sometimes You Just Need a Laugh

I love the store Big Lots. I always forget how much I love it until I go back inside and I think, "Man, why don't I come here more often?!?" Well, one reason I don't is because I'd probably spend more money than I should every time I go in the doors. The other reason is that it's in the part of town I try to avoid, because I have no reason to go there. It's always congested, and I don't usually have a reason to go any further than the campus. But last night, Virginia and I went to Hobby Lobby and Big Lots. I ended up spending $18 in Big Lots, but that's because I finally found some pajamas and also got a new bra. And, I got some Quaker oatmeal bars, because I forgot to get breakfast bars while I was at Foodmaxx. Foodmaxx had some great deals this week. I got $44 worth of stuff for $27. I was excited. So excited, in fact, that I treated myself to Taco Bell afterwards. I realize some of you might not consider Taco Bell a treat. But, hey. Sometimes it is. If I'm craving it :). So, I guess you could say I went on a mini-shopping spree yesterday. But at least everything I bought were responsible purchases!

Oh, rules for the quote-guessing game (Noel Holley from church has a guess in and said she wasn't sure how it works, so I'm telling everyone who might want to play but isn't sure how -- and Noel, if I've spelled your name wrong, please correct me! :))... If you think you know the quote, just leave your guess in the comments. I moderate comments, so I won't post any comments with movie guesses, whether right or wrong. And I try to make sure I mention in the next day's blog post who has guessed the movie quote correctly.

I dreamed I was back at the Ashford Library last night. I was the librarian again. And I couldn't remember all the specifics of some things. Like which lights to flip on at the electrical box. I had to keep going back and forth between the switches and the display that showed me which ones. I also remember feeling warm in the library, so I sent Heath to turn down the a/c (it's funny the things you remember -- like where the a/c thermostat is). I remember in the dream hearing the unit outside turn on and then make a weird noise. So, I opened the little side door, and there were houses all over the place outside and there were bombs being set off and thrown in all directions! Only they weren't particularly destructive bombs, so they never hurt anyone or any buildings. But they kept exploding. Eventually it stopped, and I remember noticing that there wasn't any damage outside, and I said, "They must not have used much gunpowder." Apparently I'm a genius even in my dreams. Hahaha... Like I even know what's in a bomb. Oh, and these were the little black round bombs that you see on cartoons and Mario Bros. Nintendo games, by the way :).

And, as promised... Here's your little laugh for the day (Click on IT training). But you'll have to have about 2 1/2 minutes of your life to dedicate to it. It's probably way worth it, though. And anyone who hasn't heard me talk in a long time, tell me if I sound Southern! I know I sound weird. Have you ever done that? Listened to yourself? I sound so strange!!! And highlights to listen for: how many times do I say, "Once you are here..." or something to that effect? Also, how many people do you know who say something as articulate as, "As you see, there are very many results." Ugh. Also, let me know if you can see my picture. My picture came up on my end, but Heath said it didn't come up for him on Friday. I need to know if I need to fix it, so if you don't mind, let me know if my picture at the bottom of the screen is up. Also, don't laugh at my lame-o website. I just had to do a simple website for class, and I think that fit the bill. And, if it goes down at any point, it's probably because I am adding to it. I have to add our final two projects to it. So, enjoy :).

*And Mrs. S, Noel, and Anna guessed the movie quote correctly!*

I [Am Now Debt] Free!

Well, almost... And it's only temporary :). But, I'm going to celebrate anyway!!! Oh, this is a song-title post, but just be warned... This video features the members of Queen dressed up like women. It's kinda scary.

So, do you know the exhilaration that comes when you log into your online banking and see this under the credit card account: Balance (8.87)!?! That means they owe me money! Actually, that probably won't be true once the finance charge comes through. I called to get the payoff amount, so I payed more than it was showing I owed. Hopefully that 8.87 will cover the finance charge like the guy said it would. The sad part is that it won't remain at zero for long, since it will cost a pretty penny to move across the U.S. But, I will be building up funds in the meantime to help cover those expenses, so hopefully I will not owe much once I make it to Washington. Anyway, I think it's an awesome thing... I am credit card debt-free! I met my goal!!! Yay!!! Now the only thing I have to pay off is the small amount of money I owe in student loans for my undergraduate degree!

I have to say, I have been blessed. I have seen that, as my goals have been righteous desires, the way has been paved that I might accomplish them. Because I worked at both Troy University (during my undergrad years) and now here, I have gotten huge huge huge tuition breaks! I know these were blessings. I just feel so completely overwhelmed at the hugeness of the blessings I have witnessed in my life. I would even classify some as miracles. I will honestly say that there is no rhyme or reason to how I could live very comfortably (having everything I need and most everything I want), travel as I have, go to school, and still manage to pay off my credit card debt on the salary I make. It was not logical for me to think I could do all I have done in the 1.5 years I've been here. I know this absolutely. And so I know that the fact that I have been able to accomplish this is evidence to me (even though I don't need evidence to know it), that Heavenly Father always keeps His end of the bargain. When we do as He has asked, He will bless us. There is no sacrifice too great, and He will compensate that sacrifice beyond our hugest imaginations. I know it is a true principle. I have seen it in my life. Anyway, I just thought I would share those feelings. Because I truly am amazed.

So, Stefanie and I went for a 30-minute walk yesterday. It would have been longer, but she had already scheduled for her Home Teacher to come by at 6. So, we just took a short one. I guess Stef and I are doomed to smelly walks. It doesn't seem to matter which part of the trail we walk, it's stinky. This time I think it was animal poop we kept smelling. From the kind of animal that eats a lot of insects, from the looks of the piles on the trail. Ew. Next time we walk by the river, though, I plan to take pictures. That walk we took on Saturday (by the river) reminds me a lot of Panama for some reason. However, next time we walk by the river, I don't plan to be a genius and recommend walking up to the water/sewage treatment plant. I think it horrified Stefanie when I told her that's what it was -- that they recycle the water. Poor Stefanie... I think by living with me, she has lost some of her sweet innocence.

So yesterday, Elka and I had a fun blog-comment conversation on her blog about blog-stalking. She's trying to decide whether or not to announce her stalking tendencies to those whom she stalks. Her reason for this is that one of the people she would regularly stalk went private, and I think she was highly offended! (Hahaha). Anyway, so someone else (other than she and I) finally chimed in on her blog, and so when I was reading that comment, I thought, "Hmm... who is this person?" So then I blog-stalked them. And she was talking about how she always leaves a comment when she is "blurking" so the blog-owner knows she was there. And there were 3 comments on hers, so I clicked to see the comments. One comment was her own and she was telling Elka that "Nilla sounds funny." (How hilarious to read about yourself on a stranger's blog). And then Elka replied, "She's a riot. And she loves stalkers!" I asked Elka why she couldn't be more specific and say I love blog-stalkers. Saying I love stalkers is kind of creepy. I'm so blaming her if I get mugged ;)! I'm starting to think I should make a category on my blog called "My blogosphere acquaintances." Then I can just add the blogs of people I have "met" through the blog world, but only if they say it's okay. Which would mean I'd have to admit it. So far I'd have like 2 (because those are the only two to whom I have confessed). Because if I add people I blog-stalk but that I know/have met (like Nicole), then I should put them under my friends/family blogs, because I actually know them. So, Nicole, if you're reading this, you'll have to let me know if it's cool that I add yours :). Oh, so though I'm not sure why I should expect my blog-stalkers to leave me comments when my blog-invitees don't, I will invite them to do so anyway ;). (And totally kidding about the blog-invitees. I'm not dissin' them (how's that for some 90's terminology?)).

And, as a side-note... Is the English language not so totally radically awesome and versatile? Okay, so I know it's a difficult language to learn for non-English speakers. We have some pretty wacky rules, it's true. But in the last 8 years (at some point in there), we have added new terms like "blurking" "blogosphere" and "blog" to our vocabulary! It will not be long before they show up in a dictionary. I think that is awesome. (In case you didn't know :)). Good grief -- am I really that old? 2000 was 8 years ago? What has happened?

I had more weird dreams last night. I dreamed several different ones. All very vivid. I wonder why I dream more sometimes than others... Or rather why I remember them better. In one, I was somewhere where some guy robbed a place. He might have shot someone, I don't remember. But when he left the building, he had set off a trap where bullets or something were going off everywhere. I saw several people get shot by those bullets. It was kind of gruesome. Probably the goriest dream I've ever had. I don't really think I'll describe it here, because it was very gory. And the really weird part is that I don't remember feeling scared in the dream. I do remember that I saw my reflection, though, and I was super-skinny. Obviously I was dreaming.

Well, I'm gearing up for a fun weekend, but it's also depressing to see the gas prices. Ugh. I'm working at the Temple tonight and then tomorrow I'm driving to Montgomery to meet up with my friend Tammy and just hang out. Woohoo! It'll be fun. And, as usual, the weekend will go by far faster than it ever should be allowed to do. So, I hope you guys have a great one!

*And Julie guessed the movie quote correctly!*

Water, Water Everywhere...

But none running in my sinks!

So, I got home from work yesterday and noticed a huge truck parked out by one of the other apartment buildings in my complex... The truck said "So-and-so's sewage and drain service." I thought to myself, "Man, I'm glad it wasn't our building!" And then I thought, "I hope it doesn't affect us!" "'[Twas] a dream devoutly to be wished," because when I turned on the sink, all that came out was a slow stream. And that was on full blast. But, there was still some water, so that was good news. I was able to get a shower (okay, so it was really more of a bath). But by 9:30, there was no water at all! Stefanie ended up having to drive across the street to Amber's to shower, so Amber was kind enough to send her home with a pitcher of water so we could do necessary stuff like brush our teeth and wash our hands. Oh yeah, and (okay, this kinda gross, but it was funny), so I told Stefanie, "Well, the new rule for the night is 'if it's yellow, let it mellow.'" She turned to me and laughed and said, "I'm thinking, even if it's brown, we don't have a choice." The girl cracks me up. So, since we were catapulted back to days of yore involuntarily, Stefanie and I decided to chronicle this little adventure where the washing of hands took two people. (And witness my lovely glasses... Like I said, they were super-cheap).
And may I just make one small observation? You really don't know what you have until you lose it. You just don't realize how much you depend on running water until it's gone. Seriously don't think I could function without indoor plumbing. So, while I was setting up my camera for that staged shot (I'd already washed my hands when it occurred to me that this was a photo opportunity), I somehow had the thought come into my head, "I'm no Helen Keller." I told Stefanie that and she laughed, but didn't get it. And after I explained it to her, she was like, "I was so hoping you'd explain it, beause I didn't get why it was funny." And for those of you who don't get it, it's because the famous scene from the play is when Annie Sullivan is pouring water onto Helen's hands at the water pump and that's when Helen first starts to learn to sign. And I'm hoping that doesn't sound like I'm being mean, either. My mind makes weird connections, and so posing for the picture of Stefanie pouring water on my hands made me think that. I'm not being mean to Helen Keller! So, the good news is that we had running water again this morning. I'm telling you, there is never a dull moment in the Nilla life! (Or maybe I just perceive it that way? Stefanie told me that maybe the reason I can make things sound interesting is because I view life more interestingly than others -- like the writers of Seinfeld). Oh yeah, and the other funny thing in connection with this picture: So, the idea to take a picture of this came from Stefanie asking me to take a picture of her brushing her teeth using this pitcher of water. And when she said that, she was like, "Hila, we are such losers!" And I said, "No! We just like to find the fun in life!" So, I took a picture (it's on her camera) of her, and then told her to bring the pitcher to the kitchen when she was done so we could stage the picture of me washing my hands. So, we got to talking about other stuff and she came out to the kitchen. I was setting up the camera, and when it was about time to take the picture, I said to Stefanie, "Did you bring the pitcher?" She laughed and said, "no" as she turned back to get it. I jokingly said, "Stefanie! It was the one thing you were in charge of!" She laughed so hard and told me I'd better put that on my blog. So I did :).

So, I have had the weirdest dreams lately. Tuesday night I dreamed the following:
So, I'm driving and I turn onto this road. Only the road stops, kind of like a cliff, and I'm looking down into a huge canal or something. There is a woman there trying to figure out what to do. And I just drive right off and explain to her that the cars will float in the water (where this logic comes from, I don't know). So she follows suit. And sure enough, our cars float to some little building where our cars end up on a conveyor belt out of the water and we are then in this big meeting room (not in our cars). Somehow my friend Emily from Panama is there and she's setting up all sorts of treats and stuff in a new room. And before long, many of the people I knew from Panama are in there too. It's like a mini-reunion. Jose and Steven Bowman are the other two people I remember being present. I end up taking a picture with Stevie, even though, in real life, we were never friends of any sort. Anyway... it was weird.

Oh, and Virginia came over to the apartment last night and brought the fixings for a delicious salad. I cut up the rotisserie chicken breast she brought while she sliced the colorful peppers. The salad was lovely and we put the chicken in the salad. It was a very healthy meal. And then we watched Juno. After the movie, I talked to April. It's so weird that April and I never see each other in class anymore! So, we caught up on the thrills of life. Not that mine is particularly thrilling ;). But she had airport stories to tell, and you know if you have an airport story, it's always a good one.

P.S. I just realized I have my shirt on backwards... Apparently obtaining a 4.0 GPA in library school doesn't require you to know how to dress yourself properly, and it doesn't mean you're the brightest crayon in the box, either ;)...

Daddy-Long-Legs

Okay, so I'm still reading this book. I love it. I would be done already, except that I somehow feel the need to do my class assignments, although that is much less entertaining. But I was just reading on break and came across a hilarious statement. I think I will share. But first, let me give you the run-down of the book.

So, Jerusha is an orphan and one of the trustees of the orphanage has decided to pay for her to go to college. His stipulation is that she not know his name or who he is, but she has to write him letters at least once a month and tell him about college life, even though he won't read them. Only, of course, you find out soon enough that he does, in fact, read them. So, because she saw his back on the day she was informed of this beneficent offer, and she knows he is very tall, she has endearingly labled him "Daddy-Long-Legs" because she felt John Smith (the name she was told to use for him) was too generic and ridiculous and bland (kind of like vanilla). So, anyway, she mentions to him in the letters the exciting things that happen, including invitations for summer vacations with her friends. Well, when he decides he doesn't want her to do whatever it was she was excited about, he has his secretary tell her to decline the invitation or offer, etc. She usually complies, because she recognizes that he is basically her guardian. Well, so she gets a scholarship for tuition for her 3rd year in college. She informs him that she won't have to rely on him anymore, except for the $35 monthly allowance he sends. His secretary brings her word that he wants her to turn down the scholarship. She responds that she really wants to take the scholarship, and tries to get him to understand. He sends word again that he wants her to turn down the scholarship. And this is what she replies (and this really made me laugh):

"And besides, this isn't a favor; it's like a prize -- I earned it by hard work. If nobody had been good enough in English, the committee wouldn't have awarded the scholarship; some years they don't. Also -- but what's the use of arguing with a man? You belong, Mr. Smith, to a sex devoid of a sense of logic. To bring a man into line there are just two methods: one must either coax or be disagreeable. I scorn to coax men for what I wish. Therefore, I must be disagreeable."

Is that not hilarious? I'm telling you, I like this character. She's smart and witty.

Also, so I had this dream last night that my wallet was stolen out of my purse (right from under my nose, practically) while I was on a ferry by crazy Bobby from HLML. How crazy is that???

*Oh, and Stacy knows the movie quote too!*