GM (genetically modified) food strikes again

"Looks like an Apple. Tastes like a Grape."

I saw this in the grocery store tonight. Dear lord, why??

I like grapes. I like apples. I've never been eating a grape, thinking "if only this were bigger, like an apple." I've never eaten an apple and thought, 'mmm, needs more grape."

Genetically modified food really freaks me out. Like the tomatoes that proudly proclaim "tastes like a real tomato!!" Why don't I just eat a REAL tomato.

But seriously. Just because you CAN do something, doesn't mean you should.

Graple pie anyone? Gaaaa.

A first for Tim here I believe

I was supposed to be hosting stitch n bitch tonight, but everyone ended up being busy/tired. It worked out perfectly though, my back was bothering me a bit, and I didn't mind having a quiet evening. Tim had planned to call Celena to see if she wanted to go out tonight (Celena is Toni's friend, and as much as I tried to be friends with her, we never clicked all that well, but she gets along really well with Tim). He had thought about cancelling when Stitch n bitch was no longer happening, but I told him I really wanted him to go.

Working from home, he hasn't met a lot of people. The people he knows, he knows through me and they are usually my friends. So when I said I really wanted him to go, I meant I really thought he needed to go. Celena likes to go out to bars and drink, something Tim really doesn't get to do with me because I have no interest in that scene. But that was something he used to do regularly in Salem, meet up with Mel or Pete or John or whoever for a beer, to talk, to chill.

Making friends here is really hard, and I'm glad I've finally made some good ones. But I know how social Tim is, and as interesting as I am, I shouldn't be the main source of conversation that he has. And now that we both work from home, I think it is even more important. I go out with my friends pretty regularly, and he'll stay and play guitar or whatever. But I'm hoping he'll start hanging with Celena on a regular basis, because I think it will be really good for him. That is still the only thing I would change about our life here, that he could have some of his own friends, so he can get out of the house without me and just be Tim.

I'm a knitter now!

I went to the Yarn Garden yesterday, and enjoyed wandering around all the wonderful colors and textures. A whole store of soft things to touch. I loved it. A nice woman pointed me to great yarn that is easy for beginners to work with. I ended up with two rolls of this beautiful, soft baby alpaca yarn in a deep burgundy with gold specks, and a roll of this soft green yarn flecked with orange and yellow.

I started knitting with the burgundy, making a scarf, and it is great to work with. It's silky, so it is easy to move over the knitting needles, and it is so nice to touch I just want to keep working on it. It's much more fun working with yarn I really like. It looks good so far, and actually looks like knitting. I think I'm starting to make fewer mistakes, and it is getting easier to hold the needles and to make the stitches consistent.

:)

Why I don't like going out to bars

All rolled in one evening.

This woman Kelly called me yesterday, she started at OHSU in the marketing department as a project manager right before we left, and we hit it off right away. I liked talking to her, she's cool and interesting. Plus, she's been working as a contractor for a long time, so it's good to get tips from her. We've stayed in touch since I left (two weeks!)

I had suggested going to this puppet improv theater thing, but it was $20 per person and we all decided that was a little steep. She suggested meeting at this bar that was close to both of us.

We get there, go into THE TACKIEST, diviest bar I've seen in a long time. Walls are blood red. Wretchedly bad art on the walls. And it is super small and a band is setting up. That means the farthest you can be from the music is about 12'. We sit down and are waiting for about ten minutes, no one comes up to give us water, get our order, we are patently ignored. When Kelly and her boyfriend finally show up (more than 15 mins late), I immediately dislike the boyfriend. I described him to Tim afterwards as "He's trying desperately to be what you are naturally, but he's really bad at it." He was trying to be sarcastic and witty and say insulting things that actually come off as funny. But he wasn't intelligent enough for that, so he just comes off like an asshole.

There is virtually no food offered there (not even french fries, what kind of lame ass bar doesn't have french fries), bad beer (meant a coke for me) and then the wretchedly bad music started.

And only that morning Tim and I had been talking about how there's not much to do in Portland, unless you go out to a bar. I had said I would start trying to go to more...and last night cured that for both of us. Ug.

Lovin myra's new habit!!

So, wonderpup has taken to coming back to bed after I let her out in the morning. This is wonderful! For a looong time, she was getting up around 7 and then not letting us sleep, because she would pace and squeak and just insist on us being up with her (even if she only wanted to lay on the living room rug and chew things).

Her life will be spared as long as she continues this lovely new habit. However, as soon as she reverts, it's off to the pound for her!! (ok well, maybe not, but we threaten her with it anyway).

Can't. Stop. Sleeping

I think I got hit with something. I'm not full-out sick, but I am just EXHAUSTED. I've been sleeping a ton since Wednesday. I stopped working around noon, slept till 1:30 when I went to pick up the mutt from school, came home and slept with her for another two hours. My stomach felt all off, and I wasn't sure I would be able to go to Franny's house for Thanksgiving.

Thursday comes around and I sleep till almost 11, after having gone to bed at 9, make a casserole and my mom's apple pie (both of which came out really really good), and then was so tired I thought I was going to fall over. Today, I slept till 10:30, went back to bed at noon for two hours, and I'm still exhausted. No energy at all.

I feel like I could sleep for a week and still be tired.

edited to add it took through Saturday afternoon for my energy to be back to normal.

I'm grateful for...

First and always, T -- my friend, my love
Good health
good friends
the sweetest puppy alive
being able to pursue my dreams
my first ever apple pie looking perfect and ready for devouring
good financial health
parents who love me and who gave me a safe, happy childhood -- I know what a gift that is
living in an area I love
being done with cooking for the day -- phew, I don't know how people make an entire thanksgiving dinner
having money already set aside for christmas presents and myra's boarding fees, so christmas this year won't be a financial hassle
my new laptop -- It's the first big thing I've bought for myself, and I really like it

And so much more.

Happy Thanksgiving.

people who choose unhappiness

I met my friend last night for crepes and coffee, and we spent a good part of the time talking about her problems with her husband.

Her husband is a total loser, and the more I hear about him, the more it confirms that idea. And they also don't have a real marriage, they are roommates at best. They sleep in separate rooms. They don't do things together. Not a marriage.

So, my friend was telling me how they haven't been "together" since Feb, and how he took one of her bra catalogues, and then said some really hurtful things to her about how now that he had the catalogue, he had something to enjoy.

Add this to the long laundry list of complaints I've heard repeatedly from her, he smokes pot all the time, he was drinking about six beers a day, he hasn't worked in almost two years, but yet they are living in one of his mother's houses on the understanding that he is working, so they have been lying to his mother for a long time. And on and on.

My friend said it got bad enough recently that she was getting her stuff ready to move out, but then things calmed down a bit. But we've talked about this before, about how she deserves more, it's not a real marriage, etc. Her response is that she wants to finish school before she does anything. And even though she will say something negative about him, as soon as I agree with her, she changes her tune and makes it out that it is not so bad.

Apparently, before they got married, she moved out because it wasn't working, he was being a jerk, blahblahblah.

I guess I just don't understand how some people can continually choose unhappiness, instead of working to get rid of what makes them unhappy and making their lives better. I suppose there is some element of "well, I already know this life, and I may not like it, but change is hard, and change is work, so I'll just stay." And knowing my friend, I'm sure there is also an element of "well, at least i have a husband" -- she doesn't always have good self esteem. I just wish she knew she was so much better than this loserguy and do something to make her life her own, and not be tied to him anymore.

Never ever see the Inside Man

godawful movie. Painfully slow -- and the trailers make it out like it's an action movie. BORING -- a boring bank robbery movie. Bad dialogue. Confusing. Denzel Washington looked like a pimp. Jodie Foster -- you are so much better than that role, what were you thinking? And what was your role, anyway? I still can't tell.

It was one of those movies we kept watching even though it was dreadful, thinking they would explain stuff, or maybe it would get better. It kept getting worse. And it refused to end.

And it was a Spike Lee movie. This proves me right that I do not like Spike Lee movies.

Can I have my Tuesday night back please??

1h15mins of a GREAT exercise class

So, Saturday mornings I've been going to an outdoor exercise class in Tryon Creek. The instructor also teaches a Monday night class downtown in the "park blocks" and she said she needs more people to go otherwise she will cancel it. So, since it is easier to get downtown at that time of night then up the hill to where I worked for my regular Monday night exercise class, I went to the downtown one.

Wow, what a workout, and it was so much fun. We walked up to the soccer field (lovely springy turf that was great to run on), we ran laps, we sprinted, we did weights, we did tons of ab work, we did leg and butt work, just tons of stuff. And let me tell you, I am a little sore today, and I haven't been sore after exercising for a while now. Yeah!! I am now a Monday night outdoor exerciser.

weird dream (surprise surprise)

I dreamt I was marrying this guy that I didn't even really know, and didn't want to marry. My wedding dress was really tacky (short skirt that was white, leather-like). I remember saying at one point in the dream, I don't even remember what this guy looks like.

I don't know why I had to marry him, but I know I was planning on annulling the marriage the next day. We got to the alter, and it was this guy from college I hooked up with briefly. Then I found out that not only had he abused me, but we had a kid together years ago, and he had told me the girl had died, but she had really been adopted. So I start freaking out in the church, telling everyone what he did and that I'm not marrying him, and that I really wanted to marry Tim.

At least it wasn't violent.

Lovin Aveda

Good quality, natural face care products really do work better. We bought Aveda's sensitive skin cleanser, toner and moisturizer, and I feel like my skin looks better already, and it feels moisturized without feeling greasy -- love that part.

You need such a very small amount of everything, that even with the two of us using it, I think it should last a while. It certainly works better than Aveeno moisturizer, which I've been using for a while, but it made my face feel oily.

overall, a quiet weekend

Yesterday was class, then shopping at the Paper Zone for Christmas card making supplies (wheee! Love that store), then almost two frickkin hours grocery shopping. I am thinking strongly about grocery delivery, going to the two or three stores I need to go to is just too time consuming.

Today was my mellow, lounge, crafty day. Made my first batch of christmas cards, and I'm really pleased with how they came out. Read some of the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, third in the Narnia series, and generally lounged about in jammies for most of the day. To my mind, that is exactly how a Sunday should be spent.

Now for some exercising, dinner and then maybe watch a movie with the boy. Purrrrr.

First year I am not financially stressed about xmas

Normally, christmas sends me into a state of stress and grinchiness. This is in large part due to the fact that I normally never plan for the holiday, and then I'm a week or so away from it and I realize I have to scramble to get all this money together to buy all these presents, which in the past has meant not paying some bills and planning on double paying in January. And part of my grinchiness is due to my mother and how she always seems to expect so much at christmas time, and she's very hard to buy for.

But this, I think Christmas is going to be virtually stress-free, at least financially, and I already know what I'm getting people for presents, mostly. We actually set aside money this year for christmas, putting any extra money aside weekly. We have more than enough to cover presents, Myra's boarding while we are gone, and our car rental, and we won't have to scramble or mess up our budget.

And my mom has been better about presents lately, I think she's understanding that presents aren't the most important thing anymore, and I think she finally gets the fact that for us, it's a lot of money just to come back for a week, so we don't have the money to throw away on presents like we used to.

All of this will make the next few weeks much easier. And then since we are going back east early this year, when we get back to Portland, we can just be mellow and enjoy the festivities out here. I might actually look forward to Christmas this year.

I am going to make every effort

to not have any sugar from now till the time we are back east, with the exception of thanksgiving day, because we are going to someone's house for potluck and it would probably be rude to not have any desserts.

We've both been pretty good about not having a lot of sugar lately, but we know it's just inevitable that we will eat like crap back east, there's no way around it. So we want to make sure we are really good before hand to sort of offset it.

On a side note, I cannot believe Thanksgiving is next week, and then we are back east two weeks after that. Our trip came up fast, but we are both so excited to go back and see everyone (Mik, we can't wait to see you guys).

Wheee! mini shopping spree and a fun day

So, I've been wanting to spend some money, partly because I really haven't bought anything in a long time, and partly because I knew our money situation was good. Tonight, we went to the mall and I got some new pj's from Vic Secret (my pajama situation was rather sad) and then we went to Aveda. I was originally going to get body moisturizer, but we ended up buying a line of facial care products -- cleanser, toner and moisturizer. I think we will really like them. I didn't spend a ton of money, and I didn't mess up the budget, but it was fun and it cured me of my need to spend money for a while.

Overall, today was a really good day. I didn't really work today, I worked two hours and was already at 35 hours for the week, so Tim and I just took the day off. The cool thing about being a freelancer is that I can do work on Sunday and get my 40 hours for the week.

We went to Petite Provence for lunch, and managed to squeak in at the end of the time they were serving breakfast. Let me tell you, this place is hands down the best breakfast in Portland. That is not an exaggeration. Tim got french toast with mixed berries, and I got eggs with pesto, tomato and mozzarella. OHMYGOD. Normally I'm not someone who raves about eggs, but these were phenomenal. Picked up the mutt from school, came home and napped for a while, then we headed off to the mall.

thoughts on working from home

I'm much busier than I thought I would be, which is a very good thing, but it is certainly shattering any illusions I might have had that working from home was easy. I've been pretty much non stop all week, and keep getting more projects.

I absolutely love that I can spend so much time with Myra and the boy. It's nice to see both of them, although Tim and I actually stay pretty separate during the work day. Myra tends to sleep under my desk at my feet, which is a very comforting feeling.

I actually feel very productive, more so than I thought I would, which is also very nice.

One thing that surprises me is that I figured I would have a lot more time/opportunity to clean the house and do laundry, that kind of thing, but I really don't. I actually feel like I have less time to do that, but maybe that will change depending on my projects.

I like the quiet, and it is very nice to not have constant interruptions from coworkers and such.

So, overall rating: first week is going well, I'm starting to feel set up and settled, and I think it will work out really well.

WhOOOO!! One down, one to go

I just scheduled The.Last.Payment on my smallest school loan. It feels so good to know it is paid off entirely. And now my other school loan will start going down much faster.

Sweeeet.

Just 10 minutes

That was all it took for me to feel stressed again at OHSU. I went up today to drop off my contracts, and say hi to everyone. Danielle looked and sounded pissy. Kathleen looked like she was on the verge of crying, and you could see just how thinly she has been stretched, Kelly had a slightly crazed look in her eyes, and I could tell Michele was in one of her bitchy/pissy moods. Until then, I had felt very far removed from all of that, but just 10 minutes there and I was remembering why I left. The very air is toxic and poison with all the negativity there. I was planning on going for a run anyway, but after going up there, I needed to go for a run to clear that stuff out.

Now I like working from home even more. It's sane and calm and not stressful here. And I have a cute puppy who insists on belly rubs. That's not so hard to take.

On a positive note for me, I have work coming out of my ears, Kathleen gave me two projects, Sue gave me a quick project, plus the regular stuff I had already started. It's good to be busy.

running in the rain

Last week was such a crazy work week, I was working till 6:30 or 7 most nights, so I didn't get to my exercise classes and didn't get to exercise or run much at all.

So today I was really feeling like I needed to run, and of course it's been cold and rainy here all day. But I went for a run anyway, and it was really great. I did 3 miles in about 25 minutes, which means I am pretty much back to my old running shape, and after the first 5-10 minutes or so, I forgot about being cold and wet and just enjoyed how it felt to run. It always feels cleansing, makes me feel more alive and stripped down to just me, the music and the run.

Yay!

My new office is all set up

I cleaned off my desk, organized all my crafty stuff into cool boxes that now live under my desk, and set up my computer on my new work desk. I also set up my calendar with my to-dos, set up folders on my computer for the different projects I'll be working on. I'm sure it makes me a nerd that I love that kind of stuff so much, but I do. I need to get a laptop holder, so I'm not looking down and straining my neck, something like this which we will probably order tomorrow.

I also need a printer stand (we essentially got a free photo/regular printer with the new laptop) and some sort of file cabinet/box that I can put hanging folders in. Otherwise, my small desk will get overrun very quickly.

I'm all ready to start working, and I feel like I will be very productive.

Whole grainy goodness

We just got back from Bob's Red Mill store, where they have Whole grain...Everything, pretty much. I bought high fiber pancake mix, granola, muesli, flaxseed, protein powder, hummus mix, all kinds of fun and healthy things. Hooray! And it is right down the street.

We also started checking out some homes in Milwaukie, and that might be an area we add to our list for buying a home, the yards are huge, the homes are a lot cheaper than in Portland, and it is only 5 minutes from that neighborhood to our current neighborhood. A very good Saturday afternoon.

free at last!!!

Yesterday was my last day as an official, full time salaried employee, and like the rest of the week, it was completely crazy. Kathryn left a complete mess for everyone to clean up, so we were scrambling to get that stuff done, Sue was on deadline for Physician's Practice, so I had to write and edit articles for her, I had to organize all my files, finish stuff for Kathleen. I went in at 7 a.m. and didn't leave until after 6 p.m. and I was non-stop all day.

But now I'm officially a contractor, and I am so excited about it. I easily have 40 hours billable next week, I can't even take time off, just dive right into work. Poor Kathleen, when I was leaving, she was saying how much it is going to suck now that I won't be there, since I was the only person who was consistently happy and upbeat and not whining and complaining all the time. "Now I'm going to be stuck with all the complainers." Ding ding ding. That is a huge part of why I'm leaving, because I couldn't deal with the attitude of everyone.

And I talked to Sue, who is thrilled about this arrangement, because she finally gets to do what she envisioned when she created the position for herself, she can do all the strategic stuff, and the emergency communications, and I can take over everything else. I think I can freelance for Sue pretty much as long as I want. Sweeeet.

is the goose gone??

So, our biggest complaint and frustration with our house is the girl who lives below us, because she has a sinus problem (probably made worse by living in a basement) and she makes this honking, clearing her throat sound all the time. We've taken to calling her the goose.

It is not a pleasant sound. And it is very loud. And when she's home, she does it ALL THE TIME. Nonstop. But we never wanted to say anything to her, because she clearly doesn't think anyone can hear her, and she's not doing it on purpose. But it is really hard to live with.

Yesterday, Tim reached the end of what he could stand. He was going to go storming down there, but I made him calm down for a minutes because again, she's not doing it on purpose. So, he goes down, and is really apologetic, and tells her that he doesn't know what it is, but we always hear this noise, like she's moving furniture, or clearing her throat (and then he tried to demonstrate the noise we hear). She said she had no idea what the noise was, but after Tim went to talk to her, she didn't make the sound for the rest of the night.

I think she got the point. And if she has stopped, it suddenly got a lot easier to live here.

Here's hoping.

yay apple!!

So, we ordered a new macbook for my new work-at-home thing. We ordered it Saturday, it hadn't shipped yet. Ok. I get an email today saying Apple has released a new version of the Macbook, and since ours hasn't shipped yet, they will upgrade for free. That's cool.

Then I go online, find out the next step up model now comes standard with all the stuff we ordered for the model lower down we had ordered (more memory, more hard drive space), and with my educational discount, it was cheaper to buy the next model up.

I call to cancel my order, and the very nice Apple guy said I could pick up the new Macbook in a store downtown (he actually called while on the phone with me to see if they had it in stock), but said I would get my educational discount plus an online discount if I cancelled my original order and put in the new one.

Yup. Got a new Macbook, better, faster, with the stuff we had planned to buy separately now included. For cheaper than the original we ordered.

I love days like that!

Three days!!!!!

And then I'm free and off to a new adventure. I'm looking forward to it. We bought a new Macbook, and it should be here by Friday. Hooray!

On another note, Kathryn at work hit a new unprofessional low. She has flaked on stuff before, and checked out mentally for stretches of time, and left the rest of us to pick up the slack. Apparently yesterday, when I was home sick after my root canal, she said that tomorrow would be her last day in the office for three weeks, that she was going to have surgery, be home recovering for two weeks, and then go on vacation in Hawaii. This apparently comes very soon after she realized she had two weeks sick time accrued. I don't know for certain that she's not having surgery, but I know that most surgeries that require two weeks recovery time have usually been scheduled for a while and she could have given more notice.

And this leaves Kathleen as the only marketing coordinator left. The only one to oversee the service lines, and the campaigns that we have going on. And that is yet another reason I'm glad I made the decision to leave when it was right for me.

Congrats, Lance!

Lance competes in the NYC Marathon

I love Lance, I've loved him for years. He gives everything to his dreams. When he sets a goal, he knows how to go for it. He knows how to keep pushing when others would call it quits. He doesn't quit, and I absolutely admire him. For what he's achieved in sports, for the hope he gives to cancer patients, and for just being an inspiration.

Go Lance!!

it only took a year

but I finally had the rest of my root canal done. It was unpleasant but not too terrible. The two worst parts were the rubber band they used that was really tight against my gums, and the fact that I had to keep my jaw open for so long.

At least my tooth won't hurt anymore.

considering my previous post

My dream last night should come as no surprise.

I was at some sort of party or event, and my mother was there. She was criticizing things I was doing, things I liked, until I finally snapped and yelled at her that I didn't even want her at that event, but I only let her come because she wouldn't shut up. And I said all she does is criticize my decisions, and that's why I didn't want her to come.

In reality, I know that she's a fearful person. She's afraid of a lot of things, and since their financial situation is so bad, she is going to worry about me and my financial situation, because if I "mess it up" or do something stupid (like leaving a very bad for me job without something lined up), she can't help me. And she would never consider doing some of the things I've done in my life. So she can't understand it. But even knowing that, it doesn't make it easier to deal with her.

Bah.

Why I hate telling my mother things

Ug.

My mom often accuses me of not telling her things, or not telling her things until after the fact. She has asked me why I feel like I can't tell her things, or why I feel like I need to be perfect for them.

Well, there's a good reason for that. I tell her what's going on in my life, and she judges me, criticizes, finds the negative, and then tells me that I'm putting all this stress on her.

Take yesterday. So I gave my notice a few weeks ago. Well, I hadn't told her yet, because I didn't want to have to deal with the conversation. But since this is my last week and my work email will expire on Friday, I had to tell them.

So I told her how miserable I've been at my job, how much it was affecting me (all of which she knew -- her answer was always to just stick it out because everyone has a bad job. Not helpful, thanks). I told her how unfair it was to T.

Yesterday, I told her I gave them my notice, and I already have two different freelance contracts in place to start writing for them immediately, and I can make more than twice per hour compared to what I am making now. I stretched the truth and said I have a six month contract in place. It will probably be more like a four month contract that they will renew. I also told her I will be working with three different creative staffing agencies, who will all be looking for work for me.

She immediately started sounding stressed and upset and teary, saying you left without having a job? And well that's only for six-months, what will you do after that? And you won't have healthcare or vacation time.

And on and on. She only focused on the negative and the uncertain. I tried to tell her I couldn't wait until I found a job because there wouldn't be anything left of me. "You keep putting all this stress on me," was her response. Thanks, Mom.

She made it out like I am irresponsible, like I'm being stupid and foolhardy, and that I keep making bad decisions (I have left another job without another job lined up in the past, and I was out of work for about 6 weeks before I got hired at a great company, and T and I were fine financially. But nope, that was still a bad decision). She finally ended the conversation with, 'well, you know what's best I suppose, and I can't tell you anything anyway.' There wasn't anything I could say to make her see that this is a good thing.

This attitude doesn't make me want to tell her things that are going on in my life. Because not only did she treat me like a stupid kid who makes bad decisions, but she will throw this back in my face for ever now, no matter how good things get after this.

One step closer

To a house.

T and I went to a first-time home buyers class this week, and it was very informative. They walked us through everything you have to do when you are buying a house, what the different stages are, what you have to do to make an offer, how a real estate agent helps, etc.

And they also talked about money and mortgages. They do have no-money down programs, but you have to pay closing costs. Or you can pay down "points" to get a better mortgage price, or if you put down 0-5% of the cost, you get a much better interest rate. We figure we won't be able to hit 5% by the time we're thinking of looking, but we will easily have 3% down, possibly 4% down, which makes our interest rate MUCH better.

They also talked about what determines your interest rate, and while credit score was a big factor, so is debt to income ratio, and my debt to income ratio is fabulous. And they don't look at total debt you owe, they look at your monthly payments. And I only have a small school loan and the car payment, which they pretty much expect everyone to have. One thing they said was make sure you don't buy a new car before trying to get a mortgage, because they don't want to see new debt right before you qualify for a mortgage.

And they didn't talk about job history. They said you need two years of W-2s, two months of pay stubs and proof of your assets. I asked about if you are a contractor or self-employed, how you verify that, and they just said they just look at the tax returns for that.

So I feel like this is a goal we can really work towards, and we will continue to save as much as we can and pay down my school loan and start paying on Tim's.

the sound that pierces your brain

Went out to lunch with the girls from work for Danielle's birthday today. I didn't really want to go, but it ended up being fun. We have a new part-time project manager, conveniently named Kelly, who joined us, and she is cool to talk to. And the one who annoys me the most wasn't able to make it. Hooray!

There was a kid in the restaurant where we were eating, and every now and then, it would let out the brain-piercing shriek that only small children can master. The other Kelly made the cringe face that I was making internally, the one that flags people as non-parents who really want to stay that way, thank you very much. The two moms in the group were clearly unphased by it, but dear lord. That sound....is one of the huge reasons I will not have kids.

Compliment

Yesterday, I had to go help with an Emergency Drill -- we were simulating a flu epidemic and I had to work in the Incident Command Center to handle internal communications for the afternoon shift.

The incident commander, who I've worked with once before during another scheduled event and a real emergency, said at the end of yesterday, I'm going to request to have you work with me whenever we do one of these things. Yay! He also said when I got there, "Oh good, the A team is here. The other communication people are really bugging me."

Really nice. :) Really made my day, especially since I was having technical difficulties with my computer and felt like I was scrambling most of the time.

I told him he could only request me through next week and he was bummed I was leaving.

hoppy november

BRRRR. It has been so cold here the past two days -- got down to the 30s over night, very chilly for here. And here I am without a fall jacket, without gloves, a scarf, or anything warm other than my fleece running vest. Clearly I need to correct that. I had visions of knitting myself a scarf, but clearly that's going to take awhile lol! (I'm on row three of my practice/learning knitting thing -- after having knitted the end into the pattern and having to start over!)

I NEED this

http://tinyurl.com/w3qkv

NEW Tri-Zone Heated Fleece Jacket
Rechargeable, battery-operated fleece jacket keeps you warm on the slopes, hiking trail or on the sidelines. Stay snug outside without making quick trips indoors to “warm up.” This fleece jacket features lightweight, carbon fiber heating elements threaded throughout the material, the jacket keeps you warm across three different zones. Rechargeable battery for up to five hours of warmth. Mini heat controller adjusts the temperature across multiple zones and fits in a pocket.

I could always be warm!!

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things that myra is afraid of: trick-or-treaters.

We knew we couldn't pass out candy, because she would have wanted to meet everyone and been a spaz. But when Tim was walking her yesterday, she saw some trick-or-treaters, and at first, she wanted to meet everyone, but when she saw their costumes, she hid and cowered behind Tim. Poor little not-really-brave pup.