+ 0 - 0 | § ¶I'm a sucker...
So, this cereal was on sale at Meijer the other day. I couldn't resist. Yep, I'm a total sucker. Paste Capt. Jack Sparrow (aka Johnny Depp) on just about anything and I'll buy it! Also, the cereal is kinda a mix between Cocoa Puffs, which I'm cuckoo for, and Lucky Charms- mmm...marshmallows...
Anyway, it's a little too sickeningly sweet, but the box sure is cool, huh?
This was a long weekend for me since I didn't work on Friday. It was nice. I hung out with friends and cleaned up around my house, and printed more pictures- which by the way, seems like a neverending process. I don't really have too much more to say. It is one of the first weekends in a long time that I've not dreaded Monday. It's amazing what an extra day will do! If I could only do that every week.
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶snowy day
This is what I woke up to on Saturday morning. The snow was stuck to every surface and was so pretty. I took a walk down to the river and took a few more pictures.
Later that day, I went to Bonnie's for a fiesta! We had tacos and homemade salsa and a lot of fun! The downer was that my batteries were nearly dead and I didn't have a spare set with me so I only took a few pictures. Cute!
bored yet?
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶pizza....yum
Monday night was the typical hang out at Keith and Karla's- except that it was not so typical! First of all, John Farrell is now residing in Grand Rapids and he made us the yummiest pizza ever for dinner! It was sorta like Chicago-style, but I'm sure it was much healthier since John uses only the finest ingredients! It was a hit! Another thing that made this night different was the mix of people who were there. Aside from John, Karen and Juanito and their kids came, and Darrell! Teresa doesn't always come either, but she was there too! I think Keith was really happy to have more boys around :)
We ate and talked and then watched the beginning of season one of 24. It was kinda surreal, but joyful, to have so many of my fun, random friends together watching my favorite show! I've always thought that Karen and Juanito would totally get along with my mansion friends...and they do! Now if I can just pull some more of my random, fun friends into the mix I'll feel like it's heaven! (watch out bam family, I'm coming for you!) Also, Karla and I laughed for a really long time while Karen tried desperately to get a somewhat decent picture of us- laughter is just good! Here's the picture I stole from Karen, altered slightly! Anyway, it was a fun night and I'm looking forward to this weekend when I'll get to hang out with many of the same people, plus more, at Bonnie's! Friends are a good thing.
bored yet?
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶rest in peace...
My mouse is dead. Remember how I really wanted it out of my house? I want it back again. Ok, not really back to live in my house and crawl all over my stuff and chew up things and stuff. But I don't want it dead. On my way home from work yesterday I determined that I would buy a trap that just traps the mouse and then I could release it somewhere out in a field. I decided that I wasn't ok with killing it. It's just a little animal and really deserves a chance to live out it's life without me intervening. When I got home I checked the poison and it didn't really look touched. Whew! I began cleaning up and then Diana called and stopped over to eat dinner with me. Before she left, I asked her to help me pick up the stuff near where I had seen my mouse. She did. And then she picked up my giant teddy bear and gasped. I jumped back and said, "is it there?" fully expecting it to come out running. She said, "yes" and gave me the look.
Now, I have experienced quite a bit of death through the years- of people I really loved. So I don't want to give the impression that the mouse ranks up there with those traumas. But, I did have a few moments of unbelief and deep regret and kind of just wanted to cry. I think I even had to sit down. Can I express how sweet and terrible and sad it was to me that my poor, little mouse curled up with my stuffed animals to die? Even now, it makes me tear up a little. Poor thing. I bet it was sad and didn't feel quite right and just needed to feel loved and warm. Diana helped me put it outside and even she admitted that it was so incredibly cute.
Perhaps this is part of the reason that I don't have pets. Here's a mouse that I really did want out of my house and only really saw once for about 5 minutes. And yet, I am so sad.
Rest in peace, little mouse. I hope you felt safe and loved. I'm so sorry.
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶safe shoes...
When I see critters in my house- primarily centipedes- I find some sense of refuge in my "tall" shoes. Sure, the chunky heel is only about 3 inches at the most, but I feel less vulnerable and accessible than without them. So, the picture up above is from this morning. What am I trying to avoid stepping on? The cute, little, terrifying mouse that has taken up residence in my house!!! Now the wierd thing is that I feel way less uneasy with a mouse than a centipede. I realize that a mouse is bigger and realistically more dangerous than a centipede, but I believe the difference is the cute-ness factor. Even as I sat on top of (seriously, I really mean ON TOP OF) my couch last night watching the little guy shuffle around my floor, I was alternately yelling at it "no! don't come over here!" and thinking to myself, "aww..look at his little ears!" I also think that a mouse is afraid of me, while a centipede is not. Centipedes are too confidant. They rush at you with no thought that you could stomp them out. And they're wily. The mice I've come into contact with through the years seem to be more timid. Isn't there a saying about being as timid as a mouse? Anyway. As cute and timid as my mouse may be, I still want it gone. Here's where the mouse was crawling around. Ugh! I don't want it on or around my stuff and now I'm gonna be afraid to pick anything up (which is bad because my house has TONS of stuff on the floor lately). I first spotted it on New Year's Eve and promptly put out a new supply of d-con. I thought I saw a blur of the mouse out of the corner of my eye about a week ago, but otherwise, thought it must be gone. Except that the d-con packets (I have 6 of them throughout my house!) are still intact. I've read and re-read the instructions and it definitely says that the mouse will chew through the packet to get to the poison. Well, after last night, I tore open a packet myself, put it on a plate with the poison pellets spread appetizingly around, and stuck it near where the mouse had been. And went to bed with the covers pulled tightly up to my eyes! (Thanks, Cousin Rachel, for the lovely story about your parents' mouse experience which kept running through my mind as I tried to go to sleep!) Well, I can't really tell if the pellets have been touched, and I'm beginning to wonder if I have a picky mouse- wouldn't that be ironic?!? It has been 12 days since I put out the d-con and the mouse doesn't seem affected at all. I really don't want to just let it live here, but I also can't bear the idea of a trap. I'd rather have it die without my knowledge.
bored yet?
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶lack of lists...
That is a sign from Scotland! I think it's funny the way that they phrase simple things! And, really, for being January, it's quite amazing that the sign is completely unnecessary in W. Michigan!!! It's been 40 degrees lately! Not that I'm complaining, but it makes me nervous that when it does finally hit, it will be BAD!!!
So, about lists: I'm a list person. It's how I stay organized and motivated. At work, I have about 5 lists going right now- and it works for me. I love crossing things off of my lists. When I travel, I make a packing list weeks in advance and it keeps me from having those terrible dreams that I'm boarding the plane in my pajamas and I don't have anything else to sustain me for my month abroad! Overall, lists are helpful to me. At work, my piles of handwritten notes are working. But outside of work right now I have NO LIST!!! I guess that's not entirely true. I do have a mental list. Those don't help me nearly as much. In fact, what my mental list does is generally stress me out more, because I'm afraid I'm going to forget what's on my mental list when my brain gets too full (as it is now!) and so I run the list through my mind several times throughout the day. Sometimes once an hour. Sometimes more! I might be a bit obsessive-compulsive about it actually. Anyway, I realize the solution. Write it down. Yeah, it's not that simple for me. I could quick jot something on a scrap of paper and call it good. Not! Again, a bit of my neurosis is showing here. I need for my list to be well thought out and complete. That takes time. I don't feel like I have time as I desperately try to keep up with my mental list! Man, do I have issues! So, now you know.
bored yet?
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶it's really late!!!
Karla is the reason that it's 2:06am and I'm just starting to wind down! It's Monday (or it was a few hours ago) which means that I went to Keith and Karla's to hang out. We talked and laughed and played with kids and heard from John Farrell- yay, he's coming here soon :) - and then sat down to watch 24- the first season. A few minutes into it I said, "wait, this isn't the first season- it's gotta be the second." We took out the disc and sure enough- 2nd season. Well, that put a stop to that. You can't watch the 2nd season if you've never seen the first!!! We watched some of Alias that Diana had in her car and then she left, and Keith left for work and Karla and I began talking again. Say, around 10:30 or so. Well, many conversations later I decided I really had to go. We looked at the clock and it was 1:30!!!! Time flies! The funny thing is that we probably could have talked for a few more hours! I like Karla a lot! We talked a lot about friendship which seems to be a tricky thing among girls so often. I'm glad I have so many girl friends who are willing to work hard to be good friends. Thanks, girls!
bored yet?
+ 1 - 0 | § ¶scrapbooks and skating
Today I spent most of the day working on printing pictures and putting together a scrapbook for my friend, Gillian and her hubby, Tommy. They were married back in June and I'm finally getting the pictures I took for them organized.
I also went to church and had fun sitting with a ton of my friends :) Keith and Karla joined my group of d-group leaders- I love when I'm surrounded by people I like a lot! Then, it was time to roller skate!!! It was our youth group skating party- how fun is that?!? And Aubrey went! We skated and ate slushies which turned our mouths blue. I had a great time!
Um...I also finished the 4th season of 24 today. I really love Jack Bauer. Ok, that's it! Goodnight!
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶24
The show, I mean. I'm exactly halfway through season 4. I REALLY LIKE THIS SHOW!!!! I've been a Kiefer fan since he vamped out in Lost Boys, but his role as Jack Bauer is just incredible! I've literally cheered out loud and clapped crazily by myself while watching this season! Yes, I'm a bit odd, but really- it's good. I even forget to think about how unrealistic it all is!
So, that was how I spent some of my chill time tonight. At work, I've been SUPER busy and so when I finally came home I just needed to stop thinking. It is kinda wierd to think that watching such a thrilling and suspenseful show is relaxing, but it is! And then I talked to Karen for a really long time. I like her. Ok, now I need to quick get some sleep before another really jam packed day at work tomorrow. But then it's the weekend :) Woo hoo!
+ 0 - 0 | § ¶do you miss me?
I guess it's time I write, huh? For a while the server was down, but it's back now and so I'll try to catch up on the past week. First, Christmas! I went to my parents' house and had a great time with my family. On Saturday, I hung out with my mom and dad and Emily. I napped and read and napped some more. We went to dinner with my mom's friend, Lena, at a really nice place in Clarkston. I just couldn't really eat though. Here's a somewhat blurry picture of all of us!
On Christmas morning, my mom made coffee cake, dad read and I tried some coffee for the first time in a few days (in my sentimental Christmas mug, of course) That wasn't the most brilliant idea ever. Coffee on a nearly empty stomach after being sick is kinda harsh. Especially my dad's extra strong coffee. Anyway, I layed around, watched mom decorate the tree, and then wrapped some gifts.
My parents went to pick up Rob and Elizabeth from the airport and then we all went to Moy's for our traditional Chinese Christmas dinner! I did manage to eat some. Yum! We drove and saw some Christmas lights and then came home and opened gifts! We drew names this year and almost everyone followed the rules! Yay! I got the book- Bono in conversation with Michka Assayas, a program to design my garden and a really cute cookie jar and socks. Here's some pictures from the festivities: Mom, Dad, Emily, Erin, Linda, Ronnie, Rob, Elizabeth, Aunt MaryAnn, and Ron- he was a bit wiped out! He woke up long enough to have some cheesecake, but then poor Emily fell asleep! We sat and talked and laughed and played the little handheld version of 20 Q until late in the night! It's really quite addicting!
On Monday, we hung out and read and watched the National Geographic channel for hours! Have you ever seen the dog whisperer? He's amazing! Mom made yummy food and we had dinner and then all the girls had a "spa night". Here's the results: Erin, Emily, Linda, Mom, Elizabeth, even Ronnie got in on some of the action! Here are the boys, who retreated to the den! I love my family- we're fun!
Tuesday we all woke up early and went to the Pancake House! It's one of the best breakfast places ever and a family tradition! I had 49-er Flapjacks. Yum! Then Elizabeth, Erin, Emily and I saw Narnia and Rob and Ron saw Munich. Came home and chilled until it was time for another yummy family dinner! We're spoiled! And that was my time with my fam!