Oh the things we have seen!

I has been a busy, busy past few days for M. and I! We took a road trip to visit friends this weekend. M. got to go golfing Saturday afternoon and I hung out with M.'s best friend's wife and her kiddos. Sunday evening M. and I went to see Radiohead - live - in person - up close! We were only about eight rows back from the stage. Thom York singing, dancing and giving the audience 'the eye,' Jonny Greenwood rocking out on all sorts of instruments, Ed O'Brien strumming his guitar, Colin and Phil were there too - they were just heard more than seen. It was M.'s dream and I was fortunate enough to be the one with him when that dream was realized.

Radiohead respectfully asked fans to 'keep the show live' and to not take videos or photos so M. and I left all our cameras at home or in the car. Of course, there are bootleg videos all over YouTube. None of the videos are especially good. It was an outdoor concert, it was dark, and the LED light displays don't video well on the type of camera people would have had to smuggle in - lots of cell phone cameras, I am guessing. Here is one video showing Thom dancing. The crowd goes wild! This one is pretty good too. In the videos you can see the pit peoples' heads (they had to stand mushed together the entire time). M. and I were off to the left side in the seated area, but not so far we couldn't make out facial features of the band! I would so follow M. to any Radiohead concert anywhere! Don't tell M., but I totally have a crush on Thom! ;)

The opening band was Grizzly Bear. I am now awaiting one of their CDs to arrive from Amazon.com.

We took Monday off so we could rest up before venturing back into real life. We slept in, I made a delectable chicken tortilla soup, and then treated ourselves to the new X Files movie and dinner out. Not extremely X Files-ish, but a good movie anyway.

So now we are coming down off our concert high and getting back into the grind at work. Not fun - I'm going to quit and become a Radiohead groupie. M., your welcome to tag along too... We are shorthanded at work this week, particularly in the front office. I am helping out, but I have to say there are some aspects of helping out up there that I cannot stand. For instance, when we have two people out on vacation, another calls in sick, and the remaining person up front comes in late then has to go get some water before she can help out and that takes another 15-20 minutes. And this is after she has clocked in. Ok, didn't know your water was in Timbuktu.

And, if you read this blog, you know Wednesday is meeting day at the office. RR. had a snarky moment when asking that the front office not send calls back when she has clearly marked herself unavailable on our OfficeView program. Someone has to comment that sometimes the caller says they were just contacted, blah, blah, blah. I could see the daggers shooting from RR's eyes. And then, I offer to do some front office coverage so others can go to lunch. Well, this same particular person logs herself out for lunch, then spends about 30-45 minutes checking personal email and Facebook. Then she leaves the office for over an hour. Granted, I have taken long lunches and do check my personal email at work, but not when we are shorthanded and have to have everyone pitching in.

Oh, I am going back to my concert-induced high and Radiohead fog. I hear some Radioheaddrifting out of M.'s room now...


PS - M. and I now have a cute little Flip video camera, so I will need to try out some video skills and post them to my little piece of the world wide web. Stay tuned!

I know my F***ed up Disney

Disney gone blue?



Score: 100% (10 out of 10)

Library Debate

As the week winds down I am having an obstinately difficult time concentrating on my work. So here I am at my blog, taking a break. Don't turn me in for wasting company time - I do get my work done! ;)

One of my favorite blogs - Mental Floss - had a link to a blog on one of my other favorite topics - libraries and reading! (I see M. rolling his eyes or shaking his head in mild disgust right now...) The blog is called MyLibBlog and is written by a librarian in Colorado. The specific post that was linked in my Morning Cup O'Links over at Mental Floss was a letter to a library patron who challenged one of the books in the children's section of the library. The book in question is Uncle Bobby's Wedding.

The library patron was challenging the book because she felt it promoted homosexuality and that homosexuality is not a topic appropriate for children. If you read the reply Jamie, the author of MyLibBlog, has written, I think he makes excellent points about how the book deals with subject matter that is very relevant to children in today's society and that it is the parents of the child who need to decide if this book is appropriate for their children. I agree with these points even though I have not read the book in question.

I've not explored the MyLibBlog thoroughly yet, but plan to add it to my Google Reader selection for now to see if it's something I want to keep up with.

Best Wishes and No Farewells **EDIT**

7/28/08: Had to write an edit worthy of my little brother this morning. By the way, as my brother so lovingly <insert major sarcasm here> pointed out, he is 25, not 26. But he will be 26 at the end of August. I just subtracted 3 years from my own age and ended up a month and a half off... Anyway, back to this post's edit.

M. was reading my post last night at home and said, "You've never been to the west coast?" At that exact moment I remembered I have been to the west coast, once, briefly, back in 2003 or 2004. When I was in graduate school I attended a conference in San Francisco. I didn't see a lot of the west coast, but was there. So, I amend my post. I've never been to the northwest coast...

Portland, Oregon. This is likely a city I would never have thought of much in my entire life if the past couple years had not happened. In the past couple years I've had two dear friends whom I met at work go through some life-changing events and then decided to move on to Portland. (And how ironic is it that the book I started on Saturday is set in Portland and the movie M. and I watched last night is as well?)

The latest friend, Ms. E., will be taking a flight out there on Tuesday to start her new life. We had a get-together Friday evening at a bar for her. M. and I went, not planning to stay long (bars are not our scene), and ended up being the last ones standing outside the bar with E. as the warm, sultry night air enveloped us. We stood there, finding one last thing to say after one last thing to say to delay the inevitable hug before parting ways. Finally, we had to let her go. But this is just best wishes to E. - not a farewell!

I for one plan to keep up with E. as she makes her way our there on the west coast. M. and I will also try to make it out there next summer for a visit - stopping first in North Dakota to see my family and my brother's new house. I've never been to the west coast, so I'm already excited and want to plan the trip NOW.

Dearest E., email me often, send lots of pictures, and don't forget to use chat! I send you best wishes for a safe flight tomorrow and for a wonderful life in Portland. All warm snarkies today are dedicated to you. Don't forget about us back here!

PS- thanks for the 'Free Fla-Vor-Ice' sign - almost didn't see it this morning!

Aprons and Green Tea Bathes

Pioneer Woman Ree did a post today about a cute cowgirl apron she just got on her Home & Garden blog. When someone on one of the blogs I regularly read posts about something they found online I head right over to the website. In this case, PW's apron came from Sommer Designs. They do have cute aprons, but the ones they have available for sale right now are hostess aprons, you know, those ones that tie only around your waist and don't cover anything up top. Now, this just isn't practical for me. When I cook the most likely place for me to end up with slops is the area this apron doesn't cover - both because of my height (or lack thereof) and an ample chest. Sommer Designs' full coverage aprons don't go on sale until mid-October, but that's okay because I made my own apron some time ago - I just have to remember to put it on when I am cooking! And my apron covers me all the way down to my knees!!

What I really liked on the Sommer Designs website - and it came as a shock to me because typically I am not really into this kind of thing - was the handcrafted handbags. But, wouldn't you know it, the Malaga Bag in lime paisley which I just love is sold out. :( The Del Cerro Tote in Toile fabrics are pretty cool too - just not as much as the Malaga in lime paisley...

And while I am doing a post on stuff I like online, when I visited my parents in North Dakota earlier this month, my mom set out some Cru de Provence green tea bath products that came in a gift basket her boss bought her. I used the body wash and lotion during my visit and just love the scent! She gave me the travel size lotion and body wash to take home since that is about all I was allowed per airline security regulations on liquids and gels. Once home I did some research and found out these products are sold by Wind Country Gift Baskets. Mom got the lovely 'Day Off' basket. (Her boss spoils her employees!)

Just a quick post this afternoon to take a quick break from work! :)

My Poor Lu

When Luigi had his dental surgery last week a piece of the gum the vet cut off was sent to a lab to be analyzed. The vet called me with the results today. Luckily, no cancer. However, they are not sure exactly what is going on. It could be one of two conditions - neither of which I can pronounce. I asked the assistants to write them down when I went in this afternoon, but they said they would be on the receipt printout. I didn't notice until they were closed that they are not on the printout so I will be making a call tomorrow so I can do some more research on what might be going on in Lu's mouth.

The analysis of his gum showed more neutrofills than stomas which the vet said is good. This leads her to believe he probably has the lesser of the two conditions and if that is what is going on, he has hyperactive gum growth due to a reaction to tartar on his teeth. Luigi doesn't have very much tartar buildup on his teeth, but the vet said even a little can set off this condition. If that is what it turns out to be Luigi will likely have to have the dental procedure he had done last week done at least once a year.

The gum analysis did show some presence of stomas - at least that is what I think the vet said. This could indicate the more severe condition in which the vet said the only remedy to keep it under control is to extract all his teeth. This totally freaks me out because my Lu cannot keep that soft cat food down. So what happens if he has no teeth and can't chew his food? I asked the vet this and she basically told me it's not time to freak out yet. We are going to treat him with regular teeth cleanings with some kind of dental gel I picked up this afternoon and a special food that scrapes the teeth to remove tartar.

As long as his gums stay under control Luigi doesn't have to go back to the vet for 4 months. We have an appointment in November to have his gums and teeth looked at again and can determine at that time if another gum analysis is needed or if the teeth cleaning and special food is working. Wish my Lu luck with his itty bitty teethies!

Teen Workers Are Peoples Too!

Listen here Ms. Higher Up, don't tell me that you have urgent, urgent work for our teen helper to do when she is in the office, withhold the list of files you need pulled, and then when I come request the list because our teen helper is in the office today snark at me like we are bothering you. Don't tell me, "Teen Helper will just have to wait," in that condescending voice of yours. You are the one who said this needs to be done ASAP. I can't help it if you are busy and don't want to deal with this right now - you are the one who ignored my previous requests for the list like it is some coveted list meant only for your eyes.

Our Teen Helper was right outside your door when you made that snarky remark and I hope it didn't hurt her feelings. I know you probably really don't care about that because you think she is working this job all loosy goosy, but from my standpoint, she's done a good job when she's here and a lot of it has been nasty, hot attic work, so why don't you just step down from your high horse and take a Prozac or something?

Since you weren't ready for her, I now have her working downstairs where it is cool until you deem it appropriate to grace us with your superior highness...

Tales of the Pumpkin

Okay, I originally started this post way back on 5/29 when one of my coworkers came into work a wee bit late because her car had a flat. This made me think back to the time I had a flat tire. It was when I was in high school. But then I realized I did not have the right photos to go with the post. I called up my brother who is 26 years and still speaks in sarcasm (hmm, does that run in the family?!) I asked my brother to email me the appropriate pictures, but of course he didn't have any, couldn't take any, and their scanner was broken anyway... so I got my own photos while I was visiting at the end of June and have saved this post until now.

But before getting into my original intent of this post, I thought I would also give you that update on the end of my trip that I'd been mentioning for so long. I sure am glad I have something else to post about at the same time because now that I look back on what I've already written about my vacation, I realize what I have left is not all that exciting.

So, my last day in North Dakota mom, dad, and I all get up at the insane hour of 3 AM since my flight departs at 4:40. My brother works a job from 4 PM until midnight and he still wasn't home when we left the house. I saw barely a glimpse of him the whole week I was there! So I went through security at the airport, boarded my flight to Minneapolis and dozed. Got into Minneapolis just fine, but then the flight I had to my next stop before ultimately arriving home could not land because of thunderstorms. When we finally touched down I had about 2 minutes to get on my last flight. Naturally, the gate I landed at was no where near the one I was departing from... so I began my hurried trek through the airport to get on that last flight and get home. I paid attention to no one and nothing save the signs directing me to the gate I needed. Then, suddenly I felt my Crocs stick to the floor, my upper body starting projecting forward and downward at the same time and I found myself taking a skid, head first, into the airport floor. No, I did not trip on something on the floor and therefore cannot sue the airport for negligence in having dirty floors that tripped me up. I tripped over my own feet - the darn right one to be exact!

I ended up skinning up my forehead, messing up my right knee, and bending my glasses out of whack. I didn't even have time to look around to see how many people witnessed my intimate tryst with the airport floor, I just picked myself up and trudged on. When finally arriving at my gate I saw the door was closed. The screen still showed my flight leaving at it's regular time, so I was sure I had missed it. I stood anxiously behind a group trying to get rerouted to New Orleans to find out how I was going to get home. This gave me enough time to think about my plunge and how horrendous I must look - red from rushing through the airport, up since 3 AM, head skinned up, glasses all cockeyed... Finally the airport lady asked me where I was headed. When I told her my destination, she said that my flight had been delayed. Whew! Wish I would have known that before spilling myself in the middle of a big city airport! I did eventually make it home a couple hours late and spent the rest of the weekend resting up for a fun and exciting work week!

Now back to the original intent of my post... Like I said, a coworker had come in late because of a flat tire and that made me think back to the time I had a flat tire.

I don't know if I've mentioned it here before, but when I was in high school and my first year of college I drove a 1980 Ford Pinto. And it was orange. It was 'The Pumpkin-Mobile.'

My dad bought this car brand new for my mom and it was the car she learned to drive on. It was also the car I learned to drive on since my mom had moved on to better vehicles since then. This car is almost as old as I am and my dad still drove the thing up until a year or two ago! It is now housed in my dad's large storage building.

My sister and I were heading home one day after school and the car was driving a little funny. I didn't know what was going on, and being a teenager wanting to get home after school, it didn't even cross my mind to stop and take a look at the car - I didn't know anything about cars anyway, so how was I going to fix whatever was wrong? I was focused on getting the thing home to dad; he would know how to fix it. So I continued to drive it very slowly towards home.

I know I have mentioned that I grew up in North Dakota and graduated in a class of about 45 students. The high school I attended was in an itty bitty little town in the middle of no where. This town was so small that the only things in the town were a bar and the high school and the surrounding area was all farmland. The school was about a 45 minute drive from my home.

Because I was driving so slowly, several of my fellow students, also intent on getting home, or where ever they were going, passed me. Some made some weird gestures as they did. I had no idea what they were doing until one got me to pull over and told me I had a flat tire. I had probably drove on the flat for about 5-10 miles at that point. Because I was a teenager and was still about 30 minutes from my home and my dad who could repair the flat, and because I knew nothing about flat tires other than they were a bummer, and because cell phones were not all the rage at the time I was in high school, I was still going to attempt to drive that thing home!

Fortunately for me a county sheriff was driving along and pulled over behind me. While my sister and I stood there in the brisk North Dakotan wind he changed the flat tire for us so I could drive home. I am pretty sure my little stint on the flat tire ruined the previous tire - luckily the wheel was not damaged. Dad was not impressed.

He wasn't too impressed the time I backed the Pinto into a deep ditch and over a culvert outcropping tearing a hole in the gas tank either!

I've had lots of interesting, not-so-fun forays in the orange Pinto. It kind of makes me sad to think it is now gathering dust in a storage building. M. even got a dose of the Pinto when he came to visit me in North Dakota after we had gotten together online. M. rode the Amtrak by himself (and got robbed of a couple Mountain Dews in the process) to come see me for Valentine's Day. I don't remember why, but I took the Pinto out that morning - probably to either pick something up or just to make sure I knew where the train station was so I could pick M. up later that evening. That darn Pinto blew a belt or something and left me stranded right in the middle of a busy street during the winter. I put on my emergency lights and panicked about what I was going to do.

Being the nice people they are in that North Dakota college town, no one stopped to help me. After several minutes of wondering what I was going to do, I walked up the street to a gas station and called my dad collect and asked him if I should get the car towed? He said I would have to since he was 5 hours away and there wasn't much he could do. So I had the car towed and spent all of Valentine's Day at a service station waiting for my car to be fixed. When I finally got back to my dorm room to top things off there was a message from my ex-boyfriend whom I had broken up with several months before (but he'd only recently gotten the hint). I deleted the message and then went off to pick up M. And I sure did have an interesting Valentine's Day story for him when he got off the train!

For those of you who followed my blog during my trip to North Dakota, you know my grandpa's van went up in flames. Here's a few pictures of it after it was moved to its final resting spot!

************************************************************************************
And who knew I've had the secret to great skin in my household practically my entire life?!

Thinking about my boys...

The Mental Floss Morning Cup O'Links this morning featured a few links that had me thinking about my boys - Clyde, Luigi, and that wonderful M.

First, we have this lovely cat animation by Simon Tofield that reminds me mostly of that little Lu living in my house, but with some Clyde thrown in. I watched the video at work this morning, so no sound, but still, it was hilarious! My poor little Lu had dental surgery on Monday and his brother is not being very nice to him since he smells all vetty. Luigi had gums growing down over some of his teeth so the vet cut them away and did a cleaning. I also decided to microchip the little bugger while he was down because I can see him slipping past us, out the porch door and running off into the sunset. He is so wild sometimes! His surgery went well, but we are still waiting on a lab analysis of the gum to make sure it is not cancerous. If it's not (let's all pray...) then the vet doesn't know why Luigi's gums are all hyperactive and he may have to have this surgery every year. Still, I would rather plunk down a couple hundred dollars a year than deal with cancer...

Then a couple links that made me think of my beloved M. The first was a guide on M.'s favorite reptile - the SNAKE!! I've mentioned before how much he loves those critters! That coral snake is kind of cute - bet M. would love it if I picked one up after work as a pet. Then we have the Geek Cakes. If M. liked cake, a nice electronic-styled or Star Wars cake would be perfect for him!

And, unrelated to my boys, I saw a link on the Mental Floss blog that took me to a style quiz. The first thing I need to do is 'pick my favorite brands.' What if I don't have any favorite brands? What if I've never even heard of most of these brands? What does that say about my style? Why aren't Old Navy and Target listed as brands?! Today I'm wearing a little Wal-Mart as well... Okay, I picked a few and then I had to rate products I'd never seen... and then you have to create an account to get your style result. So blah, I'm not giving them any of my info. I guess my style will forever remain a mystery...

Belated Warm Snarkies

Two late warm snarkies this morning to two great people who had birthdays yesterday, July 13th. CH and AB, no super duper images for you, but wanted you to know I didn't forget your birthdays! Hope they were good ones!

Nine Years?!

To My Dear, Dear M.,

Nine years ago today we stood in front of family and friends and took a vow to love and honor each other for the rest of our lives. It is hard to believe it has already been nine years! Time with you passes in a way in which I hardly even notice it is gone.

I remember meeting you in that chat room oh so long ago in a time when internet dating wasn't even a thing. There was no eHarmony or Match.com. All you heard was horror stories of people who had met online and met disastrous consequences. I am so proud to have a successful story to tell featuring you!

I know our parents collectively worried. Worried that we were too young, that we didn't know each other well enough - that we had met on the internet for goodness sake! Our friends thought we were just crazy. Yet, they all stood with us on my parents' lawn this day nine years ago and were witness to just how much we love each other, how dedicated we were to one another. And still, almost a decade later, we are happy, crazy, spunky in love.

And how ironic that Buckcherry's Carousel is playing on my iPod at this very moment! I know, M., that you probably have never heard the song since I am the Buckcherry fan, but take a minute tonight and listen to it. I dedicate it to you on this day, our 9 year anniversary. I love you!

Forever Yours,
Lil'Seed

Random, useless workday thoughts...

We have a couple single-seater restrooms in the back of our building. The doorstop in the lady's room is one of those metal rings with the rubber ring on the inside. I can't help looking at it when I'm in there and wondering how much bacteria has gathered in that rubber ring, or do small insects find it a suitable, dark place to build their homes?

Also, several people in the office are wearing bright, limey greens today. Yea! I love green...

And, check out the new header at Suburban Turmoil. I love the picture. The look on little Bruiser's face is priceless!

To Someone in the Front Office

Dear Someone,

When we have office staff out we all need to pitch in and help cover that person's job. I take a good portion of duties for the particular person out this week. Did you know last weekend was a holiday weekend and there were emails and information requests piled up from 3 days not only for the person who is out this week, but for me too.

I understand that you, Someone, also take a portion of this person's duties when they are out. What I did not know is that you need to sit at this person's desk to perform these duties. Well, guess what? I have to sit there too to do what I need to do. Yesterday I admit I was at that person's desk for a good portion of the day, but you try going through almost 200 emails and making sure everyone gets the correct information sent to them and let's see if you can get it done in half the time I did.

You could have told me that you needed to sit at that desk since I did not know what you were covering required it, but instead you decided to complain to a 'Higher Up' so this morning I was chastised for helping out and doing someone else's job. Well, poo to you Someone!

Since I am an office goddess, I will kindly transfer everything I can to my own desk so you can sit at the other's desk all day long if that is what you need. I hope your day at the office stinks!

Sincerely,
LilSeed

PS - to my regular readers, I still plan to do a vacation wrap up post and have a few more pictures to post from my trip. I think I will have to break down and actually write that post at home.

Ack!

I have a story to post about my travels home after my trip to North Dakota, but no time to do that right now. I did have to take a momentary break from my work this morning to bring you this very snarky post.

I love having a summer helper around the office. It is especially exciting this summer because I am organizing her work. But seriously, Ms. Higher Up, if you want me to do the workload organization, then let me do it!! Let me know what needs to be done and what kind of priority the job has. Don't try to add bits and pieces here and there and then act like I am ignoring what you want done. I know what jobs are on the list and I can make sure they get done in a timely matter.

Thank you!

She did it!

Mom got her tattoo yesterday. She decided on a cherry blossom branch with the Chinese symbol for human life. Below is a little slide show I captured during the inking.

I also found out my uncle (and godfather) is the State attorney in a murder case this summer. Testimony in the case just started today.

This will be my last full day in North Dakota. Tomorrow morning I head out early - 4:40am - for the trip back home. Not sure what our plans are for today, but tonight we are probably going to dinner with my grandfather and his wife since they cancelled on us last night...

Vacation Update

Wednesday, June 25: We took a trip to the state's capitol, Bismark. We did not get going as early as planned (mom takes longer to get ready than I think she realizes), so once we had made the 2.5 hour drive it was time to have lunch. We had tickets for the Lewis & Clark Riverboat cruise of the Missouri River (once again obtained by mom from the Wheeler Dealer radio show), so we decided to eat close to the dock at a restaurant called Captain Meriweather's.

So, we walk into Meriweather's and of course there is a sign asking that people 'Please Wait to Be Seated.' So we waited, and waited, and waited. No one was at the hostess stand and there was no bell to summon anyone from the back where apparently all employees were congregated (not a good idea at noon...) Finally, without apology, a lady comes out and seats us in the dining room. Now, the dining room was pretty much vacant - most people had chosen to sit on the patio, but we decided against it because of the heat and wind - and where do we get seated? At a table that was almost level with our knees. It was the shortest table in the entire dining room! I suppose we could have moved, but we made do. I suppose there are worse things that can happen than sitting at a low table; for instance what happened next.

We gave our waiter our drink orders, he brings them out. I took a sip of my soda and sucked up a small hard piece of something. I spit it out in my palm and discovered a tiny chunk of clear glass. Luckily, I did not bite down on it or swish it around in my mouth! We waited to see if the waiter would come back so we could tell him about the glass, but after waiting a few minutes, dad took the glass and my drink and went searching for someone to tell. He came back with a new drink for me. Apparently, they did not even really apologize, just said 'We don't know how that would have happened.'

Okay, glass-in-the-drink injury averted. We then ordered. We all tried out the chicken wraps. They were okay, but the lunch I had the previous day at the Pita Pit was more enjoyable. The Pita Pit was also about three times less expensive. Meriweather's will not get any kind of recommendation from me!

We then went outside to wait for boarding on the Lewis & Clark to begin. Mom and dad trekked back to the Explorer to slather on sunscreen. I decided against the greasy mess and later paid for it with lobster arms. (I can feel the heat radiating from my arms as I type this.) We then took a relaxing cruise up and down the Missouri River.

After the cruise we did some very light shopping. Mom had to return some clothing she'd purchased at Kohl's in Grand Forks (no Kohl's in Minot) and dad had to get some kind of screws for the basement footings in the house he is building for my brother.

After shopping it was a visit to my mom's parents. My mother's parents have always lived in the Bismarck area while my dad's parents lived right down the hill from us, so in that scenario where there are the 'A' grandparents and the 'B' grandparents, my mom's parents got the role of 'B.' Not because I like them any less, I just never got the opportunity to know them as well as my other grandparents.

We then made the drive home. One of the less exciting days, but I had to blog about it anyway!

Thursday, June 26: I got up this morning and took a 2 hour drive around various spots I used to haunt while growing up to see how things have changed. I drove through Burlington, the town where I attended elementary school and then up to the sleepy town of Des Lacs where I attended middle and high school. I shot some photos yesterday and today and have put them all into a slide show for you to enjoy.

Mom has her tattoo appointment this afternoon and then we have dinner with my dad's dad and his wife. More to come as my trip winds down to it's last days.

The Vacation Run Down

First, an apology to my readers who checked for a post last night. My parents have one computer and my dad had to use it last night. By the time he was done I was too tired to write a post and was off to bed.

Now, for those of you who are interested in what I've been doing in North Dakota on my vacation, here's what's happened so far. I've not taken very many pictures yet, but do plan to post some photos eventually. I won't give a time estimate since I'll probably not live up to the deadline, but they will be forthcoming.

Saturday, June 21: I spent most of the day in planes and airports. You wouldn't think it would take all day to fly approximately 1,277 miles, but with the layovers I need to take, it does. So I started my day at 5:00am and arrived in Minot, North Dakota about 4:20pm. Since my parents live outside of town in a rural community, they make the most out of trips into town. (M. and I do the same thing now that we have moved outside the city.) Because they were already in town to get me from the airport, we went and had some dinner at a Mexican restaurant and then did some shopping. Finally, we headed home where I was greeted by a very excited dog. Elle - my mom's newest baby was a rescue dog from Hurricane Katrina. She was one of the animals transported from the New Orleans area to various shelters around the US. There was a list of people who wanted to adopt Elle, but my parents' rural home with a huge yard won out and Elle is now a spoiled pooch living in my parents' house.

Sunday, June 22: We all awake early to spend about 4 hours in the car so we can drive to Grand Forks and visit my sister. My sister is an overachiever and very, very busy so it was either drive to see her, or not see her at all. Even though I had spent the entire previous day traveling, I was willing to do this to see her. (Plus, my parents really did the activity planning for this trip and I didn't have much choice in the matter! But what can you say when they shelled out almost $700 for a plane ticket?)

The purpose of the trip was twofold - give me a chance to visit with my sister and give dad and my brother the opportunity to fix sister's dryer which was overheating and install some shelving in the garage of her townhouse. We arrived about lunchtime. My brother and one of his friends were at my sister's already - they had drove down the day before to attend a concert. So we met up with sister, brother, and brother's friend to discuss the game plan for the day. It was decided we would all go to lunch, but first had to wait for sister's friend who would come over to help install the garage shelving. Sister felt since he was volunteering to help out, it would be nice to invite him to lunch too. I was on this trip to visit with my family, so I was not exactly thrilled about going to lunch with brother's friend and sister's friend, but again, what can you do when you're not the activity director and the entire trip is being financed by your parents?

Sister's friend pulls up on a scooter and we all pile into two vehicles to go have some lunch at Boston's. Not my favorite place to eat, but sister is very picky about where she eats and she chose. (I know it sounds like all I am doing up to this point is complaining, but really it has been a good trip so far! I just like to give commentary on my interior thoughts...)

After lunch it is decided mom and I will go shopping since there are stores in Grand Forks that are not available in Minot. Sister, brother, and dad are all going to stay at the townhouse to do home repairs. Sister's friend motors off on his scooter right after lunch saying he has something he has to do and is never seen again. Good thing my parents bought him lunch in exchange for help with those shelves... Mom and I putter around department stores for two and a half hours (my shopping limit is probably half an hour to an hour...) and then we return to sister's townhouse where we find brother and sister playing Bubble Bobble (ah, flashback!) and dad and brother's friend watching them. Brother has spent the entire time we were gone in sister's attic finding a dryer clog and dad installed the garage shelving san sister's friend. So we hang out at sister's townhouse for awhile visiting and playing with her cats then make the approximately 4 hour drive home, have some pizza, and head to bed.

Monday, June 23: I went to the same hair stylist all through high school. My mom still goes to this stylist, so she made me a surprise appointment for a haircut. But I didn't know and had my hair cut last Wednesday before traveling. Because my hair was already shorter than I really wanted it, I couldn't take the haircut and instead got caramel-colored highlights. We then headed back home for some lunch and relaxed around the house.

Late Monday afternoon one of my parents' neighbors knocked on the door. She said she was coming home from work and saw thick black smoke rising in the air near my grandfather's home (my parents live in a community on top a hill - grandpa lives below the hill). The neighbor said she couldn't see what exactly was on fire and traffic was stopped and backed up. She told mom and dad she'd feel a lot better if they went and checked it out (there is a private back road down the hill to grandpa's place). So mom, dad, the dog, and I hopped in the Explorer and took the back way down.

My grandfather is retired from working at the local airport. He now runs his own business selling products of his own design - windsocks with lights that can swivel 360 degrees, roadway markers, a device that thaws sewer vents in the winter. Grandpa has a large shop and that is where the back road leads to, so we parked near the shop and grandpa came out and was irate. Apparently, grandpa's wife (not my grandmother who passed away when I was five) was on her way into town. She got to the end of the driveway and was about to turn onto the highway when the van she was driving made a popping, whooshing noise and then went up in flames. Grandpa's wife got out and was not injured, but it took the fire department half an hour to make it out to the blaze and by the time it the fire was out (and we were all down there staring at it), the van was a complete loss. The interior was completing burnt, the front end was practically unrecognizable and melted into the pavement. The only salvageable part of the vehicle was the rear tires. Not only was grandpa irate about losing a vehicle he had just recently cancelled insurance on, but he had also donated $200 to the fire department of Burlington and they didn't even come out. It was Minot Rural that responded. I am sure the Burlington Fire Department will be hearing from my grandfather with a request for his $200 back...

After the fire incident, we had a hurried dinner and then went into town to see a movie. My mom listens to a radio show called Wheeler Dealer and gets discount certificates from the program. Several of our activities, including Monday night's movie, were based around what she had certificates for. We saw Forgetting Sarah Marshall at the discount theater. (Not a movie I had any ambition to see, but our options were limited since it was a discount theater and only had three shows playing - two of which I had already viewed.) Now the movie was not terrible, but if I had known we were going to see Jason Segel in full frontal nudity several times (not just a few times, but several times) I might not have seen this movie with my mom and dad. Not that movie nudity bothers me, even if viewed with the parents, but this was not just quick flashes of the male anatomy, and there really wasn't any reason for us to see Mr. Segel's little soldier flopping around... In any case, the movie was not what we expected. We got home late and headed off to bed.

Tuesday, June 24: Tuesday was a day out and about with my mom. We did some light shopping (much better than the marathon shopping expedition in Grand Forks), had lunch at a place call The Pita Pit (yummy!), mom tried to donate blood, and then we got hydro massages (my first professional massage ever).

The shops we checked out were little locally owned businesses selling gift items. I bought some ice tea mix and some cornnut-like things for M. I also bought a little cat figurine to add to my small collection of cat-related items at home. We also visited a used bookstore. I love browsing through old books, even if I don't purchase anything. Mom bought me a couple books, which is good since I am almost done with the two books I brought with me! I've added them to my Book Bag on the right side of the blog...

After lunch we tried to check out a tattoo place. Mom has a coupon for a tattoo. I found out she has always wanted one. I never knew that about my mom and it's a little shocking. Mom just doesn't seem like the tattoo kind of person. I briefly thought about getting a tattoo when I heard she was getting one, but I don't have a life-long desire for a tattoo, plus M. absolutely abhors tattoos, so I decided not to do something that I did not have a strong desire to do. (But, just so M. knows, if I did really, really want a tattoo, I would get one despite his objections.) Mom had decided on a cherry blossom design for her ankle and we were going to go by the place to talk to the artist about the design and find out how long it would take, but the place was locked up tight. No posted hours. Mom called the number and left a message with her phone number and we went off to the blood bank.

Mom was going to give blood because once she is tattooed, she can't give blood for a year. I dug into my book while waiting for them to test her blood levels. (I can't give blood, it makes me woozy - I can watch vomiting, gut-tearing, etc., but suck blood out of my arm and I am likely going to faint.) During my wait my cell phone rang. The blood bank is not a noisy place and I did not realize the ringer on my cell phone was turned all the way up - so embarrassment ensued while I dug furiously through my purse to get the phone and get it out of it's case while everyone in the waiting room looked at me like, "Are you going to answer that noisy thing?!"

I eventually did get the phone popped open and up to my ear. It was a gal from work letting me know my friend received her referral from Russia! I had hoped it would happen while I was home so I could be in the office when she came in, but I am so excited for her! S., if you are reading this, I saw a picture and I could not be happier for you!! Please don't feel you can't call me because I'm on vacation. I would love to hear from you!

During this exciting call Mom came out and indicated she couldn't give blood - iron levels were too low. So we did some quick shopping and then got our massages. I've never had a professional massage of any kind, so that was a nice treat. I will have to look for somewhere back home where I can get a hydro massage.

The tattoo expedition was a lost cause yesterday since the place was apparently closed and the artist never returned mom's call. Oh, and I don't think I mentioned that dad has not a clue that mom is getting a tattoo or that she even wants one, so that's going to be some surprise for him when she comes home with an inked ankle. I hope she will be able to get it done while I am here.

Last night was a quiet night at home with my parents. One of my aunts (dad has five sisters and no brothers!) also stopped by to visit. Aunt B. is my favorite of my dad's sisters and is also my godmother, so it was nice to see her again. The rest of the aunts, I don't really care to see. My mom is the oldest of ten children, but most of them live about 2 hours south of here in the Bismark area. We didn't see them a lot growing up, so I don't really know them.

And that brings me up to this morning. Mom and dad are out walking Elle and I have spent a good portion of my day so far on the internet checking email and writing this post. This afternoon we will be trekking down to Bismark to take a riverboat cruise and see my mom's parents. I can't promise another post today, maybe not even tomorrow, but I will be back at some point to give everyone an update.

North Dakota - A vacation spot?

It is when you grew up here! I arrived Saturday afternoon and will be visiting until this coming Saturday. So far it's been an interesting trip. I plan to do a more 'fully featured' post this evening, so stay tuned.

What's Been Up?

I've been enslaved by a copier, that's what has been up! We found out that for one of our accreditations we need to send all our reports (burned to CD) from all of history to the accrediting entity. Well, we had reports saved electronically from 2004-present, so I've got those CDs all wrapped up and they have already been sent where they need to go. Anything before 2004 was not saved electronically, so I have been working with our summer helper to get the paper files pulled from the hot, steamy attic and then drug downstairs where our copies are.

Once the files are downstairs, someone needs to plow through them to pull out the applicable reports (sometimes up to 4 reports per file), scan them in and then save them so they can be burnt to CD. Of course, during the entire year we worked on this accreditation it was never mentioned we would need to do this - only after we've received our accreditation does this come up, and of course, it is now URGENT that we get this done. This could not have been done over the course of the year, especially not in the winter when it would have been cooler in the attic...

And, of course this is URGENT so it falls me to me to plow through these files by myself because our summer helper is at camp this week. I will be so glad when she is back! Apparently, it was also policy here in the office back in the day to use a staple per every 2 pages. So, for each report I have to pull out about a dozen staples before I can run the thing through the copier. So, please, fellow workers, please be careful not to trip over my chain and shackles while working near the back copier... I will likely be there all week!!

So because I don't and likely won't have a lot to snark about during this all encompassing project at work, I thought I'd let you all know what I have been up to outside of work. I know you all want to know desperately!

Movies: M. and I went to see The Strangers over the weekend. I was excited about this movie because scary movies and thrillers are my favorite movie genre. Unfortunately, this is one of those movies that did not live up to the previews for me (or for M. who also wanted to see it). I did not have that 'movie high' when leaving the theater. Do you get that 'movie high?' You know, that feeling when you leave a theater that the movie was just great, or that it might have changed the way you look at something or think about things? Well, that wasn't this movie. This movie was just okay for me. M. pointed out about 5 minutes in that the camera work was very shaky, even more so than Cloverfield, which we watched about a week ago. As with many little eccentricities, I really didn't notice this until M. pointed it out, but then it was annoying. Also, as M. says, you really don't get to know the main characters, James and Kristen, so it is hard to feel anything for them when the three strangers start attacking them simply because they 'were home.' I think with some more story background and a steadier camera this might have been a good movie and not just okay.

We also tried out Evil Dead and Evil Dead 2. M. had seen something about these movies and that they had received good viewer ratings, in fact, were consider cult classics. I am always up for horror flicks, even the old ones, so I sat down with M. to watch these films. We watched all of the first one although I don't know why. It was entirely hokey. I know, you need to expect a degree of that in many of the older flicks, but this was just too much hokey for me. Zombie dead people who sit in doorways and just giggle are not my thing. I watched about 15 minutes of the second one and it was even worse, so I decided making our bed would be entirely more interesting. M. watched a bit more than me and while I was tucking in bedding I heard "Give me back my hand," come from the living room. Later M. would tell me that the main character's hand was possessed and was trying to kill him. Oh, please! Also, that damn giggly zombie was back in the second film...

The final movie I want to mention is P2. We also watched this movie over the weekend (yes, we watch a lot of movies). While also not a great movie, it was better than the others mentioned above. We definitely felt more for Angela who was imprisoned in a parking garage by a demented parking attendee who had a crush on her than for James and Kristen out in the woods tormented by three strangers. Too bad we didn't go see Iron Man instead of The Strangers in the theater...

Games: We've had a Nintendo Wii for some time now and both M. and I enjoy it. I picked up a Wii Fit last week and it only took me one evening of calling around and a dash to our local Toys R Us to get it - unlike our console which we had to stalk stores for 2 weeks to get. Actually, I picked up 2 Wii Fits last week. One was for M.'s mom who had been wanting one before I even knew what they were. Unfortunately, M.'s parents have had console problems and apparently the 2nd console Nintendo sent them does not like the Wii Fit, so they have to contact Nintendo and have a third console sent out. Until then, M.'s mom doesn't get to use her Wii Fit game or balance board.

I've used my Wii Fit almost every day since we got it. For those who don't know about the Wii Fit (I only recently got the concept), you get a balance board and compatible game for the purchase price of $89.99. With your Wii Fit you can do a body test which will measure your weight, BMI, balance, and give you an estimated age based on those measurements. It also has yoga, strength training, balance, and aerobic activities to help keep your measurements in check. What I really like about it is that you need to bank time doing these activities to unlock new activities, so you have an incentive to work out. I just unlocked rhythm boxing last night and love it! My plan was to do yoga each day and alternate aerobic and strength training. Tonight was to be strength training, but I may slip some rhythm boxing in too!

Last night M. went on an impulse buy trip to town to pick up Rock Band for our PS3 (yes, we have a lot of game systems). The game is a bit pricey and I wasn't sure about getting it, but M. seemed pretty excited, so I gave him the go ahead to get it while I worked on my aerobics with my Wii Fit. I banked 45 minutes on the Wii Fit, unloaded the dishwasher, setup the cats' drinking fountain (after it went through the dishwasher), gathered household trash from our little cans around the house, and scooped the litter box while M. was on his shopping trip. He had to go to three stores, but eventually found the game. (Why do the things we want always have to be so hard to find?)

I left M. in the living room to unpack the box (and it was a big box) while I showered off my Wii sweat. When I came out he had the guitar and microphone unpacked and was beginning to work on the drum set. If you've not heard of Rock Band, this game is kind of like the Guitar Hero games in that you can play a guitar along with popular songs, but in addition to the guitar, you can also have someone on the drums and someone singing, hence making up your rock band!

I wasn't exactly excited about this game, but I am glad M. went out and got it. We rocked the night away - M. on the drums and me on vocals. I am not a good singer, but on 'easy' level I did pretty good. We got to create characters for ourselves and name our band. We ended up being The Beavers - a throw back to M.'s past (don't ask, I don't have the finger strength to finish this post and tell you about that story). M. is the outrageous drummer Storm and I am the Gothic rocker Lil'Seed. What is especially nice about this game is it's song list. Lots of songs M. and I have heard and like (unlike some of those other singing games). You can also purchase additional songs from the music store.

M. and I rocked so much last night we were able to unlock several new venues, gained about 2,000 fans, and even got a crappy van to tour in so we can make it from venue to venue! M. was ready to get to his drums again this morning, but of course, we have to work...

Books: I finally finished Sophie's Choice. Like The Strangers, this was just okay for me. I picked up this book because I had heard vague murmurings about it, and of course, knew it was a movie. I've never seen the movie and I really didn't know what the book was about before actually reading it. The first problem I had was that the paperback copy I got at the library had very small, cramped text. My eyes are okay and I do a lot of reading, but that was hard to get through. Secondly, you don't even learn what Sophie's choice is until the last quarter of the book and by that time there has been so much other drama in Sophie's life (past and present) that it is hard to get caught up in her choice. I don't think the author gave enough text to the actual choice and how it impacted Sophie. Maybe the movie focuses more on the choice?

After Sophie's Choice I read The Virgin of Small Plains. Loved this book! I will have to pick up some more books by Nancy Pickard next time I'm at the library. This is a mystery set in 1987 and 2004 Kansas. The book does jump from the past to 'present' 2004, so if you don't like that in a book, this may not be for you, but it didn't bother me. In 1987 a girl is found naked and dead on a ranch and the mystery is who is she and why did she end up dead (and frozen to boot) on a cattle ranch.

Currently, I am reading Bastard Out Of Carolina. Not very far yet, but I'm enjoying it so far. I have seen the movie version of this book staring Jennifer Jason Leigh. I liked the movie, so am anticipating liking the book. I may have to pick up some other books by Dorothy Allison after this.

Each time I go to the library I update the 'Book Bag' section of this blog on the right side. I know you need to know what I am reading, so keep up to date over there.

This ends our first edition of 'What's Up.' I hope you have enjoyed reading about what fun and oh so exciting things I have been doing. I must now depart for my beloved copier. Tune in again some other time... Adieu.

Oh, Embarrassment!

I got some new clothes yesterday. I rarely get new clothes and wear the same outfits to work week after week, so I was excited to wear a new skirt and top today. There was no wind when I walked into work early this morning. Unfortunately for me, the wind picked up sometime between my arrival and the time I left for lunch.

I walked out the office door on my way to my car and Bossman walks out right behind me. He says something about how nice it is today. I say it's a little too hot for me as I near my car. Just then a gust of wind comes across the parking lot. I didn't realize how flouncy this new skirt is compared to my others - but it is and the flounce makes it susceptible to ballooning in wind gusts - which it did - in the office parking lot - with Bossman out there with me!

I am not sure how much was in view before I wrangled the skirt back around my thighs and knees. But, oh the embarrassment! One thing I know, if he did see anything, Bossman won't mention it. And I guess it's not quite as embarrassing as Bossman walking around one of our annual client picnics with his fly open...

I will have to pay more attention to the weather reports when deciding to wear this particular skirt!