Vacay Update #2

I'm getting very little accomplished because I can't say no. 

Argh. 

I saw a baby today

I met Michael and Natalie's baby today. She was born 3 weeks ago. She's small. She's cute. She didn't like me much. I was afraid of her. 

Shucks. 

Vacay Update

Just to inform anyone who cares- I have been quite busy on my wonderful vay-cay and haven't been able to blog as regularly. 

Anyway, I've come to the conclusion that I do not have a cold, but I have allergies. I could be wrong. I've been wrong before. 

I had insomnia again last night, but forced myself to stay in bed. However, I tossed and turned and did not sleep well. I suspect that the iced-tea I drank from noon until 2pm yesterday afternoon is the culprit. I don't know. 

I was supposed to paint some windows for my parents today but I guess it's on hold. Bummer. I really wanted to be on a ladder outside with cobwebs and spiders, scraping paint and using a sanding block on my vacay. 

My sister and I recently hijacked my mother's kitchen and re-painted it when she was out getting groceries. It went from a really shiny, pale peach to a nice tan with only a semi-sheen (kitchen paint). It looks so much nicer, cleaner and updated. My mother walked in and looked around - sort of shocked, not quite as impressed as we were- especially with the color, but hasn't really put up any sort of fight over it. So, it's fine I guess. We chose a color that was as bland as possible as she's very much afraid of real color in the house. She claims she chose colors for other rooms, but they are all a subtle variety of white- like eggshell white, slight ivory white, etc..,. basically all the rooms are some kind of white. I think calling any room actual ivory would be a gross exaggeration. 

I'm tired. 

Sick

Shouldn't have stayed up so late. Have a cold starting. Bummed. 

It's junk that I'm getting a cold and I just started my VAYCAY!!!  

Grr. 

I repainted my mom's entire kitchen today. Beautiful tan. Nice and neutral. She didn't really seem so keen on it. Rats. That's junk. It looks really great, I think.

Insomnia

What is wrong with me?? It is 4:05am and I am wired. Since I got out of bed at 12:00am I have sorted through my bags of old papers, balanced our checkbook, paid our bills, loaded the dishwasher, emptied the dishwasher, cut up a pineapple, signed up with Twitter, checked all my accounts (FB, Twitter, Linkedin, etc.) and I'm still wide awake. 

Caffeine + Me = Very bad results

10 signs the golf season is back

10. I'm finding little colored pegs (tees) everywhere. 

9. We're getting paychecks again.

8. Hubby has a golf glove hanging out of his back pocket.

7. Hubby has to get up before 7am.

6. Hubby misses out on events with the family. 

5. Hubby comes home late. 

4. Hubby wears dress pants everyday.

3. Hubby has sunburn on his neck.

2. Hubby has his clubs in the truck 24/7

1. Schmims never sees Schmeffers. 

My husband is:

so sweet...

Though, he does open (and leave open) every cupboard and drawer in the kitchen when he's "cooking." 

Adventures in Babysitting: The Zoo (Part III)

The following morning we, the 3 of us, headed to the zoo for something to do. The zoo is a great place, but quite annoying because they dangle carrots (ice cream) at every turn and for a child who loves ice cream, it's a huge distraction. So, we looked at the monkeys (and ice cream) and the fish (and ice cream) and the seals (and ice cream) and the lions (and ice cream) and the tiger (and ice cream) and the buffalo (and ice cream) and the reindeer (and ice cream) and the giraffe (and ice cream) and the zebras (and ice cream) and the birds (and ice cream) and the goats (and ice cream) and the... wait, there's still ice cream. We should have ice cream. Now. But, we haven't had lunch yet. Let's have it AFTER lunch and not at the zoo. 

Nope. That was not a good idea. Not what she had in mind. 

At this point, nothing matters more than ice cream. Even Sparky, the seal, who hasn't changed his impressive positions (sitting sideways with his nose in the air) for the entire hour that we have been at the zoo, can't distract the ice-cream chasing little girl. She's getting more and more upset about the lack of ice cream and we're getting more and more like "We should go home now." After she has a small, but very public meltdown, Jeff carries her to the car...  I hoped nobody thought we were kidnappers, but she loves Jeff, so it didn't seem to be an issue. 

Once we're in the car, she's like a whole new gal. "I guess I do want to go to McDonald's" (we had promised her McDonald's and ice cream after the zoo, but she insisted she didn't like McDonald's because she wanted pointy ice cream and not flat). Huh, I feel confused. Again. You'd think that because I was once a child, perhaps I could relate or remember these strange, fluctuating emotions, but I couldn't. I guess in a way it's like "out of sight, out of mind." 

Once we got there, she was pleased as punch as she ate her Happy Meal and played in the Playland. She had a grand time meeting other kids and introducing herself. So cute:) In fact, we got an insider's view of childhood friend-making. There were 2 girls her age sitting next to us at the table beside us. She looks over at the older one and says, "Hey, wanna be my friend?" Turned out, the girl did want to be her friend. "Great, let's go to the slide together." And off they went. If only adult relationships were that easy. 

Then, as we left and as promised, we got an ice cream cone (it was even "flat") and she enjoyed it immensely. On the way home she chattered excitedly about her flat ice cream and it was happy times for all. 

Every experience is a learning one. Yup. 

Adventures in Babysitting: Bedtime (Part II)

After returning from the park, making a fort in the living room, playing outside, having a snack, playing house upstairs, playing mom and daughter dog, a lightening quick round of air hockey, some Nintendo Dance, another snack, a tour of her bedroom (approx. 8x9 ft), a game (that I never did find out how to play because she kept "winning" before I got my turn), a discussion about pink sparkly crayons, and a lovely 5 second dance recital (Irish jig) in the living room... the topic turned to Jeff, my husband. "When is Jeff coming?" This question started at about 4pm and continued until he finally showed up at 9:30pm. So, every 10 minutes I was forced to give an update on his status and every 15 minutes she was disappointed. That was until she thought of giving him a surprise. We brainstormed for a few minutes- hmmm a pie? Well, that might be a lot of work (not to mention that I don't know how to make a pie, much less in someone else's kitchen). Perhaps some cake. Probably not the best alternative. Then she suggested we make costumes. Costumes? What kind? Let's get a book to find ideas. 

So, we paged through a book about Audrey Hepburn. Thanks Audrey, for having the most elaborate and detailed dresses ever made. We were nearing the last page of the book when I decided to repeat my prior announcement, "We cannot make costumes." She confidently replies, "Yes we can, we can sew them." *laughing* There are so many reasons why that won't work, where do I start?? 1. I don't sew 2. She doesn't sew 3. We have no fabric 4. We have no pattern 5. Even if we did, we don't have weeks, we have hours. 6. We still don't sew. 

We abandon the idea as quickly as we came up with it. (So glad) We eat dinner and then begin the 3 hour countdown to Jeff's arrival. The time in between is a blur, but eventually she ends up in her pajamas with her teeth brushed. About half an hour before Jeff comes, she decides she wants to water paint. I didn't think that was the wisest project to begin, but she was dead set on making Jeff a picture. So, the paintings were a success and finally Jeff arrived.  Woohoo! 

So, once she ended up in bed, we said our prayers, recited a Bible verse and read a book. She was quite crafty with the book since I told her we were only reading 1 book. We were 3/4 through the book when she announced she that she didn't like this book and we had to start a new one. Sneaky!! She got almost 2 books out of the deal... I was snowed!

We turned off the light, closed the door and I went back down stairs. Three minutes later I hear some noise and head back upstairs. I open the door and there she is in bed, with a flurry of books around her. She's pretending to sleep. "What are all these books doing on your bed?" "I was sleeping and all these books fell on me." *laughing* She was especially endearing when I would say "No, I think we should...." and she was accepting my "suggestion" because she would say, "Well, that's a pretty good idea." (Tehehe) Ah, kids. 

It took a few more rounds, but she finally fell asleep. I knew she was tired, we had a long day. She had been quite concerned earlier that she might not be able to fall asleep. I, however, was not feeling at all concerned for myself and my own ability to sleep. I was exhausted! 

Adventures in Babysitting: The Park (Part I)

So, as some of you might know. I spend Monday and Tuesday of this week babysitting for some friends. This little girl is 5 and is the daughter of some of our friends from church. They have 3 other kids, but they're all in high school/college. I thought I should chronicle my experience in my blog... partly because I want to and partly because I want to make it up to you for missing a day. 

Monday I was on my own, Tuesday my husband was with us because he didn't have to work that day. Monday I picked her up from preschool. We drove home to her house nearby. We went outside in the yard and tried to think of something to do. We decided to go to the park. 

She wanted to drive to the park. But I said that wasn't happening since the park was only a few blocks away. But, she tried her best to get us into the car to drive to the park. I won. She agreed to go to the park without the car. But, she didn't want to ride her bike and didn't want to walk. So, we opted for me to pull her in the big red wagon. This was an okay idea to me (until I realized how heavy the wagon was with her in it).

So, we unlock the gate, being very careful not to let the dog out of the yard. We're on our way. We maneuver around the construction going on directly across the street and head down the sidewalk. I was very careful not to let the wagon flip over when we hit bumps and cracks and even used my rarely used arm muscle to prevent the wagon from hurling down the small slope at the next block. Things are coming along quite impressively, when I turn around and see a brown dog. A dog that looks suspiciously similar to the one that we just locked in the yard. But, it can't be.... we locked the gate. So I ask my little friend, "Is that your dog??" "Yup!" She replied. "She can get out by herself through the fence." Me, not wanting to be responsible for the road death of their dog, began to panic inside- should we go back or try to take her with, what should we do? I ask, "Does she need a leash?" "Yes." Ah, great. We're half way to the park and we don't have a leash. So, I say, "We'll have to go home to get a leash." My friend says, "I can just put her in the wagon with me." That worked for an impressive 5 minutes before the dog had had enough of the constant jossling of the wagon and leaped out. 

Finally we get back to the house, she runs into the house for the leash and we start out to the park.... again. 

When we finally get there- the wagon, the child, the dog and me- my arm is throbbing, but it's a nice day so I sit down and watch while the cute little girl and her dog begin playing on the giant playground. Up the steps, down the steps, up the ladder, down the slide (girl and dog), over the bridge, off the bridge (just the dog) and then- we make an amazing discovery in the sand. 

An old green stocking cap. Yay. For the next hour we played house, I was Mrs. Alligator and she was also Mrs. Alligator. Two generations perhaps. We took turns making different "pies" in the green cap. Then when the pies were "baked" we took turns delivering them to one another in our "houses." So, toward the end of my stay at her "house" she tells me we should go out and look for "blueberries" (rocks) in the "bushes" (sand). So, I'm just locating my first "blueberry" when she screams bloody murder and begins crying. At first I'm confused. She hasn't moved from her "house" and I can't see anything wrong. At this point she is bawling and creating her own version of panic. I step over and see that she's got her finger stuck in a hole in the playground. The playground equipment has a waffle looking floor with little holes. She's jumping around in a panic and bawling so that I begin feeling a little worried that someone might think I'm trying to kidnap her in the park. "Shh, stop crying and calm down, if you're patient you can wiggle your finger out." *3 seconds of silence* "IT HURTS, NO I CAN'T!!!" Then she pauses and manages to sniffle, "Could you go up top and push out my finger?" I tell her I can try, but I'm not sure that's the best way. "GO PUSH IT!" I take 2 steps toward the stairs and "NO!!! DON'T!!! IT HURTS!" So, I retreat and try to discuss with her that she can't pull her finger, she has to wiggle it out. But, the fat keeps bunching up and not letting it out. She has just told me to go get her brother (who is back at the house that is 4 blocks away) and I have just told her I'm not going back to the house without her when her finger drops out. Huh. Thank you, Lord! I wasn't panicking yet myself, but wasn't exactly sure what we were going to do if her finger wouldn't come out and she continued to scream. 

After some long hugs and mutual congratulations for a rescue well done, we were finished at the park... the dog, the wagon, the child and me. 

Happy Easter 2009

Lovely day spent at the aunt and uncle's place in Mankato. I never really realized just how easy it is to get there. I was asked to bring a few vegetables... just a few. I brought a sickening amount of carrots and broccoli. 

Anyway, my darling husband couldn't attend because he was work. He had to be at the golf course since they are short staffed until the kids get out of school for the summer. That made me sad. 

Tomorrow is my babysitting stint from Monday to Tuesday. Looking forward to it.... 

I'm quite tired, so I'll sign off now. But, I would like to say that I am very humbled by Jesus' sacrifice for me. Today's truth is tomorrow's hope. Thank you! 

Until next time. 

The night before Easter...

I want to mention that I didn't sleep well last night. At all. We stayed at the brother-in-law's place and his venting system is really loud and then deathly quiet. During the quiet I could hear Jeffrey's breathing and eventual snoring. I had to push him over onto his side like 20 times. I got up at 4am and wandered around, got bored and came back. Then I was able to sleep until 10. Man. 

Anyway, I am very well aware of what this week means in light of Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. I'm so thankful for that grace because without it I know I'd be destined for hell. When He took my sins on Maundy Thursday, died on Good Friday and rose again 3 days later on Easter Sunday so many years ago, He was preparing a way for me to be released of my sin through His own sacrifice. Amazing. Grace is amazing. 

Tomorrow I'm going to Mankato to spend time with my aunt and uncle and their family. It's always a nice time- partly because they have kids (grandkids) to keep us entertained. Hmm, why don't the Peterson's have any grandkids? (Don't look at me!) I get my baby fix every Sunday in the nursery and that is simply grand. Somebody once told me that God made babies cute so they wouldn't be ignored... certainly could be true, they are cute. Noisy too. Maybe He made them noisy for a not-to-be-ignored reason as well. Always thinking... always thinking. 

Anyway, Happy Easter to my 2 Followers and anyone else who might happen upon this Easter posting. 

  

Super glue fiasco

So at work I had to assemble some magnets that we sell. They are pewter pieces and I super glue tiny little magnets to the back of each one. These are not normal magnets. These are extra powerful magnets that can hold a lot of weight even though they are only the size of an eraser head. 

I put a dab of glue on the back of some pieces and proceeded to drop a magnet onto each one... I had 55 to assemble. Then, the hand that was holding the roll of magnets got too close to the other magnets and all of sudden I saw a flurry of tiny magnets flying past me- all in a mad scramble to attach to each other. I tried to get them off each other - they were all super glued to each other- but my fingers were super glued to each other... Every time I tried to grab a magnet to keep it from latching onto another one, it would stick to my gluey finger and end up attracting another magnet. Hopeless. In the end all the magnets found each other and my fingers were still glued to each other... nice.

Another adventure at work. 

Crap.

So, a few weeks ago we invested in a Cub Foods $300 gift card because they were handing out an extra $30 if you bought one. Well, it's worth it since we buy groceries anyway. 

Today I'm running errands and I'm gathering groceries in my cart... lalalalala... milk.....dumdeedum....butter.....hmmmhmmmhmmm....cereal.....dooteedoo...bananas. 

Crap. 

I'm in Rainbow Foods. Crap, crap,crap,crap. Crap. Crapp-o. 

I can be flakey when I'm avoiding homework apparently. Crap. This day is junk.

I love the post office

I love the post office. I don't know why. I just feel hugely interested in all the things they have to offer. It's amazing. Big padded envelopes and tape, special forms to fill out for mailing certain things to certain places. There are all kinds of stamps with little pictures and they're self-stick. What a great invention. Self-stick. I love stickers. 

Remember scratch-n-sniff stickers? My favorite stickers, in my sticker book (a must-have in 1982) were Dill Pickle, Gasoline, Bubble Gum, Skunk, Lilac. 

Anyway, the post office has so many interesting little processes and procedures. I always feel so satisfied when I buy a stamp. Pens that are attached to the counter with a ball chain, USPS tape, they even do passport stuff there. They weigh things and then print out perfect little stickers and slap it onto the packages. It looks so fun. Fun. 

Fun like I used to think it would be to be a librarian. In elementary school the librarian would open each book, take the card out, stamp the date, put the card back, flip the book closed. Such a neat, tidy little procedure. Now they scan books. Not as much fun. 

I would like to work at the post office some day. I hope I don't go postal. That could ruin my perception of the post office. 

It's only 42 cents to mail a letter down the hall or across the country. Pretty impressive. I should mail letters to all of my floor neighbors. They would be pleased. 

An ode to a friend...

For anybody who thinks I only have 1 Follower... they're wrong. I actually have 2. To protect the identity of the 2nd Follower, who chooses not to identify themselves, I will use an alias to write my ode. Note to the 1st Follower "Carrie": This does not in any way devalue your position as 1st Follower, in fact, the fact that you were the 1st Follower holds a place in my heart that can never be replaced...  

So, an ode to my friend, *Haren Heu...

Haren is a wonderful friend and I am honored to know her. 

Haren is an amazing friend, who could be my mother. 

Haren is always in-the-know and that is impressive. 

I hope when I'm in my 60's that I am as "with it" as her. 

Haren knows so many things and knows how to go with the flow. 

Haren is funny and amuses me, Haren is very special.

Haren and I like to take field trips in order to grace the world with our presence!

Haren and I are like world travelers, who never set foot on a plane. 

Haren is a smart little cookie... she's also a baker of them. 

Haren is just so swell and I appreciate her. 

Haren is on my phone as one of my Fave 5. 

Not everyone is on my phone as a Fave 5. 

Haren and I have experienced some things together that nobody should have to endure. 

Thankfully we're doing better now and that loser place is all just a blur... 

The end. 

Casino

Well, we're either the strongest or the lamest people in the world, but the hubby and I spent the entire afternoon in a casino and didn't spend a penny. 

We had a coupon for a free buffet meal and arrived almost 2 hours early so we wandered around, had some free beverages, took a little snooze, watched a little TV and talked on the phone. Then we had a nice free meal and then we left:) 

I will say this. There are some frightening people there at the casino. Some very large people at the buffet. Some very rough people at the slots. Some very lonely people everywhere. Interesting place, the casino. 

The first time I ever visited a casino I had no idea what went on there. I went with a friend who goes every year. I was all stupid and just sat down at a machine. I didn't know anything about the 1, 2, 5, 10, 25 cent machines. So, I was at a 25 cent machine. That was 25 cents every time I hit Spin. Well, after a few times, a bunch of fun music started playing and the screen was all fun and lit up. My friend comes running up and wants to know what I'm doing at a 25 cent machine. Then she grabs me and says, "cash out, now!" I said, "Why? There's a show going on on the screen." She said, "you just won $600!" "Really? Gosh, I only put like a dollar in." She was really annoyed with me. I don't know why. 

Anyway, I'm too cheap for such things. I can't stand to lose money, so I just go when the coupons come out for the free food:) Like I said, I'm either strong or lame. 

Have I mentioned that my hair is too short? It is. That's rotten. This day is junk.

Got a haircut

It's kinda short. Too short. I'm going to have to grow it out again. I look like a boy. A boy with a flair. I'm annoyed that my neck looks funny. Crumb. This day is junk.

I would pay money...

to not be in my classes anymore, but ironically, I'm paying money to be in them. 

How ironical. 

Aren't words that aren't words fun to use?  Speaking words that aren't words. 

How ironical. 

I am a stickler for proper word usage and I'm using a non-word. 

How ironical.

It's Friday night and I'm doing homework for tomorrow's class. School on Saturday?!

How ironical. 

I think non-words are allowed to have whatever improper usage they want. 

Actually, I don't care. Why am I'm blogging this? Bother.

God, are you there, it's me Schmims?

I feel... "down... down... down... down in a ring of fire..."

It's not a good feeling to know that I need (want) an internship. 

It's not a good feeling to know that I hate the classes I'm in. 

It's not a good feeling to know that school politics are discouraging me.

It's not a good feeling to know that the economy bites. 

It's not a good feeling to know that a certain population of people are frustrating me. 

It's not a good feeling to know that I have a bunch-o-work to do for school. 

God always reminds me that I have to keep things in perspective and I'm cheered when I remember that He is able to provide me with all the perseverance I need, but sometimes I forget.... 

Online job ads

I would like to share a pet peeve. Applying for jobs online really sucks. For several reasons that I will type out below: 

1. When it says you can upload or copy/paste your resume and then it makes you retype everything again anyway. WHY?!

2. When you're filling out all of the spaces and click enter and then need to fix something and it makes you retype the entire page again instead of just letting you edit. ARGH.

3. When it uploads your resume and formats it into its own thing, thus making me look like I don't know about spacing and punctuation and presentation. PITOOEY!

4. When the site is lame and has a glitch, but you don't find out until after you've gone to the trouble of filling out EVERYTHING. ACK!

I really try not to get annoyed. But... it's JUST. SO. HARD.