Priorities

At my previous place of employment, a Civil Engineering/Construction Claims firm, there was a bulletin board with all of the state and federal "notices" posted. Tucked here and there between the serious workplace information were comic strips and other witty workplace jokes. One of the witty pieces that I liked was a small flow chart that referred to construction projects. The chart consisted of three circles all connected together with lines that met in the center. In once circle it said "cheap", in another it said "fast", and in the last circle it said "quality". Below the chart read "You can have any two, but not all three." And it is true. If you wanted something built fast and quality, you'd have to pay top dollar, and so forth. In my new place of work, full-time stay-at-home-mom {dream job!}, I've decided that the flow chart circles would read "take care of your children", "take care of your home", and "take care of yourself". "You can do any two, but not all three." There never seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything I'd like to, and it has intensified with a newborn in our home, but I couldn't be happier with my "new" job.

New Ride

This weekend Jordan and I found a new ride! Talk about zero hour. After some serious internet searching and Jordan using his excellent negotiating skills, we finally replaced my car with exactly what we were looking for. We are having so much fun driving our new (to us) Toyota Highlander! So much fun!

They Lied!

Ok, so maybe lie is a bit dramatic. BUT, when they started pulling my car apart there was more damage than expected. It is a total loss. I am so sad! My silver Corolla was the first car I ever bought. It was just what I was looking for. It was perfect! Silver, spoiler without the cheesy ground effects, dependable, tape deck {Laugh if you want, but the library had tons of books on cassette tape! Totally saved my sanity doing a 10-15 hour commute every week!}, CD player, sun roof {Or star roof for those of you who really know what that hole in the ceiling is for!}, and even faux wood paneling. I loved everything about my car. I drove my cute car off the lot with only 9 miles on the odometer, 5 of which I put on it during a test drive. I know every mile, and every bit of maintenance. It was such a good car! I'd never had any problems with it at all. And there were so many miles left we could have gone together! I will get another car, but there is no way it can replace my poor Corolla. Thanks for nearly nine years of good times and complete dependability!!! So sorry someone had to rear end me and take my cute car away from me!!!

Oh, and to add insult to injury, I'd just filled the gas tank! Lame!

Crunch went the little car...

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let this speak for itself:

Yep, my poor little car got crunched at the beginning of this month. Thankfully, it is repairable. It will take at least 20 days, but they will be able to replace with all factory parts, so it should come back good as new. I have whiplash. Fixing that will take more than 20 days, but I have a Dr. I trust. So hopefully I will be good as new, too!

Lesson learned: Sitting stopped at a stoplight can be dangerous for you and your car if the car coming up behind you does not stop. Even some alcohol will slow their reaction time and using their phone while driving doesn't help either. Phone use and car use DO NOT MIX! Ang would agree! Seat belts work, and headrests do, too!

Lunch Break List

Ok, so I didn't write this list, but I really like it. Shakespeare is a favorite... so I thought I'd share.

10 Shakespeare Quotes You Use Every Day

1. A forgone conclusion. Othello: "But this denoted a foregone conclusion: 'Tis a shrewd doubt, though it be but a dream." Othello, 1604

2. Fair play. Miranda: "Yes, for a score of kingdoms you should wrangle, and I would call it, fair play." The Tempest, 1610

3. Hot-blooded. Falstaff: "The Windsor bell hath struck twelve; the minute draws on. Now, the hot-blooded-Gods assist me!" Merry Wives of Windsor, 1600

4. I have not slept one wink. Pisiano: "O gracious lady, since I received command to do this business I have not slept one wink." Cymbeline, 1611

5. Love is blind. Jessica: "But love is blind and lovers cannot see the pretty follies that themselves commit…" The Merchant Of Venice, 1596

6. Make your hair stand on end. Hamlet: "I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word would harrow up thy soul, freeze thy young blood, make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres, thy knotted and combined locks to part and each particular hair to stand on end, like quills upon the fretful porpentine." Hamlet, 1602

7. Rhyme nor reason. Dromio of Syracuse: "Was there ever any man thus beaten out of season, when in the why and the wherefore is neither rhyme nor reason?" Comedy of Errors, 1590

8. Too much of a good thing. Rosalind: "Why then, can one desire too much of a good thing?" As You Like It, 1600

9. We have seen better days. Flavius: "We have seen better days. Let each take some; Nay, put out all your hands. Not one word more: Thus part we rich in sorrow, parting poor." Timon of Athens, 1607

10. Wild goose chase. Mercutio: "Nay, if thy wits run the wild-goose chase, I have done, for thou hast more of the wild-goose in one of thy wits than, I am sure, I have in my whole five." Romeo and Juliet, 1592

Found it here: http://shine.yahoo.com/work-money/ten-everyday-phrases-written-shakespeare-232900030.html

What is Art?

To Judith G. Klausner it is an Oreo.  Were I a skilled sculptor and had the time, I would choose a more lasting medium.

The Night Sky

{Click to make it bigger.}

I think this photograph of the entire night sky by Nick Risinger is absolutely spectacular!  For more information about how he took this photograph {really 37,440 photos} click here. There is also a fun interactive sky map based on this project here {Make sure you click the "i"button to turn on the map of the constellations!}.

{Karen this is for you!}

Do you remember...

I stopped by the store this evening on my way home from work. As I walk in there were several displays with toys and such for Easter.  I noticed with the coloring books there were some that came with those cheap water colors they make for kids.  I walked over and picked one up and flipped through it.  It made me think of the "painting" books that I had as a kid, the books with the paint all around the edge by the black lines and all you had to do was have water and a plastic paint brush.  I remember having so much fun "painting". Too bad they do not make them any more! I would sit down right now and "paint" if I could find one... just for old time's sake.

My Hair

My hair has a new trick.

The other day I got up late, oops. Needless to say my hair was dripping wet still when I needed to leave for work.  I only had time to tie it back in a pony-tail, but that is never pretty.  What is wrong with a pony-tail?  Well it is this, as my hair dries it turns into this frizzy mess.  This is not very professional looking to say the least.  I did not have any other options, so I tied it back and left.  As I was sitting at my desk waiting for my computer to start, I remembered my roommate, Jen, twisting her wet pony-tail in a cute, all be it, shorter ringlet.  I decided to see if it would work with mine.

It did.

I was surprised.  I will admit that it was too long to look cute, but drying in the ringlet controlled the frizz factor and when it was dry I separated the curl... a much better look for the length.  But it got me thinking, I wonder what my hair would do if it was short?


P.S. Happy Birthday Philip! Next year today we will be celebrating together...

Guess what I found...

So who knew that the local Salvation Army store had days where everything in the store was half off? Not me!  I went this Saturday with Amanda to see if the out print china she was looking for was still there. {It was, but that is a story you will have to get from her. So fun!} I noticed they had a few pianos. Pianos that were 50% off and well I bought one of them.  Not what I was planning, but I am so excited! I bought a Wurlitzer that sounds great and is in great condition for $120. I think I am going to refinish it, because it is blonde. And the piano bench needs new hinges, but really I am so excited to find a piano in such good condition at such a low price. Now to find a place to put it. I guess I have a little while because I am not going to be able to refinish it this week! As soon as I do though, expect to see some before and after pictures.

Can you window shop on the internet?

I can and look what I found!

Too cute! 

Yesterday...

Yesterday I found out that the third time is not the charm. I must say that setting 72 grommets was very therapeutic.

Let me add a translation:

This time my offer on a house {#3} was accepted by the seller, but the bank said that the seller did not qualify for a short sale... So, seller wants to get rid of a house. Qualified buyer makes offer, bank says no go. It is understandable since they would be loosing $$$$, but still frustrating and it was a good thing for me to punch and set so many grommets. I did not think I would be able to finish that step in one evening, and it was good to work out my frustration in such a productive manner!

Back to the drawing board... Maybe the next house is the one that won't have problems, won't have competitive offers that are accepted even though mine is higher(just barely), and the seller will be qualified. Fourth time is the charm?

Marcel the Shell...

Oh, to have this much time! 

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON from Dean Fleischer-Camp on Vimeo.

Home, sick...

You know you have been at home sick for too many days when:

• you are actually sick of wearing pajamas
• you are running out of clean pajamas
• you have used up more tissue than you care to admit blowing your nose
• you have watched three versions of Jane Eyre {1of them has 11 episodes}, and you are still sick
• you wish you could be back at work even though you have not taken a vacation day YET this year

Three trips...

You would think that three trips to the store would get you all four ingredients to make a casserole for Sunday dinner... Nope, still had to improvise. Silly me!  My mind must be elsewhere.  Let me know if you see it!

Hair Cut

Yep, I finally cut my hair.  I think it was time... after all February 2009 was a long time ago.  I cut off about 4 1/2 inches all by myself.  I was sad to lose the length, but I wanted to get rid of all of the layers and the horrible "V".  Now I have happy, layer free hair! 

Oh, and this is the stuff that helped me avoid cutting my hair for such a long time.

It really worked for me!

Hmm...

You may wonder about me,

but I really like these.

I use them all of the time at work. 

Maybe that is why I like them.

Nope.  I just like them.

Lament for a Lost Favorite

Charcoal Grey was so uncommonly comfortable, so unreasonably adored. Times spent with Charcoal Grey, as with anything, were not all happy, not all sad, but treasured. The loss was public to my undying shame. My response, once I realize you’d left me, was so distressing to my niece that I was prayed for three times in that affectionate little dear’s prayer over the evening dinner. You laugh. I know I am silly to still feel a loss I should have relinquished after the passing of so much time. I reason with myself that, yes, Charcoal Grey can be replaced both in form and in function, yet I cannot reason with attachment. I will never again be the same without Charcoal Grey.

Study in Contrast

Yesterday, the apartment building where my brother, his wife, and their little children lived caught on fire. The cause of the blaze is still unknown. Six units were engulfed in flames and there was damage to others. This has been a difficult experience for their family to be so abruptly uprooted! But, oh, what absolute devastation their neighbors must be feeling. I went to the apartments tonight. This is what I saw:

Study One - One Side of the Wall = A Blessing


Study Two - The Other Side of the Wall = Loss

How can it be possible to have a heart so full of gratitude that my brother and his family were so blessed as to lose so little in this tragic fire, and yet be so full of sorrow for the losses and struggles of their neighbors who lived on the other side of the wall, neighbors who lost everything in this fire while their baby is in the hospital with heart problems?

In response to HM's comment:

There is an account set up accepting donations for the family at Key Bank. The account is called the Jerry Orona Donation Account.

King5 Video {Here is a link to the news story about this family.}

Bath Crayons

I want to get myself some of those bath crayons they make for kids. Yes, I know, I am a grown up {Well, maybe, sort of. I can be responsible when I have to be.}, but really, I have a good idea. {At least I think it is a good idea.} Every morning when my mind is refreshed and alert, I spend time thinking. An ideal place for this is under the warm water of the shower. There are no interruptions and the task at hand does not require much concentration. So, this is my preferred thinking place. {This is probably why, if I do not do things in the same order, I forget something. That is a bad thing to do in the shower.} Some days I compose correspondence. Others days, my thoughts tend to be more journal entry-ish. Then there are the lectures I read to myself... But often I compose lists. I am an avid list writer: To Do lists, Shopping lists, Someday I’m Going To lists… the list {Yes, of lists.} goes on. But there is one problem to thinking of things you want to write down when paper and pen are not, um... convenient. That is trying to remember what you cannot write down. {Maybe that is why my journal is so sad and my correspondence dull.} What to do when I have a list in my head and I do not have something to write on? I count the number of items on my list. I do this at the grocery store, on my way to church with my lesson materials, and really, every time I leave the house {A 4 item list: purse/wallet, keys, phone, oh, and shoes.} And it works most of the time. Unless I remember that there was supposed to be one more thing, but not what it was? Grr! I know bath crayons will not help in ALL of my list remembering situations {I would, after all, have to remember to transfer my list to a more portable medium than the shower wall.}, but they would sure be a fun help each morning! And, who would know if I practiced drawing skills every morning, too?