Putty

Can I just say, I love a guy with good accent. Bring me a guy from the south and I'm in heaven. Bring me a guy from another country and I'm putty in their hands. And guess what, I work with multiple foreigners. Of course, they're all older than me with families etc. But I love listening to them talk. In my area alone there are 2 gentlemen from New Zealand. But there are plenty more within the Company. Now I'm just waiting for the younger ones... more say, my age...

Alphabet Survey

• A
Are you available?: I am.
What is your age?: getting closer to my "and holding" age
Astrology sign?: Taurus

• B
Do you know anyone named Brian?: I have a boss named Brian.
When is your birthday?: May 14th (I'm now expecting a card from everyone)
Ever been stung by a bee?: once, on the booBEE

• C
What’s your favorite candy?: all of it
Can you cook?: I can. I don't do it often though being as I don't have my own kitchen

• D
Do you day dream?: Yep, weird odd ones.
What’s your favorite kind of dog?: The bestest, smartest breed in the world, the Jack Russell Terrier

• E
Have you ever been in the emergency room? Yes, but never for myself
Ever pet an elephant?: Yep. At Marine World, and a long time ago at the fair I rode one.
Ever swam with sharks?: Hell no!

• F
Do you use fly swatters?: Ummm...hello! I live in Hilmar. We have cows. Cows = flies.
Is there a fan in your room?: In my landing? Yes there is.

• G
Do you chew gum?: Yep. I mostly chew it to keep my breath fresh, and from eating things that I don't need to eat.
Do you like gory movies?: not so much
How are you?: Tired. And ready for the weekend.
What's your height?: 5'4"
What color is your hair?: Naturally light brown

• I
Have you ever ice skated?: Yep. I enjoy it, except for the stiff tight skates.
What do you think of igloos?: They're pretty cool. Get it?!?!

•J
Favorite jelly bean? Margarita

• K
Who do you want to kill?: I'm a lover not a fighter.
Have you ever flown a kite?: Yea, it's been awhile though. Yesterday would have been a great day to fly a kite.
Do you think kangaroos are cute?: Interesting creature God created.

• L
Are you laid back?: Very much so.
Lions and tigers?: Stupid cats!
Do you like black licorice?: BLAH!

• M
Do you know anyone named Mike? Who doesn't?
Favorite store at the mall?: Old Navy...?
Have you ever seen a mouse?: Oh yea. My brother used to have 2, then 2 grew to 20.

• N
Do you have a nickname? A few. Courner, Pookey, Nortney (thanks to Macie)
Do you prefer night or day? Night owl all the way

• O
Are you an only child?: Nope, oldest of 4.
Do you like the color orange: Not my favorite.

• P
Do you know anyone named Penelope? No.
Favorite flavor of popcorn? Plain with some spray butter and rib seasoning.

• R
Do you think you're always right?: Of course I am!
Do you watch reality TV?: Some of it.

• S
Do you prefer sun or rain?: sun
Do you love snow? I wouldn't say I love it, but I do like it.

• T
Time to go to sleep?: Soon.
Tomatoes?: Only in certain dishes.

• U
Can you ride a unicycle?: I have good balance, so maybe.

• V
Did you ever watch Veggie Tales?: Oh where is my hairbrush? Love Veggie Tales.

• W
What's your worst habit?: Probably my negative self image. And my constant feeling that I need to eat.
What do you want right now?: To be done with the house and move in already.

• X
Ever had an X-Ray?: yes
Ever seen an X rated movie?: I'm afraid to admit guilty.

• Y
Do you like the color yellow?: Not really.
Do you yell when you're angry?: Not really.

• Z
Do you believe in the zodiac?: Not really.
Have you seen a real-live zebra?: Yes.

Six lasts:
6. last dream: Riley had more puppies. And we kept having to save them because the kept falling in the pool.
5. last food: Chile Lime Fritos
4. last disaster: ???
3. last kiss: Zack in NY
2. last time you cried: When I was feeling down on myself and was crying to my mom that nobody loved me. Note to self, never complain about that to your mother.
1. last time you hugged someone: Treva today when we met for coffee and to catch up.

Cookies anyone?

Santa was good to me this year. I can now make cookies. Well, at least the dough. I got a super, duper, mega Kitchenaid Mixer for Christmas. So, once the oven is set up and the house is done I'll have you over for cookies and anything that requires mixing. Feel free to send me recipes. I love recipes. What did Santa bring you this year?

'Tis the Season

It's that time of the year when you reflect on things you have, give without expecting anything in return, and celebrate the birth of Jesus. I pray you have a great Christmas day. Full of family, friends, and love. Well, alright, and presents.

A Christmas Story for people having a bad day . . .

Not that I'm having a bad day, I'm about to start a 5 day weekend! But here's a funny little story for you.

A Christmas Story for people having a bad day . . .

When four of Santa's elves got sick, the trainee elves did not produce toys as fast as the regular ones, and Santa began to feel the Pre-Christmas pressure.

Then Mrs Claus told Santa her Mother was coming to visit, which stressed Santa even more.

When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two others had jumped the fence and were out, Heaven knows where.

Then when he began to load the sleigh, one of the floorboards cracked, the toy bag fell to the ground and all the toys were scattered.

Frustrated, Santa went in the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered the elves had drank all the cider and hidden the liquor.

In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider jug, and it broke into hundreds of little glass pieces all over the kitchen floor .

He went to get the broom and found the mice had eaten all the straw off the end of the broom.

Just then the doorbell rang, and irritated Santa marched to the door, yanked it open, and there stood a little angel with a great big Christmas tree.

The angel said very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't this a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?"

And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.

The "IT" Party

Every year a guy in town, who is a couple years older than me, hold an annual party. This party is the "IT" party of all of the locals, and if you're somebody then you're invited. Think of elite shindigs that happen in places like say New York City. Invites are highly coveted. But how does one get put on the list? Funny how, you grow up with these people going to the same school, church, even college and you're still not considered to receive an invitation. Oh, but someone that moves into town from another state and fits the age range, job title, or works for someone of significance gets an invite. Well, this party is coming up in a couple weeks, and as you can tell, I did not get an invitation to the "Masquerade Ball".

Good think I wasn't holding the date open!

Living in another County

Have you ever felt that living in another county feels like living in another country? Well, let me tell you, it kinda sucks. I live 5 minues from the county line and a whole ten minutes from where friends live, but yet no one is ever willing to travel the distance to another county to visit me. Funny how that is.

Maybe it'll be different when I'm not living with the parents and am all moved into the house. But if no one is willing now, how is it going to be any different later? Hummm....

But then again, maybe it's just me. Apparently there are better reasons to travel 45 minutes north to another county to visit a friend and not a whole 10 minutes south to visit me.

This has caused great frustration and hurt for me lately. And even though I'm in town (in the other county) daily, I'm less apt to stop by to say hi at people's homes that I normally would.

Things I learned while in NY:

- Don't let Jim drive or give directions, not matter how much he claims he knows his way.
- Don't make excuses, and don't hold back.
- Tuaca Bombs are really yummy!
- Everyone in NY is warm and welcoming.
- Travel with Dale, he gets upgrades at the Holiday Inn!
- Salted roads and sidewalks leave your jeans with salt stains, but don't worry they wash out.
- Jim has very cute, nice, flirty friends.
- Zach's favorite color is olive green.
- Ithaca is colder than Binghamton.
- Apple Cherry wine is a drier wine.
- There are large dairies in other states.
- 3 people do not fit comfortably in the 3rd row of a Susuki small SUV.
- Slipper or heels, if you're outside, you're gonna be cold.
- Food and drinks are cheaper in NY.
- New England style clam chowder tastes the same on both sides of the country.
- I have "great lips" (at that's a quote).
- You're body metabolized faster when it's cold because it's using more energy to keep warm, which equals weight loss even when you're not watching what you eat.

I heart New York!

(disclaimer: I am not in many of the pictures)

New York. I've decided that if I had to move to another state, New York is on the list. In fact, it's #2 right below Colorado. And yes, I was there in the winter, granted it wasn't as cold as it will get, but it was chilly none the less. I had a great time in the 2 full days that I was there. My traveling buddies were Rylen, Jim, and Rylen's family Dale, Marta, and Rachel. We were going for Rylen and Jim's New York wedding reception.

Thursday:
So the trip started with having to be up at 3am to catch a 5am flight out of Modesto.

After a couple stops we landed in Syracuse, NY at about 4:30 in the afternoon. We got our luggage, picked out our rental cars and took off to Binghamton about 1 1/2 hours south. I think it was south, for someone who is very good with directions I didn't know which was was up, I was totally turned around. We got to the hotel, freshened up and headed to meeting Jim's mom and her boyfriend for dinner at this great Italian restaurant. We headed back to the hotel and I went to bed at about 11pm. Ok, so it was 11pm Eastern time, so really only like 8pm in California, but that was a long day of traveling and I knew we had to be up early the next day.
Friday:
Another early wake up call, 6am. But really it was 3am in CA. What is with these early mornings?!? We got up and got moving and headed to Cooperstown (home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, our purpose for going). Along the way we picked up Jim's dad, Dan, and saw his lovely home along the Sisquhana River. Away we went to Cooperstown. We had breakfast at a yummy little cafe, the Doubleday Cafe.

We walked around their downtown area and went through the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the homeland for all hardcore baseball fans.

It was snowing when we came out of the hall of fame, which brought the cold factor a little lower. So we (quickly) walked back to the car, but made sure to walk by the Doubleday Field first.

Per our waitress' recommendation, we drove a few miles out of the way to a cider mill in Fly Creek. Very cool place, I highly recommend it. We sampled apple wines, enough said. We had somewhere to be for dinner, so we started heading back to Binghamton. I don't remember much of the ride back, I slept. A quick freshening up at the hotel while we waited for Jim to get back from some dairy tours with his boss (from Hilmar) and his brother. Dinner that night was at Jim's mom's house. Jim is not so good with directions, even in an area where he grew up, so we were late. This happens a couple more times during the weekend. We had Russian dishes for dinner. I could tell you what they were, but am not even going to attempt to spell them. Dinner was yummy. Company was great. But it was time to head back to Binghamton, downtown Binghamton this time. Marta went back to the hotel, but Jim's brothers met up with us. We talked a lot, drank a lot, tried new stuff (Tuaca Bomb), and stayed up too late. Fun times!


Saturday:
Yea, finally some sleeping in! Today we were going to drive up to Ithaca, NY where Cornell University is located. We had breakfast at Cracker Barrell at 9am. Jim, Rylen, and I lead the way to Ithaca. This he knew how to get to with no problem. We walked around Cornell some. Jim told us stories, some true some not. Cornell is a HUGE campus. But it's also a very beautiful campus.

There is even a suspension bridge on campus. Rylen and Jim thought it would be funny to jump and rock it. Not so funny. Although, I thought it would be funny to wear my Cal Poly Alumni sweatshirt, being as Cal Poly and Cornell are slight rivals in the ag area.

But we had a party to get back and ready for. So once again, back to the hotel we went. So, skip forward, we're ready to go. We have directions on how to get to the reception site which is only 15 minutes away. Well, guess what, we got lost and it took us more like an hour to get there. But the reception was great fun.

Linda, Jim's mom, did a great job. Jim's AGR frat brothers even sang a little ditty to Rylen.

We danced until the DJ called it quits, and then headed, yep, back to downtown Binghamton. Keep in mind, I'm in a dress that's really not fit for the snow, heels, and a jacket. Luckily I brought slippers with me, so I went back and forth between the heels and slippers while we were out. Many of Jim's friends were not fit to drive, so we had a few extra bodies in our vehicle. Tonight was just as fun as the night before.

Drinking, dancing, and NY style pizza. We definitely stayed out too late again, being as we had to be up at 5am. So we, we being not only those of us with a hotel room but many that didn't, headed back to the hotel at about 2:30am. Rachel had headed in much earlier, so she was already asleep when myself and 3 guys came in. Yep, I'm pretty mack, I had 3 guys sleeping in my hotel room. Luckily before they came in I had a chance to get my pj's on and take my eyes out. They all were much past tipsy and stripped down while fighting about who was sleeping where. Let's do the math, 2 queen beds = 2 girls / 3 guys. Rachel was out like a light and never heard us come in, Jason pretty much collapsed on her bed and immediately started snoring like a bear. Steve landed on the floor between the beds, and Zach ended up in bed with me. Zach, Steve and I talked for awhile. It was more repeating questions to one another until Steve fell asleep. Then Zach and I talked for while. I kept telling him it was time to go to bed, I had to be up in just a couple hours, but he wouldn't have any of it. So one thing lead to another... and I got about 45 minutes of intermittent sleep due to bear snore going on and other things going on...

Sunday:
I was up and out of bed at 5am, really 2am in CA! There were 4 sleeping bodies sprawled out everywhere. Luckily I had packed a majority of my stuff the day before. And that was the last time I saw Zach and those guys. I left them a note though, so let's see how long it takes for them to come out and party California style. We made our way back to Syracuse, caught our 9am flight and were on our way home. I slept a majority of the way back, which is amazing since I normally can't sleep on planes. At 5:30pm we landed back in Modesto.

And that was my trip, pretty detailed actually.

A whole 7 years old!

Happy Birthday Izzie and Monty! Today the puppies turn a whopping 7 (doggy) years old! They are accepting presents in the form of raw hides, squeaky toys, and racquet balls.


Monty Monster


Izzie with her love


The puppies and their mama, Riley

I'm back!

I've actually been back since Sunday, but all of my google accounts had been disabled. Only for me to find out today that someone hacked into one of my google accounts, of course the account that is like paypal and had my banking info, and charged almost $1,000! So, tomorrow I get to go to my bank and sign an affidavit and the write a letter and file a police report. My checking account has been wiped out. What is this world coming to? Honestly people!

I'll report back later about my NY trip!

I'll fly away...

This is it. In less than 12 hours I'll be on my way to New York (not city). Please keep me in your prayers over the course of the weekend. For safe travels, good weather while traveling and in NY, and good times. I'll report back sometime next week with pictures and all the good stuff! Have a great weekend!

PS: A camera update. I FINALLY received it, yesterday. Phew, that was close. Good news, it charges. Yeah!

Last one for 2007!

December resolutions.

1. Focus on getting into the Word on a regular basis.

2. Work on losing weight for my own quality of life.

3. Go somewhere.

4. Exercise - walk, Bosu ball, pilates...

5. Finish removing the wallpaper in the house.

6. Have the best last month of the year!

Sibs

Aren't we just a happy bunch of siblings?!? We really do love each other!

Almost over

Time for the November recap.

November's resolutions were...

1. Focus on getting into the Word on a regular basis.
Thought about it, but it didn't happen. I'm a bad Christian!

2. Work on losing weight for my own quality of life. I have to change my eating habits by eating heathly foods and being active.
Tried, but I'm a bad dieter. Control is hard, especially self control.

3. Go somewhere.
I went to IKEA... yea, that doesn't totally count.

4. Exercise - walk, Bosu ball, pilates...
Boo exercise. If I didn't get the control with the food, yea, I didn't get the control with the exercising too.

5. Start major renovations on the house once it's appraised.
Major renovations won't start until the first of the year. More on the progress there later...

6. Do something BOLD or DARING! Let me know if you're daring to join me...
I was told that I'd be kicked out of the house if I did what I want to do. So I'll wait until I move out :)

7. Purchase couch and entertainment unit for house, research closet storage units.
Couch, check. Over-sized armchair, check.

8. Not over indulge at Thanksgiving. Eat health until I feel satisfied, not stuffed.
So I put 1/2 greens/veggies on my plate, but I only ate 1/2 of that, plus all the good stuff(ing).

Nobody Wants to be Lonely

I've been feeling really lonely lately. Not totally sure why. That's a lie, I do know why. Maybe because I don't feel like I have someone that I can call anytime for whatever reason, or someone who will hang out with (doing something or nothing at all), or someone that I can talk to about anything. The person that has been that to me for forever just got married and they do a lot with other couples, which I am not part of one. Plus, I don't want to be disruptive to the new marriage. Another person that was that for me decided that I apparently not worthy of being her friend. I miss that friendship. And other people are all busy with new additions to their family, new group of friends that they hang out with, etc. So, it's just me, hanging out with my sister (love her!) and my doggies (lap warmers).

I know that as I get in this "nobody likes me everybody hates me guess I'll eat some worms" phase I tend to separate and alienate myself from people. I don't call, I don't drop by, I don't e-mail, I just disappear. Sad thing is, I don't see people truly searching for me when I disappear. Wow, really gives a reality check and shows me how valued I am.

I'm lonely because I'm lonely. I want a happily ever after, actually I'm not ready for the ever after part. I want the happily. I don't need the fairy tale romance. But I do want a prince charming. I want to be with someone, a significant other if you will. I want to find my soul mate, go through all the courting and dating, and then the engagement, and then the beginning starts with the ever after. But mainly I want the companionship that comes with it. But where do I start? Here in lies the problem. I become a hermit in my disappeared state and find "him" how?

That's it. That's me whining. That's me expressing myself and how I feel.

Men!

Ok Girls... Here is a (mostly true) ranting summation of the playing field today. Anyone feel the same?

The nice men are ugly.

The handsome men are not nice.

The handsome and nice men are gay.

The handsome, nice and heterosexual men are married.

The men who are not so handsome, but are nice men, have no money.

The men who are not so handsome, but are nice men with money think we are only after their money.

The handsome men without money are after our money.

The handsome men, who are not so nice and somewhat heterosexual, don't think we are beautiful enough.

The men who think we are beautiful, that are heterosexual, somewhat nice and have money, are intimidated by us.

The men who are somewhat handsome, somewhat nice and have some money and thank God are heterosexual, are shy and NEVER MAKE THE FIRST MOVE!

The men who never make the first move, automatically lose interest in us when we take the initiative.

So busy...

Man have I been busy. I moved offices. In my old office I was able to hop online and check my e-mail or blog regularly. Not so now. Maybe soon again though. With the move I lost 2 working days. Last week, being a short week, I worked extra to try to get caught up. And I'm almost there! Aside from work, last week was full of Thanksgiving prepping, shopping, cleaning, baking, etc. Now that the turkey is down to the bone and the stuffing is all gone, it's time get the house quickly decorated for Christmas before another big weekend comes.

Saturday is Nana's memorial service. It'll be small, about 35 family members coming from all over the western states. Everyone will end up back here at the house for social time and food. Hopefully decisions will be made about the house, my aunt and uncle will just go along with Dad's ideas and no major hold ups.

Then on the 6th I'll be flying to New York for a quick trip. Yeah! I'll report more on that when I get back.

Ok, so there was a quick update on my going ons since I haven't blogged in awhile.

Argh!

I love Kodak cameras. I don't love Kodak's call center customer service people. First off, can I say I hate out-sourcing. Why does some person in India need to try to have an American accent with their faux American name, just so when someone from America calls the 800 number they think they are talking to someone in their own country, but clearly by the bad American/Indian accent they are not? Come on corporations, why not keep the jobs in the USA, keep our own employed! So, after talking to someone a few weeks ago and being told that they would ship me the piece I need to make the camera charge (because I apparently had a bad part), I was shipped the wrong f*ing thing. I blame the language barrier. So, I called Kodak once again, pissed off this time and ready to tell them how I feel. And I did. I was stern (yeah me) and of course the poor bad-accent sap apologized profusely. He did offer to have me send it back so they can repair it. Oh heck no, I had the camera in my possession for one week, it's going to be replaced with a brand new camera. Crimeney! So, after verifying that I haven't owned the camera for more than 30 days they agreed to send me a new camera. So one person took my information down and then transferred me to the sales number. I asked the new guy (finally an American!) if I would get the new camera before Thanksgiving, which I knew was not likely, but I had to try to demand it. The only way to get it before this coming week would be, and I can't believe the guys suggested it, to return camera and reorder it. Sounds great in theory, but I got the camera at a huge discount. So not only would I be paying more for a camera that I originally bought because of the deal, I'd also be paying the overnight shipping. Um, no. So, the original camera was picked up last week to be returned and have a new one sent back. Let's see how long this takes...

A look in the mirror

Today's sermon at church was a bit convicting, eye-opening, and slightly hurtful. As a fill-in for Pastor Ken, Mike Iltis spoke about honor and respect in relationships. Many Bible verses were presented that show that even God wants us to honor those around us. But, how can I honor those around me when I, myself, don't feel worthy of honor? When I don't feel that no one holds respect towards me? Yes, I know that regardless I should always do as God commands, but it's hard. Especially when I don't feel honored.

I just am having a hard time respecting myself right now. Not because of things I'm doing, but for things that I'm not doing.

So please, if you appreciate me, respect me, honor me in any way. Please let me know in some way. I just want to know that I am worthy of honor and respect, and not feel like a bum.