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!

Bookworm Review: The Bonfire of the Vanities

I finished reading The Bonfire of the Vanities (Tom Wolfe) a couple of weeks ago and haven't had a chance to sit down and write about it. It's on my Influential Books List and my Busy Bookworm Challenge List, so woohoo for me!

The story is set in New York in the 1980s and is centered around the main character, Sherman McCoy. McCoy is a Wall Street investment banker who basically thinks he's hot stuff. He makes a million dollars a year, has an apartment featured in an architectural magazine, and sends his daughter to a posh private school. Yet McCoy is barely making ends meet, though his high-society wife doesn't know how much they're struggling financially. McCoy's life turns upside down when he and his mistress are involved in a hit-and-run accident, which he tries to hide from everyone...though that strategy doesn't work for very long. A young, black boy was the victim of the accident and when leaders of the black community demand action, the racial tension heightens.

Initially I had a difficult time really getting into the plot of this story. The point of view shifts often, from McCoy, to the district attorney, to a tabloid newspaper writer, to the Reverend (leader of the black community), and to another lawyer. The characters, especially McCoy, are arrogant and pompous, though each has his or her own "special" way of being completely awful. Wolfe was trying to create an atmosphere of "excess" and he does that through his descriptions... and the sheer number of words he uses! Seriously, Wolfe was definitely wordy and the book could've been shortened considerably. Some of the side stories could have been omitted altogether, especially because Wolfe never finished many of the minor plot lines, yet they took up a good deal of space.

In spite of myself, after a certain point in the story, I found myself actually hoping that Sherman McCoy was going to be OK. It seemed to me that McCoy had grown a little during the story and he became slightly less arrogant and somewhat more human. McCoy's foil in the story, the district attorney, became more full of himself, more dramatic, and less ethical as the story progressed and I found myself, rightfully so, disliking him even more. By the end of the story I was sick of his character, scenes involving him, and generally happy when he was put in his place.

Wolfe also presents many issues surrounding race and fairness, which add another level to the story- everyone has his or her own perspectives and stereotypes and has to figure out some way to deal with others who are different. I found myself sometimes more interested in the cultural identities than the plot and wished something more would've happened with that aspect...if that makes sense.

Overall, I'm not sure I'd recommend this book, unless you really like long, wordy books with a lot of characters and an ending that isn't prettily tied up (with a bow). I'm also not sure why this book made that darn list of influential books... Anyway, I am a little curious to see how the book was adapted for the movie.

On second thought, I'm not that curious. The book was quite enough.

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

DIY Backlog

***Update- I'm linking up with DIY Day!***


I'm so glad it's Friday. I actually had the day off, which was much-needed! I was busy cleaning and organizing and decorating a little for Halloween. I think I need a few pumpkins for my front steps, but I am worried I'll find them smashed on my sidewalk or porch one morning. Hmm...

Anyway, I have 2 quick projects to share! The first has been finished for awhile now, but has been sitting in bloggy post limbo; while the second project is more recent, I just took pictures of it today and it's been done for at least a week. Oops.

I've had this tray for a while... it's a simple wooden tray, obviously black, pretty basic. I've used it on my table with a vase on it, or whatever. But, I don't have much black stuff, so I've been wanting to paint it for a while, maybe use it in my new and improved office/craft room...

I sanded the tray, just enough to scuff it up so the paint would "hold on" better. Then I used some of the Parchment White (Glidden) that I'm using for the trim, doors, etc., though I'm sure spray paint would've been SO much faster. I think I did 2 coats of paint, but I didn't care if the finish was perfect, because I wanted to distress it anyway. Once the paint was dry, I took sandpaper and scuffed up the edges, handles, and bottom of the tray. If I was doing it again, I would go a little easier on the handles, but I still like it.

I know, it's not too dramatic, but I think that tray will be more handy now. By the way, that bench/stool is also on my To Re-Do List.

Now for Project #2! A few weeks ago I went to Goodwill and Salvation Army with my mom, sister, and nieces to see what we could find. I found this little mirror that will be perfect for my work office. I've been looking for a mirror since I started my job and they were just not what I was looking for. Until I saw this little guy...for a couple bucks! Sweet!

I figured after a coat or two of espresso brown spray paint, it would be just what I've been needing! I scuffed it with sandpaper, taped and covered the mirror, and sprayed with 2 coats of paint. Perfect! Can't wait to hang it up at work!

Happy Friday! :-)

And Now, For Our Feature Presentation

Remember this? My Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde floor? I just realized I've been living with this floor since late July! Apparently time flies when you've got multiple projects going on!

But no more! I got new carpet yesterday! Woohoo! Look at that gorgeousness! I'm ecstatic!

I finally got a chance to unpack all the books that have been sitting in laundry baskets since July! Everything that was at one time unpacked has been sitting in piles, baskets, and boxes...in the kitchen, dining room, bedrooms... everywhere. But now...

things are starting to look a bit more like home. My parents came up again, to help me move furniture and to be here when the carpet guys were here, since I had to work. The puppies have been so happy to run and play on a nice, soft floor, chasing each other up and down and up and down the fabulously soundproofed stairs. Ah, bliss.

Now I'll really be able to start get comfortable and settle in... actually hang things on the wall... get stuff out of my dining room. Yay!

So what do you think?

Coming Soon to a Blog Near You

Hey'all,

I know I've been a pretty pathetic blogger lately, but I have some really exciting things to share soon... with pictures!

Not now. But soon, I promise.

Is the suspense killing you?

I Could've Died! Part 2

When I wrote about my near-death experience earlier, I didn't mention that the facilities guys were actually working in my office BEFORE the thingy fell. Here's that drama...

The other day, I had noticed this yucky brown spot on my ceiling, right above the door. Yesterday morning when I came in, it appeared the spot had grown overnight. When I pushed on it with a pencil eraser, it seemed soft.

Uh oh. I prayed it wasn't some toilet upstairs leaking.

However, that prompted a work order and soon the plumbing guys showed up. They were actually working right next to the light cover that later nearly killed me. (My guess is that they had jarred the light just enough to loosen it?? Who knows. The thing fell hours later.)

My coworker is convinced that one of the plumbers has a crush on me. She told me that when the plumbers arrived, she felt she needed to leave the room to allow us "to flirt with each other." Apparently, unbeknownst to me, she proceeded to tell everyone else in the department about this. They were all abuzz about it later.

Anyway, once the light thing fell, the office manager et al., started saying that plumber guy was "too busy flirting" with me to do his job right. I think someone also said that he probably just wanted an excuse to come back. Some excuse.

Now I not only need to deal with PTSD, but also with endless teasing about the plumber's crush on me. Which will add to my trauma.

I Could've Died!!

See that gianormous grid thingy? That thing covers the fluorescent lights here in our offices. Note how big it is.

So why isn't it on the ceiling, serving its purpose, you ask?

Good question.

IT CAME CRASHING DOWN YESTERDAY, NEARLY SLAMMING INTO MY HEAD! I could've DIED! Or been very seriously lacerated!

I was sitting at my desk, just like I am now, just about to finish up some paperwork at the very end of the day. Seriously, it was about 5 minutes until we close up and people don't typically stay long after "quittin' time." So I'm working, I'm feelin' good, gettin' things done, when I hear this sort of quiet ka-chunk. I barely glance up before this thing is swooping down, barely hanging by a corner! It slams into my computer (sitting on my desk) and then suddenly it is not hanging onto the ceiling at all. Thank goodness for my lightning-quick reflexes. I am barely able to grab it with a finger or two so it doesn't fall onto my computer monitor. Cripes.

I go over to the health waiting area/front desk where our office manager is and tell her what happened so we could get a work order put in before she left... and she didn't believe me! (Why don't people ever believe me when these things happen?) So I lead her, an office assistant, and the 2 nurses back to my office to show them what happened and finally they a) believe me, b) exclaim and worry about my health and well-being, and c) assure me everything will be just fine. My student intern kindly pointed out that had I been hit in the head, I may have lain there unconscious and bleeding for who knows how long, since it was the end of the day and people were leaving. Thanks for that.

I think I have PTSD.

Ooof!

I didn't know what exactly to title this post, but I wanted something to capture that feeling and sound similar to the wind being knocked out of you... or kinda like catching a hard-thrown football, right in the stomach, "Ooooff!" But once I catch one football, here comes another.

Yeah, that's kind of how I feel at the moment. And I've been so tired, I've been in bed before 9 the past 2 nights, so I haven't had much time to post anything. I'm stealing a few lunch-hour moments right now, just to write to let you know I am still alive... just trying to juggle a lot at the moment. I'll have some posts later this week....

Stay tuned.

Freakshow Dreams

I had the strangest dream last night that left me feelin' a little panicky. Apparently I had not closed on my house yet, but was scheduled to close within a day or two...regardless, it was near the time the house would be mine. And then POOF! All of sudden, because of some clause or fine print or something, the house was whisked out from under me by someone else. Just. Like. That!

I was pretty upset, but I think I was in shock, so it hadn't quite hit me yet. I needed a place to live, fast, so I agreed to buy a house, sight unseen, in Denver (the city, not the burbs) of all places! Yikes! The place was no house at all, but a nightmarish condo/apartment of sorts, with a giant bathroom in 70s decor that was shared by all. Plus a few other random bathrooms that didn't seem to have all the needed components. Like one had a sink, but no toilet. Huh?! My kitchen ended up being a diner, again, shared by all, which I found out during the lunchtime rush. My family was there to help me move in and was shocked by what they saw, but they were trying to be supportive, since apparently this was what I bought. It started to hit me and I started to panic. I was hoping that I could get out of it, like there was some sort of return policy on property.

My sister, being helpful, offered to show me a house a friend of hers was selling...to the tune of $500,000. Um, a little outside of my price range, but we all went to look anyway. The house had a lot of amazing bathrooms. More than I needed. And a normal kitchen. Meanwhile, I was still freaked out about being homeless and having my house sucked out from beneath me.

That's when I woke up. It took me a minute to realize where I was and that it was my house. Not the freakshow condo, but MY actual house. After getting some distance from the dream I started thinking, maybe I'm starting to feel like it's really my home...enough to panic about it being taken away??? And maybe I have a thing about bathrooms.

What do you think? Any interpretations? Have you had any freakish dreams lately?

Finders Keepers

One of the most surprisingly fun parts about buying a house has been discovering some of the stuff left behind by the previous owner. I guess I wasn't expecting much to be left behind, except what we agreed on (i.e., curtains, appliances), but there was a lot of random stuff left here.

It's kind of like finding treasure... although some things take a little more imagination and creativity! Anywho, since I have a little imagination and some creativity, I thought it would be fun, and would help me recharge my battery, to do make use of some of the stuff I've found. And naturally, I'd share them here with you.

I was excited to find lots of stuff in my little garage- some old wood, doors, windows, and lots of pots and things for the flowers in the yard. I figured most of the pots were bigger clay pots for outside but I was really excited to find this little beauty in the mix too!


A pretty pale blue and I like the way the corners are a little higher and there's kind of a swoop in between. I knew it would come in handy and would make a nice addition to a couple of other little blue pots I had. Voila! Jade gets a new home!

Doesn't she look stunning?! What kind of trash to treasure projects have you done?

Stay tuned for more...

I'm Too Sexy

Suz, over at 30 Before 30 List, tagged me to do a 5 sexy things meme.

Here's how it works:

* Write 5 things that make you feel sexy
* Post a pic if you dare!
* Pass it on to 5 lovely bloggers

Let's see...

A really great French tip pedicure! (Of course with some pretty open-toe shoes). A pedicure just polishes the whole look (pun totally intended).

A new haircut/hairstyle. I love getting my hair cut and styled. I just feel pretty after and the best part- I didn't have to do all the hard work!

Really pretty underwear. I don't really care what brand, it just has to be something pretty, something I don't wear every single day, something I buy for me.

Yoga. I admit, I suck at keeping up a regular routine. I feel good about myself and my body when I'm doing regular yoga... exercise, yes, but yoga specifically because you just have to pay attention to your body and your breathing and keeping everything balanced. Afterward I feel like I have better posture, I feel strong, I feel confident, and that is sexy.

Gettin' all purty and goin' out on a date. (Even if the date isn't all that awesome)

I really couldn't find a picture to share... hmm...

Erm, I don't have 5 bloggers to tag, since Suz would've been one, and she tagged one of the others I would've tagged! SO, I'll make do with this:

I'm tagging my lovely sisters: Kim @ Kim's Spot and Amber @ a little bit of everything

I'm also tagging Erin @ Tales of Our Journey

I would also LOVE to hear from my friend Nacole, even though she doesn't have a blog... and Scottish, if you're out there reading this, I think it would be a hoot to hear yours... and really anyone else who would like to tell me their 5 things! I love comments!

Meet Medusa

Isn't she lovely? And crazy looking? I got her a couple weekends ago. She makes me smile with her crazy corkscrews and waviness all over the place. The plant's real name is juncus effusus spiralis (I dare you to say that aloud five times fast), but the fun name is The Bad Hair Day plant. Indeed.

Medusa was looking pretty cramped in her tiny plant store pot and she was starting to look a bit droopy, so earlier this week I headed to Home Depot (or the Depot as I like to say) and got her a new pot (exactly like one I had in a smaller version), some moisture control potting soil (my girl prefers very wet soil), and spent some time re-potting her and her sisters, Jade and Lipstick (more on them later).

Ah, nature. Dirt under my nails. Birds chirping. Mosquitoes biting. I hauled everything into the kitchen after Medusa was set...no need to be eaten alive by those darn bugs. Plus it was getting harder to see anything in the dusky light.

Good thing I didn't wait to re-pot Medusa, I've never seen roots that tightly woven together! No wonder she was droopy. I really couldn't break them up much, but I tried. I think she has perked up a bit in her new, spacious pot, but that could just be my imagination.

By the way, Medusa was not an easy girl for me to photograph! So, if you want to see some cool pictures and read more about her, go here.

Thank Goodness!

I'm all sayin' is I'm glad the weekend is here. It has been a very busy week, especially with K-Dog out sick for almost all of it! I'm tired! While K-Dog being sick means I'm still on-call for the weekend (boo), I don't even care that much at this point. I'm just ready to enjoy a restful and relaxing weekend.

Here are my plans:

Lots of this:

Some of this, enjoyed s l o w l y, perhaps over a good book and maybe with a nice breakfast on Sunday morning:

And more of this:

Unfortunately, I have to probably should do some of this:

and this

But that's OK. I can handle it. I might also try to work on a couple of small projects I have brewing in my mind and then hopefully get back on track with my studying, which has fallen by the wayside. I'm also hoping that I don't catch whatever K-Dog has!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Making a Home

It seems I have a never-ending to-do list these days...painting, cleaning, mowing, nesting. It seems like the nesting part is taking forever. But I've been trying to do a few fun projects here and there, just so I feel like I'm accomplishing something... and making this feel like home. So here are 2 projects I did tonight after work. I'm pretty happy with them both!

First of all, I have a nice big dining room with patio doors and windows and a window seat. But my dining room is always a bit dark because I don't open the blinds very often as my windows look onto the neighbors' driveway and a kitchen window:

I decided to buy some of that window film that offers privacy, but allows light in. I was a bit surprised at the variety! I settled on some pretty stuff with vines swirling all over. I got the kit with a squeegee and other helpful tools, too. After this stuff sat around for over a week, I decided tonight was the night! I washed the windows, measured, cut, sprayed everything down (it helps a lot if it's wet), peeled, stuck and squeegeed. It wasn't exactly perfect- but I like how it turned out...


Now maybe my plants will get more much-needed light!!

Project Number 2 came from Goodwill last night! I can literally count on one hand the number of times I've been to a Goodwill, but I keep hearing about all the awesome things people find there, so I went to check it out! I found 2 things- a frame I plan to do something with, and a sign that I thought would be cute in my living room on the way to the kitchen. However, when I got it home I realized it wasn't going to work there. I was pretty bummed. But then, Plan B!!

It would be perfect over my little nook off the kitchen! After more measuring and some calculating, then even more measuring, I got the sign up. I think it looks great! And I think it's actually the first thing that I've hung in my house! (I've hung a couple other things on existing nails) Woohoo!

I'm getting there... little by little!

Conundrum

Whew! This week is flying by! Maybe that's a good thing...

Anyway, last weekend was Paint Fest USA 2009 at my house. My neck and hands were killing me by the time we were done painting... I realized I really haven't done much painting (of rooms) and so I was a bit clumsy at first. Oh well. The paint is on the wall!

Though, this leads me to said conundrum... I think the paint color is a bit lighter than I anticipated. Don't get me wrong, it's still pretty and light and all that. I finally dug out the paint swatch or chip or whatever you call it and compared the two last night and it does appear to be just a bit lighter on the wall. The primer even seemed darker to me than the paint does...

So do I add another coat of paint? (I think my hands spontaneously started bleeding when I typed that.) Will that add some depth and color and weight? Please excuse the painters tape in the picture...

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!

Instant Decor!

Hey'all! I wanted to show you a quick and easy project I did recently to add a little decoration to my home. As a new homeowner on a budget, anything quick, easy and cheap is great, but free is awesome! Plus, it's "green" too! And for the first time, I'm linking up with DIY Day over at Kimba's site, so be sure to check things out over there! (I'm a little nervous!)

Earlier this summer, my clever brother told me not to cut down my lily stems once the lilies were all done blooming, so I didn't, trusting in his infinite wisdom and decorating ability. With all the commotion going on this summer, I basically forgot about what he said, until my yard started looking like this:

Once the lily stems were dry and woody-looking, I "harvested" them- some of them pulled out easily and others I had to cut, but it only took a few minutes. I tried to cut them all so they were pretty long, since I wasn't sure exactly what I was going to do. My brother mentioned spray painting, but I like the natural look...at least for now. I grabbed a couple of vases I had on hand, cut them to fit, and voila!


You probably can't tell because of the angle of the picture, but the green vase is somewhat tall, so I left the stems pretty long. The clear vase is much shorter (and on a very tall shelf), so those were cut shorter.

Just think, you could pay a chunk of change for something like this from Pier 1 or Pottery Barn. Or you could just cut down those stems in your backyard. You choose.

If you've stopped by from Kimba's DIY Day, thanks for checking out my lil' project!

Dear Diary,

Tomorrow marks 6 months since I left Colorado. I just realized it. On one hand it's hard to believe...on the other, it seems like it's been forever!

I find myself missing my Colorado peeps a lot lately. I had this crazy dream last night about visiting my department, seeing familiar faces, getting lots of hugs. I've been missing my favorite local coffee places (definitely Starry Night and the Human Bean), pizza place (MeMe's), kooky pasta place (Rasta Pasta)... though I'm trying to find new favorites here.

I know I made the right choice for me. I needed to get out of a job that was literally making me sick, a job I hated. I needed to get back to what I love doing. Even though I've had some tough days lately, I know I'm doing what I love.

xoxo,
heidi