Foiled!!

In spite of my very best efforts to teach the dogs some patience and good manners when going out to the backyard, my plans were foiled. AGAIN!

Those "wascally wabbits" and sneaky squirrels love to prance around and taunt the dogs morning, noon, and night!

So even though I make the dogs sit before I will open the sliding screen door, sometimes it's all I can do to get it OPEN before they go flying out the door.

This morning, once again, the mutts managed to knock the screen door off its track.

And there I was, standing in my towel, having recently gotten out of the shower, trying to keep the door from crashing. And yet, hanging onto my towel for dear life was also a priority.

Damn dogs.

April Snow Showers, Bring May Flowers?

Here's what I woke up to this morning (You can see Lilly in the yard, checkin' things out). Ugh. Doesn't look too different from this storm in December, does it? The puppies were so excited to go outside when we woke up, but boy did they get a rude awakening! It took only a few minutes before they were waiting to get back inside. Montey was so anxious to get in that he forgot the screen door is back on and boinged his head into it. He just sort of shook his head and looked at me.

Here's a couple more pics of my ride to work. The snow is heavy and sticky, so all the trees were pretty.

But not so pretty that I want it to stay around! I'm ready for the warmer weather predicted for the weekend!

Riddle Me This, Batman...

 

Why is it that whenever I paint my nails, they get ruined? More specifically, why is it they get ruined hours after I've painted them?

Here's the scoop: I painted one coat yesterday afternoon while studying for my license exam. I let them dry, dry, dry. I had a snack. I painted the second coat at least 2 hours later. Again, I was studying and letting them dry. Hours later I went to bed. And this morning? Some of my nails have the stupid texture of my sheets. 

Why? Why does this happen?

I've tried, and loved, Sally Hansen's Insta-Dry stuff, but don't have any and really was hoping I could go without it... but it's looking like I need to buy more. Sigh. 

Any tips or tricks out there? Anyone with the answer?

Hmm. To Finish, or Not Finish?

Update 12/20/09: I returned the book to the library. I just couldn't finish it. Thanks for weighing in!!

Happy Tuesday! The sun is out and even though it's "quite brisk" (as a coworker said), I'm glad for the break in the cloudy, snowy weather.

I need some help here... I've been trying to get into Toni Morrison's book Beloved, but I'm having a really tough time with it. To me, it seems as though the story is all over the place, there are flashbacks that seem to pop up out of nowhere and I find myself backtracking to see if I missed soemthing, and the language is, for lack of a better word, weird. The reviews I've read, in a variety of places, seem mixed. The people who hate the book, apparently hate it with a passion; those who love the book, apparently love it so much that they have few words to describe it.

So, the reviews aren't really helping me decide whether I should finish it or not.

It's won awards, including the Pulitzer...

I still think the book sounds interesting and meaningful...here's a description, from goodreads.com :

Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby. Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Filled with bitter poetry and suspense as taut as a rope, Beloved is a towering achievement.

And yet, I have little desire to pick up the book and finish it. I rarely leave a book unfinished. Grrr. It doesn't help that this book is also on a couple of my "lists." Ugh.

Have any of you read it? Thoughts? Anyone want to try to read it with me and push me along?

Help!

PS- I'm basically sucking at my Bookwarm Challenge list. At this point, it's probably NOT going to happen before 12/31/09. I've been reading a LOT lately...just not much on one of my "lists."

Today I Feel...

Tired. It's Monday. Lately it seems as though I've been trying to prolong the inevitable (i.e., Monday) by staying up a little later on Sunday night. Bad idea.

Hopeful. It's finals week and the end is truly in sight...we all (students, staff, etc.) need a break. I'm looking forward to time off for the holidays!

Worried. As if 14 inches of snow wasn't enough...we now have freezing drizzle and a little more snow. It's supposed to stop fairly early, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the drive home is OK since the temp is going to drop.

Blizzard '09 Update

Well after spending literally hours outside working to remove the snow from my gianormous driveway, front stairs, front walk, and a path on the deck for the dogs (already part-filled in from the continuing snow), I'm finished.

I had some help from my neighbors at the end...in fact, they are still out there working, while I am finally inside, showered, fed, and slowly warming up. My head still hurts and now my body aches, unfortunately, but I've taken something and will hopefully soon be snuggled on my couch in a blanket fast asleep.

Blizzards are way more fun when you live in an apartment.

Snowed In

Well for once the weather guy was right. We got snow. A lot of snow. Here's the view out my front window, taken with my camera phone.

I had weird dreams all night long about getting my driveway cleared out and wondering if the college would close. I dreamt that I barely had snow and the moisture meant I would actually have to mow the lawn again. Yuck. I woke up with a pounding headache and sore throat. Awesome.

Bleary-eyed and barely conscious, I grabbed my phone and eagerly pulled up the website to see what the verdict was: "OPEN as usual..." Crap. I took one peek out the window to see a winter wonderland and hoped my neighbor (I share a driveway) had cleared things out. Nope. Apparently they just pulled right out through all the snow. Crap.

The dogs seemed unfazed as they went bounding outside, leaping through the snow like little gazelles. The second time they went out they were a bit more wary and cautious. Poor Lilly could barely do her business...the snow comes up to her butt!!

I pulled out some wintery clothes (I honestly NEED to get some giant snowboots) and trudged outside to try to shovel my way at least to the car. HA! What a joke. This snow is heavy folks. And I do have a snowblower, but I've actually never used it so after fumbling for a bit, I gave up, frustrated, hot, and cranky with my head pounding.

It was then that I realized I wasn't going to work. Sigh. I started the coffee pot and breathed in the aroma. What was I thinking? Trying to shovel snow without morning coffee?!?

I called work and left a message (perhaps no one was even there yet) and started emailing people to cancel appointments for today, feeling guilty because apparently some people have braved the weather to go to work. As I'm sipping my lovely, hot coffee, I'm contemplating tackling the snow, or crawling back in bed.

But wait! A new email! Subject: "College Closed!" Apparently the conditions are "deteriorating rapidly". Uh, durr. It's STILL snowing and the wind has been picking up for the last hour! Whew. No more guilt AND I don't have to use my vacation time for this!

Now... if only my headache would go away and the snow would get shoveled magically on it's own.

What? A girl can dream.

My Mood Ring is a Filthy Brown

I need a vacation. Badly.

I ran some errands after work today and ended up going the wrong way ... twice... to run out for dog food. No...no, this was not the first time I was going to this particular store.

I was borderline muttering to myself while pushing/sliding my ridiculously defunct shopping cart in the scary Walmart (more stores need to carry this stupid dog food!). I hate scary Walmart. (Obviously I wanted to go to the un-scary Walmart, but went the wrong way...twice.)

The puppies are feeling my stress too, I think. Tonight after finally getting home, I saw that it had snowed in my living room... The puppies tore up my very last throw pillow. They've torn up tissues from my bathroom trash a few times, and have gotten sales ads off the kitchen counter and shredded those. Maybe the puppies need a vacation too?

There have been many instances lately when I have actually uttered the words, "I don't wanna help people today." Did I mention that I HELP PEOPLE FOR A LIVING?!

I've been perusing vacation sites, I've ordered a vacation guide, and have been obsessively daydreaming about a nameless spa in the desert somewhere.

I need a vacation.

Uh Oh...

I think it's happened. I think I've come down with the swine flu!

Yup, I've been eating like a pig and my office is a sty!

And that, my friends, is the best thing I took away from the conference!!

{I did end up having a great time once the conference was over. More on that later.... right now I need to force myself to go to bed. Funny, I don't want my mini-"vacation" to end!}

{PS- Isn't that pig so darn cute?}

A Case of the Grrrrrrs

Greetings from the Twin Cities!

I'm at my conference and I'm afraid I have a full-blown case of the Grrrrs. First, Monday (I was still at work) we STILL hadn't heard from the conference people about when we were supposed to present, which is completely crappy. So some tough people called to demand to know because the presentation is really the students' and they were only going to the conference to present. I, on the other hand, was attending because of that scholarship... and planned to attend for the whole thing. Anyway, we found out that the students couldn't go. They slotted us for the first afternoon and with such short notice (less than 48 hours) the students couldn't swing it, so we canceled the presentation. I don't blame them one bit... and really I am relieved... but OF COURSE I had worked on my part of it Monday morning. Grrr.

Second, I have been attending every session today (I skipped yesterday, as I was traveling and the sessions were not at all applicable to the work I do) and multiple people have asked me where my Director is... I kept saying that I was sure she was around and might be skipping the morning breakfast sessions. Um, no. After lunch I found out (from the conference registration people) that she canceled. I was never told. Thanks! Thanks a lot! I was getting worried too, thinking she was in an accident driving in the rain! Grr.

Third, I'm finding myself pretty disappointed with the sessions I've attended. I have been expecting a little more. Plus, they had a speaker at lunch and will have one at dinner. Can't we just have some down time to chat and network?! I refuse to attend the meeting after the speaker tonight. I'm not sitting in sessions until 8:00 pm. I'm grateful for this break right now, but seriously wish we just had dinner. Then I'd be done. Grr.

And the free stuff from vendors isn't even that great...though I did get a Rubick's cube. :-) And the pens from the hotel have cute sayings on them, like "play with words," and "use colorful language". Oh, and the hotel has Aveda products! Isn't this bed the most comfy-looking piece of heaven? Yeah, it doesn't just look good, it IS good.

The very best parts? I'm glad you asked! I get a break from work, which has been very busy and stressful. The hotel is pretty awesome. I get to spend time with my brother, who lives in the area! AND shopping at various stores, including IKEA!! Yay! Oh, and we got free theater tickets too. Woohoo!

I'm getting hungry.... good thing dinner is quickly approaching! I hope it's something fabulous!

Dear Diary...

I have felt so overwhelmed lately. I had a presentation the other evening that seemed to take me a long time to prepare, even though the topic is something I talk about every day! Why is that? I suppose it's different when I have an audience and feel as though I'm cramming so much into a short amount of time. Plus I wanted it to be fun and interactive, but that is often a "hit or miss" depending on the audience and the topic.

Anyway, it went well overall, though, as predicted, I had a bit more to say than time to say it. Oh well. I got a few laughs out of the students and the feedback I got was good and that the presentation was useful. I'm fine with that!

Now I'm trying to finish up this darn discussion guide I'm supposed to be writing. A while back, my Director and some students approached me to write a discussion guide to be used after this performance. Before I arrived here, some students, faculty and staff created this cool show, kind of along the lines of The Vagina Monologues, except more relevant to issues college students face AND included men in the conversation. It's a pretty powerful performance that deals with health, body image, gender roles, sexual assault, and culture. Sadly, I've only seen the performance on the DVD they've made...I'm sure it's much more powerful live. Anyway, they wanted to have a discussion guide to accompany it, so that's where I come in. Since I have done research on disordered eating and whatnot, they thought I might be interested. I was absolutely interested... but then things got a bit more complicated.

See, at some point, someone decided this should be submitted to a conference...to showcase what the students here did, how other campuses could do it, and then how to keep the conversation going. SO it's been submitted and accepted. I'm included as a presenter, since I'm doing the discussion guide and am kind of like the "expert" in the group. I'll be honest...there is a big part of me still really uncomfortable with being seen as "expert." But that's another story. My Director also basically told me I had to apply for this scholarship to attend (which basically gives me a free ride). And then I won the darn thing. Which means I need to send in a brief article to their newsletter after the conference talking about what I learned and how I'll use the info and all that. Note to self: Always read the fine print.

The most frustrating thing is that the conference is next Wednesday and the schedule isn't out yet! We have no idea when we're presenting and no idea of what the titles are for the other sessions. Apparently they're not always this disorganized...still, it's not a good first impression to this group and this conference. Grr.

In other news, I got the H1N1 vaccine this morning. I feel a little dizzy. So does K-Dog. I'll let you know if I start oinking.

XOXO,
heidi

Is It a Full Moon?

Lemme check my calendar...


Hmmm, nope.

Then what the heck?!? Has everyone gone mad? Is there something in the water? The air? What is going on?

I've been dealing with more issues, phone calls, and crises than I know what to do with! Cripes!

WTF?!?

OK seriously... work has heated up real quick-like. I was expecting it and it still feels like my head is spinning. Wowza.

There were a couple of times today that I felt really unsure of myself and at a loss... like I once again lost the ever-elusive "Mo Jo". Maybe it's just on the fritz, I'm not sure, but I hate the feeling. Even worse, though, is when Doubt lurks just around the corner. I really don't want to have Doubt hanging around- he's too clingy, overstays his welcome, and makes me nervous. Bleh.

Do you ever have moments/days/weeks like that?

In my line of work it's really important for me to take good care of myself and recharge my batteries often. And for about a week or so I've been thinking that I need to recharge, but I'm having a hard time doing that right now. I have so many things going on. And with studying for my licensing exam, I am literally dealing with work-related stuff more often than not. Even my obsession with cooking has quieted down...which means my eating and snacking isn't going as well as it was. And gosh darn it, I've been failing miserably at my repeated resolution to walk the dogs more often. Plus, I'm not sure exactly what I need in order to recharge this time. What do you do to recharge?

Does Anyone, I Mean ANYone, Know What's Going On?

So I guess I'm closing on my house on Friday... I haven't heard otherwise, but I also haven't had a confirmation on that date either. This whole process has been ridiculous. I've been asked to provide so many financial documents and verification of those documents (helloooo! you're holding the documents in hand. Isn't that proof enough?) that I actually feel a little naked and somewhat violated. I also have asked a couple of times about a couple of things, and haven't been able to get answers....which is irritating. I mean, I get that people are busy and I'm not the only person buying a house right now, but come on! How hard is it to return a phone call? Especially when I'm asking you to confirm that you got something you asked me to send you??!! Grrr!