SAHW

I'm counting down the days to December 24th.  And not because I'm anticipating a visit from the fat man in the red suit.  Although I have been a very nice girl this year :). 

Nope, it's more because that will be my last day of work.  Yes, you read that correctly.  I'm quitting my job.  To be a SAHW (that's stay-at-home-wife, for the Jeremys of the world that didn't get that acronym :)).  Woohoo!  Jeremy and I have decided life is busy enough and full of enough things to keep me busy at home.

At the top of the list is finding a new home.  This tiny house is just too tiny.  We need more room.  So we can actually have our food storage.  So we can have more than one parking space. 

And I can finally get our 72 Hour Kits together. 

And work on family history.

And do menu planning.

And actually cook dinners most nights -- instead of grazing when I get home and then letting my poor sweet husband fend for himself whenever he gets home (closer to midnight these days). 

And do laundry (though hopefully this will be accomplished with much less hassle when we have a new apartment...  That's one of the requirements:  a washer and dryer!)

And go grocery shopping (and discover what is the best time to avoid the big crowds!)...  That's early in the morning, but maybe there's a little window in the middle of the day in the middle of the week, right ;)?

 So yeah...   13 more work days.  I'm counting them down!

The Sound of Silence

It's been an eventful week.  Which would seem to belie the song title I have chosen for this particular post.  But it doesn't, trust me :).

Things were hopping at work last week.  I think I mentioned in the last post that a co-worker had quit, and since she had trained me on a lot of her job, I have been continuing that, only without her awesome help.  Let me just say:  the time flew.  Which I appreciated.  But my stress level went up a tad bit too.  Which I didn't appreciate so much.  Rushing to meet deadlines, playing inter-departmental politics.  Yeah, not so much my thing.  But it all worked out just fine in the end.  And, until further notice, I will get to work half my day on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays in the back.  And I enjoy that, because there are fewer interruptions. 

We had found a van that we went to look at last Saturday.  We were prepared to take it home if we liked it.  We did.  The girl wasn't ready to let it go.  She needed it for one more week.  Okay, so after I was grumbly about her being flaky...  I got over it.  And we agreed that we would purchase the van at the end of the week.  Sounded risky, but we figured if it didn't happen, it wasn't meant to be.  But the girl was very thoughtful in that she contacted us a couple times during the week to let us know how progress was going on her end with the things she needed to do (she is leaving tomorrow to go to Taiwan for a year to teach English, which is why she was selling the van).  But, that meant we were still without a second car.  Which meant I was still driving Jeremy's car to work.  And that was all well and good and all of that.  Until Tuesday -- which had been a very stressful day at work for me.  I headed to the parking lot a block away from where I work, thinking about how I was voluntarily going to work the next morning at 6:30 (sick, right?  But I had a big deadline I had to meet by noon on Wednesday, and I was freaking out a tad).  And I was texting Jeremy that I was headed home (he's on days this month).  I got in the car and turned the key.  And heard nothing.  Nothing.  It was the sound of silence (hence the song title post :)).  Seriously.  A dreaded sound when what you want to hear is the engine start.  Well, I quickly realized I had disobeyed my morning directive to myself to "remember to turn off the lights when you get to work."  Nice.  It had been a cloudy morning.  Not really enough to merit lights, so I have no idea why I turned them on.  But lesson learned.  Seriously.  So I called Jeremy, who of course could do nothing, as he was home about 11 miles away with nothing but a bike.  I remembered AAA, but who wants to waste a call out on something someone else can help with?  I thought of my mom, and then got a grip and thought, "Hila, there are still people in the office."  So I called my boss who sent (actually, this person volunteered) someone out who happens to have to jump her own car off all the time.  And then another nice employee came over and helped us too.  So, though I did shed some tears (it had been a stressful day), it all went just fine.  But by the end of that, I was done.  D.O.N.E.  So I skipped walking with Sue.

Wednesday was laundry day.  And Thursday evening we went and got the van :).  Yay!  Here are the pictures :).

Try parking that thing in our tiny parking spot.  Ugh.  It's a chore and a half.  But beyond that, I really like it.  It's a smooth ride and has lots of room.  And we're hoping to put at least another 100k miles on it :).  It's a Honda, so at least it has a reputation for being able to do that! 

And then today.  Today was mostly lazy.  We had nothing planned, except going to look at another house.  Which we did around 1:30 today.  Nice house.  Still needs some work.  Again, the basement isn't finished.  But we wouldn't need to finish it in order to have all that we want.  We probably would eventually, but it isn't a priority.  It has slightly less acreage than the other, but more than our minimum.  And one of the coolest things, to me, is all the storage!  Some of it is in these random nooks and crannies that are just so stinkin' nifty!  A kid's dream for hide and seek...  Anyway, I really like this house.  I liked the other too, but the more the week has gone by, the more I have realized how much work we'd need to do from the word "go."  So we've been discussing a lot lately.  It's a lot to consider.  Of course, I don't anticipate that the house we looked at today will be on the market for long.  But we aren't willing to rush into anything.  So we will move forward prayerfully and see how we feel.  These are important decisions, after all.  But!  If we do get a house, and you find yourself in the Pacific Northwest...  Consider yourself invited to our abode :).

From Kitty Litter to Nose-Rings in 15 Minutes (Etcetera)

Sometimes at the end of the day of work -- especially on a Thursday when everyone else in the office has pretty much jumped ship -- you just feel like you've run out of steam and the clock has stopped ticking. Blah. Time. Stands. Still.

And so it's awesome when a co-worker is feeling similarly and so you strike up a conversation that leads to memory lane-type stories. And those are always fun to tell and laugh about! Because you might start by talking about the kitty litter cake you and April enjoyed (along with Courtney and Greg) back in the day when you had your The Office themed party. But you somehow end up talking about the library-themed feast you had also. And then you mention that you two (that being you and April) have been planning a Scrubs-themed party for about 2 years -- and you share some of those ideas. And she asks you how that show ended up, and you tell her about this Peter Gabriel song that you love, love, love that you had never heard until the final episode of that show (or what should be the final episode, because, in my book, Season 9 shouldn't have even existed...). Which, of course, makes you think of another Peter Gabriel song you love and the movie it was in -- so you comment on that. And she (the co-worker) totally agrees and talks with you about other John Cusack movies that are good. And when you mention Serendipity, she shares that she isn't a fan of the female lead, but that he really carried it for her. And that brings you to your strongly-held opinion that you never go see a movie for who is in it. And you reference movies you saw with Juliebean back in 1999 (oh those younger years...). You know, the summer of the chick flick. And your co-worker agrees that was a great summer with all those movies. But you had told that story to tell the one about the time you went with Juliebean to see a movie (just like old times) and she picked the movie, and it was Three Kings and that was a movie you couldn't understand why she picked... And when she said why, it's because of George Clooney, Ice Cube, and Marky-Mark. Uhm... Yeah. So not impressed (still!). Which leads to the story of another time Julie picked a movie: The Guardians of O'Hoole -- you know... That ridiculous owl movie you guys didn't like. Which then leads to the memory of how Julie had her broken movie card and how it was such an embarrassment to Alysha (because there was a teenage guy behind the counter helping us). Which makes the co-worker remember a time when her dad embarrassed her in front of a guy she was totally flirting with; because her dad said they were leaving soon, and maybe she should go to the bathroom. In fact, he insisted that she needed to go to the bathroom. In front of that "totally cute guy." Mortifying! (Why do parents do this ;)?!?) And then you tell the story about David the nose-ring Army guy who totally thought you were older than 15 and asked you out (and that was cool back then, but it's not so cool anymore, like when you get mistaken for a grandma...).

Yeah, this is how you alleviate some of the time that seems to be frozen in place. It's also how you laugh and remember and even make new friends. And it's also how you go from kitty litter to noserings in 15 fun-filled minutes :).

P.S... Those links will take you to various blog posts from my past that will tell these stories :).

Anyway... so on Friday Lea and I went to a play. It was Aladdin, Jr. Which is just a shortened version of Disney's Aladdin. I knew the two lead roles -- they used to be in my Sunday School class before I got called to Primary. So I wanted to go out and support them and invited Lea along. And it was so fun! They did a great job. And we even took a picture with them at the end :). I think this is going to be a tradition for me and Lea... To take a picture with cast members of whatever play we see together (if possible).

Then this weekend was Stake Conference. Oh so fabulous! I always feel so uplifted and spiritually fed. And it's seriously wonderful to get to go to church with Jeremy and hold his hand or lean against him when he puts his arm around me :). Definitely a treat.

And it seems like I had another few thoughts I was going to share, but they are gone. Must not have been important. Or maybe I'll remember it for next post :).

Snopocalypse

That’s what someone at church called our freak snow and ice storm of January 2012 :). And I think it’s a great blog post title! It was also a lovely 2 days of (non)work. And let me just say that last week’s work week was the most awesome ever! Because Monday was a holiday. Tuesday was work. Wednesday was an official snow day for which I got paid. And Thursday was a day I was not going to attempt skiing my car down my hill along with the other sledders (who were on sleds, not in cars). I got paid for that day too, but it required use of my floating holiday and a bit of annual leave. Eh, but it was worth it. Both for laziness’ sake and the sake of my safety. So yeah… They had predicted snow starting Tuesday afternoon, but by Tuesday at 10 p.m., there still wasn’t snow anywhere in sight. So I went to bed assuming it was all a lark. But by 5:00 the next morning, I learned it hadn’t been. Jeremy called and said, “Is it quiet where you are?” I replied in the affirmative, realizing that it actually was very quiet (like I mentioned before, the traffic is easily and often heard on my road) and he said it was quiet where he was, but that’s what happens when it snows… After we hung up, I decided to peek outside. Yep, it had snowed! By that point, about 4 or 5 inches. I didn’t have to worry about putting the trash out. I called the County offices to determine what my day would be looking like (though I was pretty sure I wasn’t going in anyway, because I’m not a winter-weather driver). They said they were on 2 hour delay. I was fine with that and rolled over and went back to sleep. But not for much. And actually, I might have gone back to sleep before looking outside and then called at 7 when my alarm went off. Either way… I was happy with a 2 hour delay and the knowledge I could call back at 8:30 and find out what was happening. But at that point, I didn’t go back to sleep… I laid there thinking about snow days. And how they would be so much more fun not spent alone… By 8 I had roused myself and was puttering around eating breakfast and watching an old family video (Christmas 1994) and I was watching the snow fall. I had ventured right outside my front door to sweep off my mat (I don’t have an overhang over my front door) and it was COLD! The little kids sledding said, “HI!” Ah to be young! I was happily snuggled up inside instead of sledding ;). So I went back to the couch, waiting for time to call to find out the verdict about work. Then a knock came at my door. I wasn’t expecting anyone, but figured it might be the mailman. It turns out it was Jeremy. They had closed his job down after telling them they had to be there and better find a way in. My house was closer, so he biked over in the lovely cold sleet/snow mix. And when I called in, I learned the County offices were officially closed. Yippy!! So we enjoyed some home-made hot chocolate and watched “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” Hilarious movie. Thursday my job was open, but I didn’t go, because my hill was still a skating rink. I called my boss, and she said the roads at the County offices were horrible too, and even several people who live in the same city as the offices weren’t able to even get out of their driveways. Apparently the call was changed later in the day to opening at noon. But since I’d already decided to take the day, I never bothered to call back in and learn that. So it was another lazy day. I stayed in my pj’s for 2 straight days. By Friday at noon, the rain was falling and turning everything to slush, and I was tired of being inside and decided I would venture out and brave driving in the slush. Aside from one spinning-tires-and-going-nowhere experience, I survived. And learned something new through that spin-out joy. I only went to the grocery store and the Laundromat, but that was enough to get me out of the house for a couple hours.

By Saturday travel was no problem. Jeremy and I ate a light lunch at my house and then headed to Wal-Mart to do some shopping (had to replace my paper shredder), and then we went to the pizza place we hadn’t been to in a while (we didn’t enjoy the last pizza we had there, but this time we got the one we knew we liked! And it was delicious!). Sunday was church (and also a sleep-in morning for me…). It was kind of a chaotic day. Which I suspected would be the case based on how our 5 kiddos were acting in Sacrament meeting. Phew! We had some wiggle worms. And Primary was no different. But we survived. I had choir after church (I’m not enjoying it being after church anymore, because that puts me there until 5:15… Makes for a long day). Then I saw Jeremy for a bit after church. And then we begin another work week. And this one’s not of the super-cool variety ;). But such is life. I will say I thoroughly enjoyed my 1-day work week with a 5-day weekend. Ahhhh…

Every New Beginning...

...Comes from some other beginning's end. That's a song lyric. That was actually the class song for what would have been my graduating class in Panama. Because the class of 1999 was the last graduating class of Balboa High School. There are many moments I regret not seeing that out and being a part of that historic occasion. But then... I would have missed out on a million other opportunities I did have. Friendships I would have probably never known (Julie). And so I don't regret it too much ;). Life happens. Either way... It's a good lyric. I have definitely been guilty, from time to time, of looking sadly at the closed doors of the past. Wishing that they didn't have to end. But what a marvelous way to look at life: every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. It's all a new adventure :).

So I am facing a new beginning. It is definitely bitter-sweet. But it was time. I resigned from the funeral home on Friday. I won't say it was a decision I definitely wanted. But it is probably what is best, for a number of reasons. I will miss it. I will miss the work (because I really did enjoy what I was doing there). I will miss the good people that I will not see weekly. I will miss the fun parties. But things change, and so sometimes so must we. Plus, it was one of the items I put up on my chopping block when considering things to take off my plate. And sometimes things just work out the way they need to. But I will always carry with me the memories. Always. And with stories like mystery meat, quacking at the Chamber of Commerce, and kegel exercises... How can I not look back and laugh? And I'm sure several of us will still get together from time to time. So it's all good :).

So what other shocking things have wound up on Nilla's "axe" list? As though Monday Meals and the funeral home are not shocking enough.... Actually, those are the big ones. I did rearrange one thing: I no longer walk with Sue on Sundays. We still do Tuesday evenings and we will do Thursday evenings as well through the summer while she doesn't have Bible study on Thursdays. It's nice to get the exercise and to visit with Sue. But at the same time, I needed to eliminate that activity from Sunday, because it wasn't as Sunday-worth an activity as other things I could be doing. And also because I want to have a day with no commitments to anything but my 4.5 hour block of church and choir practice. The other thing that has fallen by the way-side is pleasure reading. I had set a goal to read 30 books this year. I was on fire for a while there. But like I said, Life. Happens. That goal didn't have the same level of priority for me as having a garden or reading my scriptures or attending the Temple monthly, for example. I mostly read during my lunch break. But even that I am starting to rearrange a little bit. Because sometimes I get home and find it easy to work on a million different projects (which can also be read as wasting time, because sometimes that's all I'm really doing...) and then, before I know it, it's 11:00 and I haven't set aside the time to read scriptures. Which means I'm up later and not focusing as well. I have been doing better with this, but I have also started taking my scriptures to work to read on my lunch break also. It makes me happy to know I have made the effort early enough to make sure it is not just done, but done more effectively, as far as me being able to remember what I read and get something out of it :).

So now that I have filled you in on all the changes I'm making in my life to focus my efforts on the things with most value... I suppose I should tell you some of the more wonderful moments of my week :).

• Wednesday I went Visiting Teaching with Wendy. We only visited one lady so far, but I'm looking forward to visiting with the others on our list.
• I cleaned out the strawberry bed and it is now looking a lot better. I've also picked a lot of strawberries! I'm loving that :).
• Brad had the kids for the weekend. And while this can be chaotic, it also brings loads of laughter and love. Like when I first get home on Thursday and Saria comes out and hugs me hello, and they all say, "Aunt Hila!" Plus, I submit the following photos for your consideration ;). (These are from Sunday night... I'm not sure what is so exciting about "goofy" pictures, but the kids sure do love them...).
  

• I enjoyed phone calls and texts from my wonderful Jeremy :). (P.S... That smiley face just automagically appears... Because I'm so happy :)).

• I went to the Temple with my mom on Friday evening and then took her to eat at the Cheesecake Factory for her birthday (which was the 5th). She had never been to the Cheesecake Factory, so I felt we needed to rectify that with this culinary fete. I did tell the server that it was a belated birthday celebration for my mom. He offered to embarrass her, but she said no thanks. But he still arranged for something nice (see picture below). That was the Reese's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake. We split it. So huge. So good. And I got sweet potato fries and they were soooo good. I got my usual cajun chicken littles. And I was happy to note they'd added a bit more salt back into the batter :). So many choices on the menu, but I really wanted the choice of accompaniments, so I went with old faithful ;). On the way home, I had to convince my mom that Aerosmith did not sing the song Iris (which is by the GooGoo Dolls). I'm not even sure why my mom was singing that song in the first place, but it always makes me laugh the way my mom surprises me ;).
• I spent a marvelous afternoon and evening with Jeremy. We ate at the pizza place again, and this time we tried a hot pizza with jalapenos on it. It was pretty tasty. Also had alfredo sauce, and I wasn't sure what I'd think about that. But it was definitely good. That place just has good pizza. Then we went to the State Park and studied scriptures and walked around the park and enjoyed being together. But then we learned that State Parks will now require a "discovery pass" (as of July 1) that costs $30. What!?! $30 to park in your park? Ugh. Lame. If you don't have one, it's a $99 fine. Thankfully we learned this during the "education period" when they aren't actually ticketing people. So. Lame. Grr. Because that is a beautiful park, and there are never many people there, which makes it nice for scripture study. Double grrrr.... Oh well. I don't know if we will invest in that or not. Frankly, I'm cheap and I don't appreciate the newly-instated rule. I contributed $5 to the State Parks when I renewed my car tabs. That has to be good for something, right ;)? Oh well. We still had a wonderful day/evening together. That always ends way too quickly. In these moments, I'm totally not a fan of the whole "time is relative" thing. Because I'm pretty convinced that there are times in my life when time drags way out so that it can be short in the cool fun moments ;). Haha. Okay, so maybe not. But it seriously feels that way. Example: 9 hours at work (including lunch) = 12 hours; 8 hours with Jeremy = 2 hours. And that's bad math no matter how you want to look at it ;).
• We had all the kiddos at church on Sunday. When I got in to Sacrament, everyone was already sitting in the pew. Emily saw me sit on the other end of the pew, shoved her way through all the kids, crawled up on my lap and wrapped her arms around me and laid her head on my shoulder. That baby girl (who isn't a baby anymore...) sure knows how to make me feel so loved by her. I just held her and rocked her back and forth for as long as she would allow me to in that position (which was the whole opening song). These moments are fleeting, and they are far too precious to waste. Of course, she wound up being a bit of a pill the remainder of Sacrament. But even so... She went to nursery, and Desiree likes to go into nursery while I drop off Emily and sit and play with the toys for a few minutes before I make her go with me to Primary. On Sunday, the nursery leader hadn't quite gotten in there yet, so I was hanging out until she did. So I told Desiree to go on to her class and she came and sat in my lap and said, "But I want to be a family and stay with you." What a rotten! So I just held her until there were enough adults in nursery for me to leave. I had Sharing Time this week, and I think it went pretty well. Then I went to check on nursery later and when Emily saw me go in the door, she ran to me and said, "Aunt Hila!" Okay, maybe not quite all syllables correct. But I know she didn't call me Ha. She's growing up. I adore the kids. I really do. Brad took Saria, Samuel, and Benjamin home after Sacrament, because they were all coughing. Choir went well and then I came home where I had lunch and tried to take a nap, to no avail. Brad was working and the kids weren't interested in napping. Oh well.

And today was back to work. Nothing stellar, just the sameold. I will say that I am glad I still make the time to blog. It's fun to remember over my week and smile at the good happy moments :).

What Happiness Looks Like -- Nilla Style

So I have been answering plenty of questions about my new job and how it's going. For example, I spent about 2 hours talking to April on the phone, catching up on about 2 months worth of life happenings. What an awesome conversation we had ;). So many changes for us both, and definitely positive ones! So I will fill you in :). Work is going well. It was busy last week, because I took on the responsibilities of one of the other ladies who was out for the week. This included scheduling time for the 3 commissioners (this is an adventure...) as well as learning the process for contracts. Plus my normal duties. But I'm catching on to things more and more, and I am becoming a part of the group. My direct boss (the woman named R'Lene) sat and talked to me during lunch one day and we had quite a conversation. And she told me that I am doing wonderfully and that they are thrilled to have me there. That is comforting when you are new to a place, at least in my opinion :). My other job is the funeral home, of course. And this weekend was Memorial Day weekend, so I was up there quite a bit. But it was so fun! I work with some seriously awesome people there.

But not everyone is asking me about work. Actually, more people are asking me about Jeremy. Which makes me smile. A lot. Like a ridiculous school girl, seriously. But it is 100% awesome. And so is he :). So here is a picture of me and Jeremy from Friday. :). It makes me smile :).
So on Friday, he picked me up around 3:30, we went by a Taco place that used to be very popular at the funeral home, and we got burritos. Then we opted to take them to a nearby park, because it was such an unexpectedly beautiful day. So we ate and talked, and then we walked. And talked. You see the pattern. But we talk a lot. There's a lot of ground to cover (literally, as far as walking the park goes :), and metaphorically). Then we took a few pictures. I kept cutting off the top of his head, so we changed photographers. He has longer arms and is taller. It worked better. And frankly, I think we took quite a great picture! Okay, so I'm not bragging on it or anything, but I think we look quite cute together ;). After we finished walking (and it got colder), we drove over to the funeral home (which wasn't far) and parked there to study scriptures. Okay, so maybe it's strange that I am at the funeral home so much. But it's kind of normal for me, since I work there. Plus there was plenty of free parking :). And after our scripture studying, we sat and talked for a long time. We have some really great conversations. Full of depth sometimes, silly and fun at others. I got home about 10:15 or so that night. Of course we sat in the car talking a bit more, and held hands (insert "awwww" here ;)). And, though I probably should have gone to bed right after a shower... I didn't. I talked to my mom until midnight and then got to bed sometime after that. Yep...

Saturday morning was early. 7:00 early. Because I went with my mom to the funeral home and then waited around there until about 9:15 when I headed to the church cannery to work. I ended up canning dry non-fat milk. Apparently that's one of the harder jobs, because the goal is to not produce dust from the milk. So I ended up being a slow-poke! But I got our 4 cans of oats, 1 can of hard white wheat, a 25-pound bag of sugar and 25-pound bag of flour (we use these for baking...). And then I headed back to the funeral home to work. I was there until close that day, and Lea came by so we walked and talked and I filled her in. And then, after work, I went over to Lea's and hung out with her family so we could continue catching up. And Chuck grilled out, so we had a marvelous dinner. Yeah, it was a fun night. I was tempted to stay the night when Lea invited me to (it was after 10 and I was pretty beat), but I didn't. And I actually had a slightly earlier night that night :).

Sunday morning we were up by 8. We had all 5 kids at church, so that's always entertaining. But they really do well. I taught Sharing Time in Primary for the first time. Also an adventure. But it did go well ;). Then home again home again, jiggity jig. And I changed clothes and headed with my mom to the funeral home. At night was the big Memorial Day celebration thing, so I helped set up for that (programs, chairs, assisting with directing the parking). We had all 5 kids again, and Jeremy went too, so he got to meet a lot of my family, plus a lot of my funeral home family (who had been asking when they were going to get to meet him...). Upon meeting him, Christina said, "I approve. He is handsome." Hahaha. I'd feel sorry for him for that embarrassing awkward moment. Except that it made him smile really big and so his dimples showed up ;). The event had a seriously great turn-out!!! Over 200 people! And, of course, the kids loved the fireworks at the end. I still say seeing all the flags across the park, honoring those who have served our country, is a pretty awesome sight. It was another late night, since I was riding with my mom. I waited on her to be done, plus I helped break everything down. All in all, I think it went really well. There were a few minor drama things that could have been improved upon, but that seems to be a daily occurrence there of late, so I just overlook it. Oh, and Saria is like over-the-moon about Jeremy. She thinks he's so "cute and nice and funny." Oh those pre-teen crushes.

But today I slept in. Until 9. And I didn't feel guilty. And since it turned out to be a gorgeous day, I worked outside. And Jeremy joined me around noon-ish. I hoed my garden, planted the garlic and chives and raspberries (thanks again to Jeremy who tilled up a new spot for the raspberries... And thanks to his mom for letting him bring me the chives, garlic, and raspberries). And I also planted the two cucumber seedlings and 4 tomato seedlings that look the best. I need to do a trellis type thing for the cucumbers and then put the lettuce under that. I have a few lettuce that seem to be doing quite well. But a lot of my seedlings are not so great this year, so I'm going to just buy some. Sort of disappointing, but oh well. On the plus side, that strawberry patch is growing like crazy :). I'm hoping for some strawberries this year :). Eventually Jeremy and I made our way to Applebee's, and while there we learned we pretty much look like a couple. (Oh, after the host who seated us kept going crazy over my "Goonies Never Say Die" t-shirt. Seriously.) So we ordered our food, and Jeremy ordered a lot of food. And he finished it all, which our waitress (I know they are called servers now, but whatever) didn't think he'd be able to finish, so she kept asking him if he needed a to-go box. So when she came back with the receipts, she was like, "Wow! I'm impressed!" Then she said to me, "Did you not feed him today? And maybe yesterday too?" Hahaha. So we all chuckled, she left, Jeremy looked at me and smiled and said, "So does that mean we look like a couple?" Yep, apparently that's what it appears to be! Too funny. So then we left, and on the way out the door, the host guy called after me, "Rocky Road!" Which is a Goonies quote. That guy is seriously in love with that movie. Possibly more than I am. He even asked me where I got the shirt and for how much (FYI: Target, 5 or 6 bucks on sale). And then, because no date for me and Jeremy is over before at least an hour of walking and talking, we went to a waterfront park and walked around talking. We discovered that Italy looks like Washington State. So does France, for that matter. Hahaha... (Okay, so not really. Just that there is a replica of the continents set in the grass at this park, and so we joked about taking our trip to Venice (per my bucket list). Dorky? Probably. But we had fun ;)). It was fun and wonderful and all the good adjectives you can think of.

Oh, and I got some sun today. Woohoo! It was a great weekend :). Full of happiness :).

The Craziest of All!

I have been a busy little bee lately. Hence no blogging. No time, people, no time!!! Technically I don't have the time to write this one. But that's just a technicality, so we will overlook it :).

I worked a few days last week at the funeral home. Three, I think. Last week is sort of a blur, actually. Tuesday afternoon I had a meeting for Primary. Which was also true of Thursday evening and Friday morning. Yikes! Meetings galore! On Friday I went to Wal-Mart and bought some new garden boots. They are pretty. My old ones were really just old shoes of my mom's. Like trail-blazer type shoes, so not really for gardening. And the soles were all cracked, so water would seep up into the shoe and soak my socks. No good. And thus, I bought new boots. And mesh to put over my strawberries. Because I'm stingy and don't care to share my strawberries with the birds. I also ended up house-sitting for Bob and Melanie again, so that was nice. Did some reading. Oh! Went to the Police Memorial event at the funeral home on Friday. Eventually I will probably post pictures from it, since there are pictures on the location camera. But I haven't actually been up there with my laptop (or at all for that matter) this week. New job and all that rot. So I will do that on Friday, since I will go in and work up there a few hours in the morning.

Saturday was another pretty day (well, until the evening, which was inconvenient) so I went to Costco with my mom, then to the bank, then to Fred Meyer. Then came home and planted my squash plants in the rich cow-manured soil. Haha. Covered my strawberries. And while the rain is great for free watering, it kind of puts a damper on taking a walk with a certain dimpled cutie who dropped by for a few minutes to bring me garlic bulbs, chives, and raspberry starts to plant out in my garden. :) Then Sunday was a full day. I thought we were singing in Sacrament meeting, so I got there early. But it turned out we weren't singing. My mom arrived with Desiree and Emily and I was so excited to see them!!! Apparently, as soon as my mom got Emily in the car, she started saying, "Go see Ha?" Because Ha is what she calls me. That sweet baby girl! She loves her Ha! And I got to go with Desiree to Primary this time! So we sat together for the first part and she is such a sweet girl. I love my Desiree. Of course, with our first Sunday in Primary as a new presidency, there was a lot to do! Trying to figure out how things go, etc. But it went really well. Then I had choir practice after church. Then I packed up my stuff at Bob's, came home, and then went walking with Sue. Then home to shower, work on dessert for Monday Meals (which was Chocolate Dulce de Leche bars), then back to the church for a Scout Committee meeting. As part of my responsibilities, I will be "in the know" about Scouts in order to report back. Then I came home, got comfy, talked to Jeremy and made plans for Saturday, and then relaxed for the rest of the evening.

Only to have Monday. Which was the beginning of a new job. Okay, I have had some crazy-exposure before (and by that, I mean exposure to crazy people). But I do believe my very first phone call on my very first day of my new job takes the cake. Good gracious, I still don't know what that woman's issue was (she claimed to have multiple issues) and why she thought calling the County Commissioner's office would be a solution. What I do know is the following (because she told me): her husband is a sharp-shooter; she is no dummy, even though people think she is because she is ethnic; she is a visionary woman who predicted 9/11, but everyone laughed at her; the foreclosures across the nation are a scam and Obama is the head of it; everything she was saying is on the dollar bill; we know who she is, because she is the voice in our television, but the voice isn't her, it is her instructor. Yeah.... So that's the phone call that broke me in. The Nilla Life is never very vanilla! The day went well enough. I look forward to being up to speed and having plenty to do, because I detest trying to find something to do to pass the time. The good news is that they hired me in at a step 2 rather than a step 1. But the reason they did that is a bad one, in my opinion. Turns out they are forced to make it a union job, so I will have to pay dues to a stupid union I don't even believe in. Oh well. I might actually come out ahead because of that. We did Monday Meals last night, and it was tons of fun! We never even got around to watching Scrubs. We just sat around telling stories and laughing and catching up. After all, it'd been 3 weeks, and in 3 weeks, a lot happened! And that brings us to today. More work (no crazy callers today) talked to Juliebean on my break, then walking with Sue. And then talked to the one and only fabulous Elka and then Jeremy. Then dinner, shower, pjs, blog, and now on to scriptures and bed!

And because I know what the rest of my week is going to look like, I'll recap it now. Because I don't know how soon I'll have time to update. Tomorrow is work and then hanging out with my friend Heidi who is moving to Colorado. Thursday is work and then a surprise going-away party for Heidi. Friday is work at the funeral home in the morning, 1:00 meeting having to do with Scouts, and then the Temple with my mom. And Saturday, if the weather cooperates, I'm going to work outside in the flower beds (as is Jeremy) and then we're going to go spend the day hanging out and eat somewhere. Oh yeah. Then Sunday I have a 6:30 in the morning meeting. That's pretty gross, so I'm not going to think about it right now :).

After all... I do have much happier things to think of ;).

Dates With Dudes

So the last time I posted, I forgot to include a picture of some of us ladies that went to Time Out For Women in Seattle. So that is what the picture below is. Three people were missing from this one, but we did the best we could as far as getting everyone :). This was taken in a hallway at Bena Roya Hall (which for some reason I always mistakenly call Benny Hawna Hall... I don't know why). Em is on my left in the red. She is responsible for me meeting the cute guy with dimples :).
So in my last post I mentioned a few things. As is typical of the Nilla Life, sometimes things change. A lot. And quickly. One of those things is that I decided to opt out of the blind date bowling thing. Not because it was Friday the 13th (though that's probably a bad omen anyway ;)). I'm not the kind of gal who dates multiple guys at the same time. Not even if one is much more casual and the other is in fairly new stages. Now, had I not liked Jeremy at all and never wanted to see him again, I probably would have gone ahead and gone to the bowling thing. But that isn't the case. Not even a little bit. And that's a mutual feeling. So I have chosen to not go to the bowling thing.

So Jeremy got to my house around 11:15 on Saturday. The plan was for him to take a peek at some things with my car, which he did. Not much can be done with my ghetto vehicle. The original plan was to till the garden. But when he and I solidified plans, the weather forecast was indicating a 70% chance of rain for Saturday. So we were not hopeful on the tilling thing. But it turned out that there was no rain until around 4 in the afternoon! Rock on! So Jeremy and I went and got gas for the tiller, and then he proceeded to till my entire garden. He tilled in the cow manure so that my squash plants will have plenty of fertilizer, since they are heavy feeders. He helped me put up the fence, and we talked a lot during this. Well, as much as we could while the tiller was running. So now you see my garden ready for planting (which I will do this week sometime). Yay!!
Now, I didn't just sit there looking pretty while Jeremy did all the hard work. Nope, I cleaned out the strawberry patch, which had gotten quite overgrown with weeds since September. And here's how it looks now :). It looks like I will have more strawberries this year! Now to go buy mesh to keep the birds out like last year... Because there are already strawberry blossom things coming up... (And okay, so the job I did wasn't nearly as hard as the tilling, so I guess he did do all the hard work. And I know from last year's experience that that is intense stuff...)
So following all the work we did in the garden, we changed clothes and headed to a late lunch at a local diner. Once we were done there, we still had plenty of time before the movie we were going to see. So we went and walked along the waterfront and talked and talked and... talked. He appreciated the slapping story, by the way. He has four older brothers, so he knows all about sibling smack-down. Hahaha. We had decided to see Hoodwinked, Too! at 4:35. Um, totally a dorky movie. But it was free (I had tickets that my mom had won at some Office Manager meeting), and it was a kid's movie, so not a lot of potential for some horribly awkward movie scene... After the movie, while driving home, we did some major swervage to avoid an aluminum ladder left in the middle of the freeway. And then he stopped and removed it to the side of the road so no one else would hit it when it got dark or something. Then we sat outside of my house and talked for another 2 hours or so. Loads of fun. Lots of laughing. And so, yeah, it's early on. And it might flop and go nowhere. But for now, I see loads of potential.

Sunday was bittersweet. I got my new calling: 1st Counselor in Primary. And though I know it will be exciting, I am so sad to say goodbye to these wonderful teenagers:
That's only 4 of them. Half of my class wasn't even there, so that was a bummer. I wrote them each a letter. They are marvelous people, and they taught me so much. And the girls were especially upset that I was not going to be their teacher anymore. One of them said, "We really like you! And not just because you bring us candy! But because you are fun and cool!" I don't know if you know how much that meant to me to hear them say that. I don't consider myself an exceptionally great teacher, and I often wondered how much they learned, etc. But I guess I touched their lives in some small way. And I know that they touched mine.

After church and choir practice, I went by the house to give my mom a Mother's Day present. Okay, so I think my mom is hard to buy for. She never wants anything. But I was at the Dollar Tree the other day and saw this table with all these flowers that would wave back and forth and the leaves would go up and down. They are solar powered. And they made me laugh!! So I bought her one of those, because I figured she would get a kick out of it. And man oh man was I right! She laughed so hard. I didn't realize she would laugh that hard. But seriously, if you just sit and watch this flower, it does elicit giggles and laughs. Just something about it. And it is hilarious! So I consider this a successful, even if dorky, Mother's Day gift.
And in case you were wondering what my plants are looking like these days... I'm disappointed with the tomatoes and such. They just seem so small! But the squash plants are growing like gangbusters!
And you would think that this is where things end. I mean today was a crazy day at the funeral home. Mondays usually are. But today was one of the wackier ones. But like I said, the Nilla Life changes a lot. And fast. Julie keeps telling me I have a hilarious life. I concur. So want to know what happened while I was in the midst of writing this blog? Remember that county commissioner's job I told you about? Remember how I told you the lady I spoke with had been pulling for me and that she had told me that, if things didn't work out with the person they hired, that I might very well be hearing from them soon? Well it turns out she wasn't kidding. She called me today and offered me that job. Turns out it wasn't working out with the guy they hired. All I have to do is call and accept. She told me to think it over tonight. So I'm pretty surprised, to say the least. My life has become suddenly very, very interesting. Very. Interesting.

I'd tell you to stay tuned, but I imagine you already will be ;). Hahaha.

Re-Capping... With Pictures!

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

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

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

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

[I] Gotta Keep [You All Updated]!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So that's it for now.

She's Got Legs!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Resigned

Well, the big news in the Nilla Life is that I quit my library job yesterday. Well, I put in my two-weeks' notice. No, I do not have another job. I wish I did, but I don't. Well, other than the funeral home. But I'm not counting that, since I already had that one.

So in 8 more days, I won't have to make a 25-minute drive 5 days a week that was essentially a waste of time, energy, effort, gas, and money. Which is why I quit. Financially, it wasn't a wise situation to continue.

And in other semi-related news... I'm expanding my job search parameters. Who knows where I'll end up. Or if I'll just end up right here in Washington. So I'll be sending out applications here, there, and yonder (which is only in the South, of course, since that's where you get told 'it's over in yonder' ;)).

Meanwhile, I'll be accepting applications as well. Job title: Mr. Wonderful. And the pay is freakin' awesome. ;). Feel free to inquire within (the comments). Hahaha.

Okay, that's enough crazy Nilla for the day. Just thought I'd let the world at large know my up-t0-the minute (minus a day) news.

My Fashion Faux Pas

Oddly enough, driving home the other night in my 60s hippie get-up was not my fashion faux pas. Nope, I reserved that experience for today.

The end of March means that snow tires must come off the cars, by law. So I had plans to take my car in to get my tires switched out, since I would be riding with Lea to work today anyway. My mom was going to take her car to the dealership, because her low coolant light is always on, but every time she checks the fluid, it's full. So maybe there is a blockage or something. Or maybe it's something worse. But either way, she was going to take her car to the dealership. So I set my alarm for 7:30 (this is a true sacrifice for me... ;)) so that I could follow her to the dealership, take her to the funeral home, and then take my car to the tire place where Lea would pick me up. So my alarm went off. And I called my mom's cell phone from the warmth of my bed. Call me lazy, I don't care. I was going to get up, just wanted to make sure she didn't forget our plans. Hahaha. Well, she had decided the night before that she would just have someone from the funeral home follow her over there later in the day to take her back to work after she dropped it off, since she didn't know when the dealership opened. I said, "Well that would've been nice to know yesterday." Since then I could have slept another hour. But whatever, so I tried to go back to sleep. And then my mom called my cell phone ten minutes later (I think cell phones make us lazy....) and asked if I was getting ready. I was like, "No! Why?" Well, she thought she was going with me to the tire place to turn in my car and then take me to the funeral home where Lea would pick me up. And so, in the end, I gave up that extra hour of sleep (because let's be real... I was already too awake to go back to sleep "good" anyway, so I might as well get up). And that's exactly what we did. So while getting ready for the day, I knew I wasn't working at the funeral home, since the plan was to go to Morgan's softball game with Lea. So I threw on jeans, my toe socks with flip flops, and my new bright yellow Children's Summer Reading Program (SRP)shirt. I had worn the adult one a couple weeks ago, and thought I'd wear the Children's. After all, it's sitting there, I paid for it, and I might as well use it, right? Plus I was curious what the yellow would look like on me.

You're probably thinking I looked like a big yellow bus and that that was my hideous fashion faux pas. Well, not exactly. Yeah, it's bright yellow, and yea, you can see me coming for miles. Like a ray of sunshine. Hahahaha. But that's not the issue. Once I got to the library, the Children's Librarian said, "Well, someone's wearing their SRP shirt a little early this year." Ah yes, the subtlety was so lost on me. Whatever. I said, "Oh really? I didn't know there was a specific date when we could wear them." Well, that resulted in an email to the staff. Because we don't want to ruin the "unveiling" of the t-shirts in June by wearing the shirts 2 months before then and thereby lessening the "impact" (her words, not mine). Yeah, you're so right... We wouldn't want that. Nevermind the fact I didn't see a single kid in the library today. Nevermind the fact that the shirt doesn't indicate it's for the Summer Reading Program (so you'd have to be a pretty swift kid to pick up on the idea that that's what it's for and not some random shirt I picked up in Panama or something -- which is why I picked yellow, after all, since it has a toucan). So that was my fashion faux pas. Who knew I could so totally ruin a whole Summer Reading Program by wearing a shirt in March? Yikes.
And P.S... Looks like I just ruined it for all of you as well. I'm so uncouth. Eh, what can you do? Maybe next time she'll send an email reminding people to wait until she says "go!" on the shirts or maybe not order them in December. Otherwise, when I buy a piece of clothing, I'm kind of prone to assume I can wear it whenever I want to... (Especially when nobody was particularly bothered that I wore the adult shirt twice).
And if you think that's the most ridiculous thing to happen at my library job... Well, you have another think coming. I have stories of magazine competition (and I ain't talking about Glamour and Redbook trying to outsell each other) and shelving checklists that could curl your eyelashes. I actually posted one story on here, and then removed it for a few reasons. But look for it in the memoirs one day. Or just email me and ask me about it. Seriously can't make this stuff up...

And P.P.S... The softball game got cancelled after all, because it was supposed to be a home game, but it was supposed to rain here, so they moved it to the other team's "home" which is about an hour North, meaning we wouldn't be going. And then it actually did rain there, so they cancelled it. And guess what? Not a drop of rain here. In fact, it was an absolutely gorgeous day, and it was even warm enough to cause me to glisten (aka sweat) when I got into Lea's stuffy car after work. Then she and I went and ate Mexican for lunch since neither of us had anywhere to be. And then she dropped me off to get my car. Which the tire place even fixed whatever was up with my emergency break. It went out a couple weeks ago. I just resigned myself to it being one more thing falling apart on my car...

And P.P.P.S... My mom never got around to taking her car in. Which is why I planned for her to do it first thing, because I know she'll never stop to take it in in the middle of the day.

In other news... On Sunday, in my Sunday School class, one of my students (she's 12) said, "Um, not to be rude, but you have gray hair." Spoken like a true pre-teen. I said, "Yeah, I know, it's all here in the front." Then she added, "You have a lot! You're getting old!" Yep. I know that too. Hahaha.

And back to today... After getting my car and dropping off my spare keys with my mom at the funeral home (and laughing with her and Sue about some ultra-outside-of-the-box-to-the-point-of-absurdity ideas), I went to Target to get more biodegradable pots and currant tomato seeds, and, on a whim, cilantro seeds. Because I love that stuff! And this way, if everything grows and produces, I'll have almost everything to make that fresh tomato salsa and I'll have picked it all from the garden! So when I got home, I planted almost everything. It got windy and cold once the sun started going down, so I quit, but here's what I have so far:
Which leads me to another Sunday story... So the Sunday before last, right before choir practice, the choir pianist turned to me and said, "Would you be willing to sing one of these or all of these next Sunday?" What she had was 3 pages of way old songs (which, it turns out, were from the Children's songbook back in the day). I told her I would be willing to sing them with her, but not alone. So that's what we planned. She is a very strong alto, while I sing soprano, because I don't have the talent to sing anything but melody :). So the plan was for us to practice at her house one day before we were to sing in Relief Society. She called me Saturday, and I told her I'd be at her house by 3. So I showed up, but since I had gone there after work, I didn't have the music with me, but I figured she would. Well, it turned out she couldn't find it. So we didn't end up practicing. I said I'd make every effort to get to church early to plunk it out roughly so that at least I'd have a clue what the tune was, because I'm also not a sight-reader, and I can't hit a note if I don't have something to go by... (I was still house-sitting, which is why I didn't have the chance to play the piano in the garage here...). Well, I had a longer drive than usual since I was house-sitting, so I didn't make it early enough. But it was okay, because I'd also found out that through massive miscommunication, a very musically inclined couple was asked to sing the songs. I figured, "Hey, fine by me! I'm off the hook!" Yeah, it seemed weird that a guy would be singing in Relief Society with his wife, but whatever. Well, by Relief Society, Jolene (the pianist) came over to me, and smiled as she sat down. And I knew... I said, "It's us, isn't it?" She said, "Yep, it's us. The others thought they were supposed to sing these songs a capella for Primary." Hahaha. I bet that was a fun experience showing up in Primary to sing these songs when the whole Primary is like, "Huh?" So in the end, we just got Christina (the wife of the musical couple) to play each song through once before we sung each one. It was awful. And I couldn't stop laughing. And I had to stand away from Jolene, since she's a strong alto, and I couldn't hear my part, so my voice was all over the place! But anyway, how does this apply? Well, because like I said, these were old Children's songs. And so you can imagine they were kind of simple. And the tunes were, well, interesting. As were the words. And here's one of the ones we sang (the lesson was The Word of Wisdom).

Little Brother Vegetable
Little Brother Vegetable, sat within a dish,
Cooked and seasoned spicily as you'd ever wish.
Said Little Brother Vegetable, "Just you look at me!
I'm the food of hidden treasure; Eat me and you'll see!"

Little Brother Vegetable, Brings good health to you,
Cheeks grow red as any rosebud, Eyes will sparkle too,
If you want lots of vim and pep for your work and play,
Better eat your vegetables Ev'ry single day!
-Maryhale Woolsey & Mildred T. Pettit

Okay, so I'll admit it's kind of cute. The tune is jaunty. But can you imagine a very unschooled singer up there trying to guess at the right notes for this song?!? And this is why there was no way I was doing these alone (even if I had practiced). I only wish we'd have made it an event for the female choir members as a whole. Either way, I guess I'll hope my Little Brother Vegetables will grow so that I can eat them spicily from within my dish. :)

Well, I guess I was feeling chatty. Because I sure wrote a lot. I did pause halfway through to eat homemade mac & cheese. Because FYI... My mom makes the best homemade mac & cheese 99.95% of the time, hands down. (The other .05% is when she uses whatever cheeses we have in the fridge, and they don't always mesh well, or when she tries a new recipe that calls for apples. Ew.)