No Nylons Required

Dec 8

2010-12-08T20:21:00.002-05:00

Ahhh, Winter. I love the cold. Makes me feel alive.

Two more adoptions are in the works, number 13 and 14 for H4H. I remember how hard the first adoption was, logistically speaking, from every angle. Seems like a couple of years ago.

The veteran who is renting a room at our house is re-building her life. She has a boyfriend, volunteers and is working toward bettering herself. Kudos, young lady. My mom gave her a gift certificate with which she bought a coat, the first new coat she has had in a long time. This is what Christmas is all about.

Bean is getting old. Her old bones hurt when it's cold. It makes me sad. She is only eight but it seems she has aged quickly in her life. She was a total puppy for two years, then she has slowed down considerably ever since. She is even cuddling with a cat, a cat who licks her, for crying out loud.

Santa is going to Iraq to visit our troops and he is taking H4H tshirts with him. He plans to give one to the highest ranking General he meets. Pretty darn big deal. Santa leaves CLT for BGW Friday. He is a great man. Served four tours as a medic in Vietnam.

Is there every going to be a day in my life that I don't crave spicy buffalo chicken wings? I swear I could eat them every single day. It's the only food I will eat "on the bone". They are good boneless too, and the BEST on a salad at a place in the DFW airport with ranch dressing. Heaven.

Seriously, when will I stop wanting to run out at any hour to pay any price to buy some spicy buffalo wings? I hated spicy foods until...I'm really not sure. But I used to always get mild wings and then one day I ordered medium. Now I order hot and feel kind of bad ass about it. Am I going to be that older woman in the contest who eats the hottest wings on the planet one day?

I have the best partner in the whole world. His name is Jason. And no one knows his true awesomeness but me. I feel so privileged.

Now for a bath and some reading and sleep. This semi-balanced life is good stuff.

Dec 7

2010-12-04T16:31:00.004-05:00

Wow!

A few of my accomplishments in the last 4 months:

Eight successful adoptions, from Charlotte to Wilmington.

A mention in TIME magazine. Yep, this is a big one.

Three awesome television news stories; one from FOX, one from WBTV and one ran statewide through WSOC.

An amazing six member board of directors in place.

A major article in the Fayetteville Observer.

Awarded "Link Leading Lady" by 107.9FM.

Lost contact with "friends". Yep, I actually consider this a positive, to have gotten people out of my life who are "takers" versus "givers".

Two articles on The Examiner web site.

I also feel like I have sort of found my groove over the last four months. I have spent some days working and pushing myself so hard, it felt like a marathon. But I did it. I have also learned to delegate and step back when others are willing to help. And I have learned that no matter what, I have a partner who will stand by me, encourage me and love me. I have discovered I am more powerful that I ever thought I would be, and that I can do anything I set my mind out to do. I have also learned to trust, but not blindly. Any uneasy feeling I get is now listened to and dealt with accordingly, whereas I used to sweep it under the rug.

Hooray for growth!

aug 17

2010-08-17T17:47:00.005-04:00

yesterday: woke at 3am. couldn't sleep. got to sleep around 6am. alarm off at 630. hit snooze. 7am phone rings. it's derek, who just adopted cain. cain got out the night before and hasn't come home. i pry myself out of bed. they haven't owned a dog before, so they have not idea what to do. animal control opens at 11am so we have to wait until then to call. he has a microchip but no one has called. meanwhile i have to get pixel the boston to the vet because she is scratching like crazy. her ears are badly infected. 1030 we are there. dr. mac from freedom animal hospital is good and cheap but not as gentle as i would like. good thing she is a sweet girl who doens't mind a little roughhouseing. we were told she was spayed but dr. mac says no. $130 later, she feels better. jason wants to keep her.

loretta deaton from the vet center has been begging me for this dog. she has referred two veterans to us, but not real great candidates. dewey had a stroke so now sissy is with us, and the 2nd vet wasn't ready for a dog: transient housing, no fence, etc.

then today (tues) she calls to tell me she is not so interested since the dog isn't spayed. apparently she has had two dogs that died after complications from spay surgery. i kind of understand, but come on.

matched a puppy from animal control today with a charlotte police officer. kirsten b called me about four monts ago wanting a pupy, and i told her since she was in the academy, she wasn't ready. so she graduated, now she's a cop, and she found a lab mix puppy at AC she likes. i picked up the dog today and it's a great match. kb will take great care of her.

thurs i go to fayetteveille to match a pit bull with a brain trauma victim named dean. 1st trip to fayetteville.

i have had a bad stomach ache all day, under my left ribs. hoping it's nothing big bc of no insurance.

maniacal woman from peanut's place was at animal care and control today. not colleen, but her side kick. she said something to me about how she heard we adopted out animals that weren't fized. i was like, uh no. the nerve! then she chided me for adopting a puppy, and she yelled at her son who was with her, in public. talked to him like he was a moron. ugh i do not like that woman. i just smiled and carried on. some rescue people are wacko.

the last 2 months have gone by so fast. i have a hard time remembering what day it is, much less the date. i have to look it up every day when i need it. hopefully things will be more in balance soon. took the blog private so it's private. one of my "friends" gave me a hard time about writing about a certain someone and then a certain someone demanded an apology. i deleted the post and apologized but wish i would have kept it, because it was 100% true.

Going private

2010-08-14T14:52:00.002-04:00

Since I get the most from writing in my blog as a personal journal rather than a place to keep people up to date, I'm going private. Please don't be offended when the screen says the blog is for "invited guests only", because no one is invited. I simply need a place where I can write and vent.

July 4th Weekend

2010-07-06T16:39:00.003-04:00

Flew to Dallas this weekend to surprise my mom with a 60th birthday party. I felt like a jet setter, flying in then getting my nails done to pass the time. Then I realized I needed a shower before the party (in a big way) so I went into an LA Fitness and they gave me a day pass after I acted like I wanted to join. Stopping to shower at a gym and drying off with the pajamas you packed takes the jet setter feeling away pretty quickly.

Mom was shocked about the party and especially when I came out of the kitchen at the restaurant for the reveal. My grandma, three aunts and two uncles drove out from Kansas and Louisiana and when they showed up she about lost it. It was pretty cool. My uncle Steve, a total cowboy, from Kansas, cracked me up with his one liners and cowboy sensibility. One of my favorites: "Nobody likes to go to bed a loser." I wish I could have videotaped the whole night.

My sister still drives me crazy. We had not seen each other in ten years (!!!) because we do not see eye to eye. I am briquettes on the grill and she is gasoline. I managed to play it cool and not get too worked up. In a group setting it's not too bad but in the car with just her, my step dad and her husband? I thought I might die of being pissed off.

She took Drama in high school and never left class. Everything is either FANTASTIC! or HORRIBLE! and it makes me want to vomit. If I had a dollar for every time she said the word 'fantastic' this weekend it would have paid for my plane ticket. And to say she stretches the truth is an understatement. Here are some examples:

"I'm a child psychologist" What she means is that she has a masters in psych and works with kids. Different from someone with a doctorate. When called out by mom with the doctorate part she says, "Well, I don't have one yet".

"Joe Family Member (named changed) only played baseball in college because his dad did" In reality, Joe's dad never played baseball. Or went to college. But she honestly, seriously, believes her story is correct.

"My friend saw the picture of us on Facebook and asked if we were twins" OK now I'm pissed. Pictures of us when we were each five years old are similar. Thirty years later, she is 50 pounds heavier and...50 pounds heavier. I'm no supermodel but I sure as hell couldn't pass for the twin of a 240 pound woman.

I am hoping, OK praying, that she just texts me and doesn't start to call, now that she has my number. It feels so wrong to not want to hang out with my 'sister', but if she was just a person I knew, I would stay about a thousand miles away. Maybe that's why I live in NC and she's in Missouri. One of the reasons anyway. I used to feel pretty guilty about not trying harder to reach out to her, or about not extending the olive branch one more time. However the guilt I have felt about not having her in my life has been absolved. She is a complete wacko in my eyes and there are very good reasons why I have not seen her in 10 years. Maybe in another 10 things will mellow out?

Am I allowed to digress? I'm not even 100% sure what that means, but overall it was a good weekend. I got to almost make my mom pee in her pants with excitement and laugher (twice!) and was able to see relatives I hadn't seen in a long time. The travel stories at coffee time the day of departure were worth the flight. And spending time with Mark and Lori at the restaurant for a few hours before the party was really super great. Even sleeping on the sofa pull-out wasn't bad because Twig would cuddle with me.

Now I'm home and back to work. Made some headway today and hoping to have programs in place for the Fayetteville VA hospital in the next month or so. Sissy is staying with us while Dewey is in rehab; we placed Sis in Dewey's home then he had a stroke. I'm taking her to see him tomorrow and then he is supposed to go home next week. I'm not really hopeful and she may have to stay with us, which I (and Jason) are totally OK with. Three dogs again! Well she is small, so 2.5 dogs. Maybe the vet will charge us half for her annual visit. ha ha

Wow, that is the most I have written in a long time. Maybe I only like to write when something pisses me off? I was yearning for a laptop or a word processor or something to put my thoughts on paper with while on the plane. I might be on to something. So, wait, this means I haven't been really pissed off in a few months? Holy hell that is freaking amazing!

Great weekend

2010-06-13T15:18:00.002-04:00

More bullets. Bullets=too lazy to write. I know because I'm too lazy to write right now. Totally OK with it.

Weekend bullets:

garage sale, made $27 after four hours in 92 degree with 80% humidity.

took a bunch of stuff to Goodwill that didn't sell. that'll teach you, you "will you take 50 cents for all of this?" cheapos. the tax donation is worth more: go away.

awesome lunch with Jason including wine with gorgonzola and onion pizza. i love him.

trip to the library. one new book, a CD and two movies to watch. free. awesome.

meeting with Hilary and Becca for newsletter. love their help, but starting to remember why I hate meetings.

great episodes of This American Life on Netflix streaming. we watched four in a row.

finished up painting the living room. looks so great. beautiful color.

researched a camping trip. 4pawskingdom.com looks like where we are going. cannot wait!

one fantastic night's sleep.

sleeping until 9am. glorious!

fighting (not literally) over the book Super Freakonomics with Jason. interesting read.

browsing laptop computers at Best Buy.

bought two used games for the PS3 and Wii.

bought an Izze soda from Starbucks and didn't get charged for a large cup of ice to pour it into... score! now i have an awesome Starbucks cup to reuse for drinks this week. it's the small things.

spent $21 at the farmer's market and got: 30 farm fresh eggs, 3 pounds of fresh peaches, two giant fresh tomatoes, four big onions, a homemade cherry pie, fingerling potatoes and a head of good garlic.

made some headway into the Mount Everest of laundry in our closet.

made a frittata and working on egg salad.

homemade gorgonzola and onion pizza tonight.

Update

2010-06-06T17:31:00.002-04:00

Things are starting to get a little less crazy, which I welcome. My partner Hil and I are developing a routine and we're starting to get into a groove with who takes care of what. Because I'm no longer working a 40 hour week for the Census and another 30 to 40 for the nonprofit, my life has come back into balance. Thank Gawd.

We have been taking Diesel to Dogtopia to help with his socialization, and this weekend we took him out to a Dog Sports Day at the US National Whitewater Center. He was so good and we are both very proud of him.

I borrowed a few exercise tapes from a friend, and one of my goals is to start working out at least a couple of times a week. I sit at this computer all day, if I'm not out meeting with someone, so I'm leading a pretty inactive life and have put on a few pounds since being out of school and not going to my part time job. One of my other goals is to go out with a girlfriend (or a group of friends) once every two weeks. This is difficult, because most of my friends are also very busy people. And many, like me, aren't very social. Once we are finished with work, we want to hang around the house or do something solo.

Hmmm, what else is new? I'm meeting with a potential mentor tomorrow and working on building our board of directors over the next few weeks. And working on creating a long-distance program for Fort Bragg, which is about three hours away. We have a local program in place, now it's time to branch out. Once we have the kinks out we can expand to other cities, which I am really looking forward to.

Jason and I bought some paint this weekend and have started to paint our new place. We hired an interior decorator as a consultant when we first moved in back in January to help us pick our colors, now we're getting around to painting. The kitchen is almost done. It's a very light brown suede color. The living and dining areas are a greenish gray, the hallway is another version of the light brown suede, then the master bedroom is a very light, warm gray and the bathroom is a much darker version. It's going to look awesome. Will post some before and after pics next week some time.

Nonprofit nutso

2010-05-19T15:46:00.003-04:00

My last post was written just before deciding to start a nonprofit. I have thought about posting a few times over the last two weeks but literally haven't had a spare half an hour to sit down and write. I'm a little upset that I didn't make time, because the last two months have been an insane ride with lots of ups and downs. It would have been nice to have a journal account of it to remind myself of the craziness, joy and heartbreak.

Since I only have a few minutes and I'm not sure when I will have time to write again, I'm resorting to bullet points...again. Here's my last two months, or what I can remember of it, in no particular order:

received an email about a nonprofit in Washington DC about a group that provides companion animals for veterans

contacted group to see if they had a Charlotte chapter. they do not

emailed my friend Hilary: "We should do this here!"

started a nonprofit

filled out a 37 page IRS form for nonprofit status

got an EIN from the IRS and formed a NC corporation

started a very long to-do list

got a web site

got a logo

wrote stuff

called a bunch of people

begged a bunch of people for money and in-kind donations

had a lot of meetings

found a veteran who wants a dog

adopted a dog from animal control that spewed diarrhea all over Hil's house for a week

took dog back to animal control

got reamed out by a rescue group woman for returning the dog, in front of people, in the lobby of animal control

got another, healthy dog from another rescue group

took dog to veteran

got recruited to work for the census

worked my ass off

thought i had found two good volunteers but they're not reliable. damnit

attended the most fun wedding ever. jason looked so good in his suit. he's a handsome man and i'm very lucky.

battled insomnia

took care of a stray dog jason brought home. found her at Tryon and Clanton streets.

did i mention the stray dog was unsocialized, afraid of everyone but me and jason?

she lived with us for 10 days.

and did i mention she was in heat? do you know what that means? the carpet was disgusting.

named her Girl Dog. found a great home for her. now she is Gracie.

i miss her.

so does jason.

our dogs do not.

worked for two weeks for the census, was supposed to be paid, but wasn't.

had to call my other 6 team members to tell them we weren't being paid for another week.

finally got paid and it looks like they took out 28% tax. why?? i'm in the lowest bracket.

got 501c3 approval from the IRS. jumped for joy.

sat in a census training class for 40 hours. considered suicide daily.

stood up in front of a lot of people while Hilary gave a speech. i was so proud of her.

decided not to apply to vet tech school. 99% sure not going to apply to vet school.

created a traffic report for H4H. funny, because while working at the ad agency a few years back, i made fun of this seemingly archaic document. and the agency where i used to work was HMH. interesting.

heard we might be getting a grant. holding breath for mail. not counting chickens.

Although I'm working about 80 hours weeks, I'm loving it. Hopefully Census will be done this week so I can knock back to a leisurely 50 hours. Seriously, 50 hours is not bad when you're doing what you love.

Dog drama

2010-03-11T18:06:00.006-05:00

First, pictures:

If I had a PhD, I would be offended by this.
The squirrels at the campground are heavily imprinted, meaning, they look to humans for food. I can't condone it, but it makes for good photo opportunities.
Diesel loves to lay in the water, preferably in water that is only a couple of inches deep.
Hilary and I made a natural centerpiece for the table, in the spirit of Jen W. And Erin W.
Hilary's face is so funny in this picture. I love it!

Friday afternoon, Jason returned early from work so we could leave for the campground in time to set up before dark. I had lined up a dog sitter to come by to walk the dogs three times a day, at 8am, noon and 6pm. He was surprisingly inexpensive, but came with great references, and Diesel even warmed up to him after only a ten minute visit. So we left, footloose and fancy free, around 4 o'clock Friday. Unfortunately I neglected to check the campground lock up time (6pm) so when we arrived at 7, we couldn't get in. So we drove another hour to find (thank God) a hotel.

We slept like babies in the super comfy bed with a down comforter, until my cell rang at 8am the next day. On the other end of the line, the man I had trusted with our dogs was out of breath and freaking out. He was scared to tell me what was going on a three hour drive away. Finally he told me that Diesel had gotten out of the house, without his leash, and was running at a high rate of speed away from him. Diesel was on the lam.

I knew we had to go home. I looked at Jason and he could tell from my face that we had to go home. We threw off the covers, threw on our shoes, shoved our stuff in our bags, and bugged out, to home. I frantically called the sitter on the phone every few minutes, hoping he had gotten Diesel back into the house. But I knew it wouldn't happen, since Diesel is male-wary and the sitter (male) probably spooked him somehow, which is what made him run in the first place. I felt helpless. Jason was quiet.

I wished and prayed for a helicopter to meet us at the next highway. There was no helicopter, and no way to shorten the three hour trip. I racked (wracked?) my brain for alternatives. What to do...who to call...what to do...damn it who can help?

HILARY! Diesel likes Hilary! She could maybe go over and get him to go inside! I would do it for her dogs and she would do it for mine! HILLLLLLLARRRRY!!! I frantically dialed her number, then remembered speaking to her the night before, a little late, after she had just discovered a new Apple Cider drink. Hmmm, she might still be sleeping. But wouldn't you know it, she called me right back, and she said she would be at our house in ten minutes. Have I mentioned that I love HIlary?

It took nearly two hours, but Diesel was finally back in the house.

We decided that, in order to continue our vacation, that the dogs would need to come with us. This put a bit of a damper on the "romantic" aspect of the weekend, but we still had a lot of fun at the lake. Hilary even came out for a night of shenanigans and we all fell asleep before ten, after roasting weiners on the fire and watching a movie. At what point did we get old?

Monday was the best day, waking around eight, making breakfast burritos and coffee, then spending the entire day lounging on a grassy knoll overlooking the lake. The weather couldn't have been more perfect: sunny and about 73 degrees. We all now wear badges of sun on our cheeks, noses and arms. It was glorious.

Camping!

2010-03-05T16:21:00.001-05:00

Heading out to the lake for our first trip of 2010. We're going for 6 days, sans dogs. My good friend Hilary is coming out to stay with us for one night. Bon voyage!

Vultures

2010-02-18T11:06:00.002-05:00

I love them. They're social. And they're funny despite looking a little gross, according to many people. I think they're beautiful. And I love that they are the perfect candidates for funny names, like Igor or Gargamel. I swung a U-turn and parked on the side of the highway this morning because I saw this crew and happened to have my camera with me. I'm calling them the Highway 160 Cleaning Crew.

Job Description

2010-02-16T14:40:00.002-05:00

My dream job description:

Responsibility: help animals directly, in some way. For example: caring for them, finding homes for them, rehabilitating them, training them, teaching them, babysitting them or something else positive and good.
Salary: $70,000 (remember, I'm dreaming. will accept $30,000)
Hours: up to a 70 hour week
Dress code: casual, with occasional instances where I would need to get dressed up real purdy with heels and everything
Get dirty on a daily basis. Meaning, work with the animals directly, and get one of the following: muddy paw prints on pants, dirt on shirt from..somewhere, blood, wet dog food or other yucky stuff from preparing food for said animals, smelling stinky like fish from preparing food, crap on shoes from the ground or crap on self from being in an area where animals crap.
Coworkers: other people who love and respect animals (and people too!)
Duties: anything from administrative stuff and paperwork to cleaning up pee on the floor and taking out stinky garbage. Also, marketing, writing, researching ways to gain funding or other sources of income, talking to the public, educating the public and teaching children, feeding and caring for the animals, training volunteers, managing projects, brainstorming, proofreading, creating and maintaining a web site and sticking to a budget.

CRC

2010-02-12T16:07:00.003-05:00

A cold, damp day spent outside at CRC is better than any day stuck inside a cubicle with no windows in sight. Even when, at the end of that cold, damp day, your hands smell like fish guts because you prepared a bunch of food for the eagles. No amount of lemon nor soap has helped.

Long time no see

2010-02-09T16:31:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted in about six weeks, mostly because I don't have anything exciting to write about. Not that anything exciting hasn't happened, it's just that I haven't felt like writing.

Since my last post December 27th, the following has happened:

Went to a fun New Year's Eve party at my friend Sarah's

Tried in vain to register for a BIO or CHEM class at school. Classes were booked up in a matter of minutes despite logging in at 2am to try to get a seat. Have I mentioned I'm not a night person? Central Piedmont has ticked me off. You have to be a Sophomore to get into a good class, but you can't be a Sophomore until you have 24 credits towards your degree. If you can't get into classes towards your degree, how do you get 24 credits???? It's infuriating.

Settled for a Computer class that was cancelled, a Construction class that is bogus and an Office Technology class that's being taught by someone a decade younger than me, with about ten years less experience than me, who is a total hardass about coming to the hour long class every day. And then she doesn't even teach in the class: she posts an assignment online, such as: make a Powerpoint presentation. Then if you have questions you raise your hand. Stupid. Waste. Of. Time.

Got laid off. Then was asked to resign. Had to see an attorney. He gave good advice.

Turned 35. Had to cancel my party because roads were too icy for people to drive safely to get to our house.

Thought about attending the Wildlife Rehabilitators National Symposium in Seattle but I can't afford it.

Starting volunteering at The Raptor Center again, on Fridays. I love that place. Last Friday it was pouring rain and had been raining for about 48 hours. People were joking about building arcs. I prepared the food for about 30 birds, then donned a yellow rain poncho and walked the 1.5 mile trail to feed the birds in my running shoes. My feet were soaking wet and freezing for about four hours but it was still better than working in a windowless office at Merrill Lynch. Rubber boots are on my wish list.

Filled out my FAFSA for 2010-2011. I'm praying for aid. And unemployment.

Did my taxes, and Jason's. Not getting back as much as I had estimated.

Looked at engagement rings, on a few occasions, with Jason. I love all of them.

A bunch of people from work gave me going away cards. I was a little surprised by this. I would think that people who usually treat you like crap wouldn't care enough to send a Hallmark. Maybe I'm wrong?

Moved into a new townhome. We both love it. It's smaller, just the right size, easier to clean, close to the interstate and we can afford it. Our old house was nice but too big and too expensive; we were going into debt each month just to keep up with the payments.

Found a dog on a busy road and found a good home for him. This was by far the highlight of the last six months of my life. By a lot. Jason found him, took him to a vet, I picked him up, got him groomed and Rabies vaccinated, then networked like crazy to find a home for him. He's living the good life in an extremely nice house in Dilworth. It's the best! AND the people gave me money to cover his expenses without me even having to ask. Wow, wow, wow.

Gained about 5 pounds. Haven't been working out. Just been eating and not caring. And sleeping a lot, but I went to the gym today to walk. The weather has been so cold it's impossible to walk outside. I'm ready for Spring.

I'm looking forward to camping. Researching a trip to Washington DC to see some of the Smithsonian museums, The National Zoo and some monuments. Thinking about going during Spring Break, the first or second week of March.

Applied to Gaston College for the Vet Tech program, which starts in the Fall. Only 40 students are accepted.

2009-12-27T16:10:00.002-05:00

Someone sent this video to me. The woman depicted in it is a dead ringer for the woman who bought (and complained and returned) a play kitchen to me today. It's a little spooky how much the woman in the video resembles her, in so many ways. That must mean there is more than one out there. *shudder and hide*

Winter Break continued

2009-12-26T15:39:00.003-05:00

I'm still really upset about Erin and the kitchen. Jason worked really hard at trying to help me cheer up today by taking me to the mall to walk around, to Sephora to play with makeup, to Maggiano's for lunch and to jewelry stores to try on engagement rings. He's so great. He just left for the grocery store, to get some cheeses and crackers and wine for dinner. Did I mention how great he is?

We had a good Christmas. Ate hibachi, opened presents and went to bed late, then slept late Christmas day and played games like Yahtzee. We asked everyone for gift cards for restaurants, so we have been eating like kings lately. I love to cook but when I'm tired, stressed or in a bad mood I can't cook. So we have eaten out at least four times in the past three days. I also got some clothes, a digital picture frame, a Dewalt drill bill set (really needed this), some journals and really fuzzy comfy socks.

I'm excited about the Spring semester starting at school. Starts in 16 days. Once again, all of the science classes I wanted to take were full when I registered, so I'm taking something completely unrelated, Carpentry. I'm happy about it but I'm feeling a little like a slacker because it's not towards my Biology major. Oh well, maybe this is my equivalent of a teenager's summer in Europe.

Winter break update

2009-12-24T18:37:00.003-05:00

Since Dec. 10th, I haven't had much of a life outside of kitchens and work. Since then, I made four kitchens, all from scratch, from luan, 2 X 4s and 1 X 2s. Everyone has been happy with their purchase until today, when a completely unreasonable woman named Erin decided to take her holiday stress out on me. It put me in a bad mood, and I'm sulking a bit, but Jason is taking me out to dinner and I will feel better in a bit.

I sacrificed so much to get all of my kitchens done. I don't have any decorations up, no tree, no holiday cards went out, and no baking done. No dinner planned. And it chaps my ass that this woman Erin has decided to be a completely unreasonable person. I busted my ass to get her kitchen done and the thanks I get is that she's not happy with it. It's the same quality of every other kitchen I've made, but she is not happy and nothing I can do will make her happy. After 30 minutes of her berating me over the phone, I told her to bring it back and I would refund her money. She was so defensive she threatened to stop payment on the check. I told her she didn't need to do that; I wouldn't deposit it. I'm really upset about it.

But we're going to dinner. Merry Christmas.

Winter Break

2009-12-10T13:48:00.003-05:00

3 weeks off from school. I'm going to try to get some exercise each day, build kitchens, work on the EcoBox (I'm building the kitchen inside of it), relax and read.

I'm pretty sure I'm getting B's in both classes. I could have gotten A's but I got lazy toward the end of the semester, something I always do. I'm ready for Christmas. My mom is coming next week for three days, and we're going to see the Biltmore House up in Asheville.

Tonight I'm showing off a kitchen at the Berewick Sip and Shop. This afternoon I'm making cookies for the event and writing www.betterplaykitchens.com on wooden spoons for takeaways. I'm booked up for Christmas but I'm hoping to get some orders for next year.

Right now, it's back to working on kitchens.

School

2009-12-07T07:10:00.003-05:00

I have finished all of my homework and take-at-home quizzes for Statistics.

I have turned in all of my assignments for Geography.

I have one test left, in Statistics, this Thursday.

Two words: woot woot.

Friends

2009-12-06T17:57:00.003-05:00

I love my friends.

Last night Bitsy and Dan hosted their annual Fais Do Do at their house. There was no dancing, thankfully. I got to see all of my favorite people (and some of my not so favorite people, but it's the holidays so whatever), try out a balance board game, which I'm going to ask my dad to get me for Christmas, and sing in a Rock Band. I do not sing and don't pretend like I can. My singing is even worse than my dancing. So I never ever sing, not even in the car by myself. My singing voice is just so bad and off tune it hurts my own ears. If I were to go to church, I would probably be kicked out during the opening hymn.

But I felt comfortable last night, and I sang. In front of people! It was great fun. My friend Jen and I sang duets most of the night, to songs that weren't duets, like Billy Joel and Gwen Stefani tunes, but whatever. People took turns playing the guitar, bass and drums. People in their 30s playing Rock Band. It was awesome. Had a blast. The most fun I've had since the last time I saw my friends. We stayed well past my 10pm bedtime but it was worth every lost minute of sleep. I love my friends.

The hold music for GoDaddy is stupid

2009-12-04T18:50:00.004-05:00

I liked it the first three hours I sat on hold over the last two days. Tonight, after two long calls to customer service, I'm over the uber-upbeat swingy tunes. Just fix my web site, dammit, so I don't have to call back.

Here is the site I'm talking about.

Oh wait, you can't see it, because GoDaddy is having server issues. So all that work I put in at 3am yesterday was for naught. Grrrrr. I have been told the issue should be resolved in 72 hours. Maybe I can sleep until then.

Sleep deprived

2009-12-03T20:49:00.003-05:00

I'm a worker. I can't sit still. I need something to do, always. Read, walk, research or try to fall asleep, I'm always on a mission. Today I think I finally wore myself out. Woke up at 1230am, got online, created a new web site. 3am cooked eggs, bacon and a bagel. 4am went to bed. Tossed and turned. 7am got up. Worked on kitchens and web site all day. Now it's 9 and I feel a little like what a zombie might feel like. Time for sleep, soon, at 10. I'm forcing myself to stay up so that maybe I can sleep the whole night through. It will be the second night I've slept through the night in almost nine months. I'm being optimistic. Pray people, pray.

Thanksgiving Camping

2009-11-29T16:07:00.004-05:00

Bean and Diesel in the best seats in the house, besides outside.
Us at the camp site
Lower Highwater Falls
Lake Jocassee
Thanksgiving dinner, all cooked on our camp stove.

Apple crisp, made on our camp fire. It didn't turn out very good.
Facebooking, and getting looks from Jason.
At the country store near the camp ground.
Awesome picture of us at Lower Highwater Falls.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving, camping in the woods with our two dogs. We stayed at Devil's Fork State Park in South Carolina, on the shores of Lake Jocassee. We are hoping to go back for one last camping trip before Winter, sans dogs, in two weeks. The lake was beautiful, and it's both of our newest favorite spot. Just three hours from Charlotte, it's completely accessible for a weekend jaunt away from civilization.

Bateleur Found!

2009-11-21T08:58:00.001-05:00

Im waiting to hear if the folks at CRC were able to catch her. Hopefully she be home safely, soon.

Bateleur on the Lam

2009-11-20T16:45:00.002-05:00

Today I was off from work and received an urgent email from CRC about a Bateleur Eagle who had escaped last night. Search parties were being arranged and they needed any and all available volunteers. So I went up and walked around in the woods for a couple of hours, looking for her. As I was walking around, by myself in the woods, keeping my eyes peeled, I kept thinking about what a cool job that would be, walking around looking for a bird.

I didn't find her, so I came home and worked on my kitchens some more. Then I just got an email saying she had been found, but she is in no hurry to go into the net that will take her home. It's going to be a long night at CRC; I think Jason and I are going to go up to take a shift watching her. Cross your fingers she is brought back; she will not make it in the wild by herself because she is heavily imprinted by humans and it's too cold here for her. She's native to Africa and her enclosure is heated in the winter here. She won't stand a chance in the cold. Cross your fingers now. Seriously, cross them! :)

Dogs are so great

2009-11-17T11:08:00.001-05:00

This is a video of two Dachshunds welcoming their daddy home from Iraq. I love it.

Yawn, in a good way

2009-11-15T18:27:00.003-05:00

I just finished my Statistics homework and I spent all day working on kitchens. At 7:40am, I was at Home Depot, waiting for them to open the doors. After buying a few little needed items, I came home and got to work. 10 hours later, I took a shower and started on homework. Jason is making dinner.

I am tired, but it's a good tired. I love making things with my hands. And selling a few kitchens is a very good thing; they are helping to keep us out of debt. I'm sure the kitchen orders will slow down after the holidays, but for now I am loving the chaos.

Time to eat! I love it when Jason cooks.

Busy

2009-11-12T20:40:00.002-05:00

I'm tired. School is humming along, 2/3 of the way through the semester, and my play kitchens have really taken off. I rarely get phone calls, because I have a small circle of friends, but yesterday I had nine new messages. All were about the kitchens. Two new orders today, and one looks like a fun, out of the box project.

Went to Geekfest today at school and felt so inspired. Met a 19 year old whiz kid who builds interactive robots, saw a presentation on sustainable careers and an informative talk about the Ecobox. Did I mention I'm tired? I'm pretty sure I'm not even punctuating correctly.

Tomorrow I'm putting in some overtime at work...yay, money! And tying up loose ends. Hopefully tonight I will sleep. It's been a few weeks since I've had a good night's rest but a new medication offers promise. Yay, medication! zzzzzzz

Camping is so awesome

2009-11-08T16:55:00.010-05:00

We had a fabulous time. Usually after a couple of days away, I'm ready to come home. Not so, whilst camping. I'm sure I could have stayed a week.

We got off to a bit of a bumpy start, because the weather was too cold for Bean. Despite blankets and flannel sheets and an electric blanket, she was shivering. And Diesel is very skittish of unfamiliar noises, so we took both dogs home after one night, around 11am Saturday. We left them in the house with the door to the garage open, so they would have access to their doggie door.

I'm glad we decided to camp near by, because it gave us the option of bringing the dogs back. Had we gone further, we would have had to stick it out. Next time we will go somewhere warmer or will bring a coat and maybe booties (baby socks) for her. :) She's eight years old and Jase thinks the cold might make her bones ache.

We took a few pics upon arrival, although it was dark. Diesel immediately took to one of the "loft areas". I called it his "fort".

Jason quickly built a fire for us, and I discovered there's not much he likes more than making a camp fire. The man was loving it. And I was loving the warmth. The first night was very cold, dipping down into the lower 30s.

While he was making the fire, I started making dinner. Because I brought leftover Taco Soup, all I had to do was heat it up. I was glad to have something easy to make, since I was tired.

I learned that I needed to heat the soup to a really hot temperature, because the cool air cooled it very quickly. We ate, then hung out by the fire for a while. Then we hooked up the laptop to watch movies in bed. We watched Superbad, and I fell asleep about halfway through, as always. In the morning, we ate oatmeal and drank coffee and tea, then took the dogs home. Can you hear Bean in the following photo? She's saying, 'Seriously, can we go home now? This sucks.'

So we took them home. Then we went back to camp and made hamburgers for lunch.

I love the swing-out feature of the stove. It's nice to be able to cook outdoors. Kind of takes the drudgery out of it, not that it's drudgerous, but if there was any drudgery involved, the outdoors takes it away.

Then we figured out how to correctly install the slide-out beds. We had been doing it all wrong before, at the house. The proper installation created the best reading nook ever.

After about one day, I was finally able to relax. Relaxing is very hard for me. It's something I'm sure I will be good at by the time I'm 80 or so.

Jason relaxed too. He even got a little goofy.

This morning, I broke out the tripod to take some final photos. I have a very unsteady hand, so the tripod helps me immensely. I used the timer feature on the camera to take one of my favorite pictures of us ever captured.

I think it would make a great holiday card, maybe sent out for Thanksgiving rather than Christmas. And I'm going to put it on my desk at work, to help remind me of good times.

I'm ready to go camping again, this next weekend. I have already checked the weather and it looks good. There's a place close to us, McDowell Nature Preserve, and I'm going to check availability of camping spots tomorrow. I would love to take the camper down there Friday while Jase is at work, set it up, and get it ready for him to come "home" after work. I'm probably going to try to bribe him with a steak dinner. But, I may not need that steak because I think he likes camping as much as I do. Fantastic!

We're going camping!

2009-11-05T18:19:00.004-05:00

Inspector Taylor came out this morning at 830 as promised, and within an hour he had verified the VIN on our camper. It took a while because the thing is over 30 years old and people tend to paint over VIN numbers. As soon as he left I headed up to the DMV to get a tag. It went well, I was fortunate enough to have gotten a person who actually gives a crap, as opposed to the person I got yesterday, who would just as soon I stay at home, never get a tag, and never go camping.

Speaking of the word camping, I have decided we are going glamping, not camping.

And we're pretty much set. Terry the RV Mobile guy, who is totally awesome times a million, seriously hooked us up today, re-greasing the wheel bearings and checking the brakes. If anybody needs anything RV related, I'm sure going to give them Terry's number. The camper is good to go and street legal. I cannot wait to go!

I have prepared a menu and grocery list and will shop tomorrow. Then I will do all of my Statistics homework, pack and anxiously await our 4pm departure. Many pictures are forthcoming, I am sure. Have a great weekend!

More info on glamping here.

Good surprises

2009-11-04T19:22:00.002-05:00

We have been stressing about finding material to support the beds in the camper. We didn't find the supports when cleaning out the camper and the previous owner said he had never seen them, so we were pretty sure they were MIA. Then today I read the owner's manual, cover to cover. It talked about an itty bitty compartment at the rear corner of the camper. That was where the poles were supposed to be. Even though we had checked the camper out pretty well both before we bought it and after we got it home, neither one of us saw this tiny compartment, that has a three inch cover. Tonight I got home and took a look. It was right under our noses the whole time. A little bitty compartment, in the rear of the camper. The cover took some convincing to come unscrewed, but when I removed it, I saw the glorious support poles. Awesome.

Things seem to be falling into place with this camper. I'm hoping (maybe praying?) tonight that tomorrow will go well, when the inspector and mechanic are here to look at it. After they leave, hopefully, I will be on my way to the DMV to get a tag. When I get an "all clear" from the DMV, it will be OK to say WE ARE GOING CAMPING!!!!! Statistics class is from 6-815pm, then I will officially be on vacation. I will spend Friday morning packing, refilling the LP tank and flushing the water system. And dreaming about our maiden voyage. I can't wait!!!!!!!!!

The To Do List gets a little longer

2009-11-03T11:47:00.003-05:00

Turns out the camper is so old, it only has a 15 digit VIN number. Cars, trucks, campers etc. nowadays have 17 or 18. Sooooo, the DMV has to have an inspector come out to our house to verify the VIN. Not sure how long this will take, probably a few days for the appointment and ten minutes for the actual appointment. Then I have to go back (yes, I went to the DMV this morning to find all of this out, even though I called on the phone before and they said I was good to go) to the tag office to apply for the tag. I'm thinking our chances of getting to go this weekend are about 50%. But I'm hopeful. I really want to go!

Oh, and Jason ran in to a mechanic while getting the light adapter today. The guy mentioned that the type of adapter we need indicates that the camper has electric brakes. So now those are on the list of things for the RV Mobile mechanic to look at Thursday. Hopefully we won't end up spending hundreds of dollars. I'm hoping less than $200 total.

Last but not least, my school is having GeekFest next Thursday. I can't wait! Lord knows I love to hang out with my kind. Yes, I'm a geek and proud.

One lecture in particular has me excited: EcoBox

Here's the lecture description: ECObox: Building a Portable Sustaining Livable Habitat

The EcoBox is a self-contained environmentally sustainable workshop built from a standard shipping container. The workshop comfortably accommodates two people for extended periods, and include all energy needs and waste disposal without connections to outside systems, excepting sunshine and rain. This project is a leap towards a truly sustainable design.

I am better

2009-11-02T20:12:00.002-05:00

Thank god. I was getting a little worried that I had Mono or something. I no longer think I do.

So we're getting ready to go camping in our "new" camper this weekend, on a maiden voyage. Probably going to a park in South Carolina since it's a little warmer there. We have lots to do before we can go:

Tag for the trailer - me, tomorrow at the DMV

Wheels and bearings checked - Terry is coming over Thursday

Adapter for the lights - Jason is getting tomorrow

Metal conduit for bed supports - Jason is getting tomorrow

Find a dog-sitter - Jason is researching tomorrow

Yes, we're going sans dogs. This is because they are a pain in the butt to take care of, and god forbid if something should happen we do not need to take care of the problem AND the dogs. Plus it will be more romantic. Bow-chica-bow-wow. It is a 1970s camper, after all; what did you expect?

When will the sickness end, part 2

2009-10-31T15:35:00.002-04:00

I am still sick. I slept 14 hours last night and I could go right back to bed now, after only having been up for four hours. I'm not deathly ill, just very tired and worn out with a sore throat. I'm starting to think I could have mononucleosis or something. I have never been sick for this long, at least not that I can remember. I'm calling my doctor back Monday.

Since I'm sick, I can't go to my friend Jen's Halloweenie Roast. I am seriously bummed. I bought a piggie "hat" to wear, and I was going to wrap myself up in a blanket. I was going to be a Pig in a Blanket. Get it?

This picture I took earlier this week, when I was starting to feel better:

Time Warner Jerks

2009-10-30T15:36:00.002-04:00

So I get our Time Warner Cable bill in the mail, for our internet. We use them only for internet and have DirecTV for television. We have always paid $49.95 per month, which I think is high. So the bill this month is for $54.95. Under the total due amount, it says the following:

"Thank you for the prompt payment to your account. Please let us know how we can serve you better. Effective with your current bill, the monthly price for your Internet service will increase $5.00 per month."

What the hell?? Can they do this, meaning just up and decide that with no notice our bill is 10% higher? Yes, it's only $5 but's it's 10% our bill! They should at least have to give a 30 day notice for something like this. I love my internet but I HATE paying for it. It seems like something everyone should have access to, with just a minimal monthly charge. Or maybe tax us for it or something.

Does everyone pay this much for internet? Are there other options that you know of? The service I pay for must be pretty reliable and must be faster than dial up. We don't even have a home phone so dial up would be out of the question anyway. Ideas? Options?

Camper curtains

2009-10-30T15:28:00.004-04:00

My original plan was to discard the old green curtains, because they were really stained, full of dust and smelled really bad. It dawned on me that I could at least try to wash them first, and if they fell apart I would just throw them out. I used my ordinary detergent and added some Borax. It took two washes with a 15 minute soak in between, but they actually came clean. I was pretty shocked. So I re-installed the window curtains and just made new curtains for the sleeping areas with some old drapes I found at Goodwill. I lopped off the tops, cut them in half length wise, hemmed the sides and the tops and hand sewed the hardware on. They look great and really make the sleeping areas more inviting. Plus they're lined with blackout fabric, so when we camp in the Summer the sun won't wake us up at 6:30am. The dogs will wake us up, but not the sun.

On the mend

2009-10-30T08:42:00.005-04:00

Okay, as long as I take a 12-hour Mucinex every 12 hours, I feel great. When it wears off I sound like an 80 year old woman who has chain smoked Camels for 50 years. Now somebody go get me some because I'm out of it.

Happy Friday!!!!

Oh, and in case you aren't one of the 5 million people who have already seen this. Mancold:

Le Camper is Clean

2009-10-29T16:27:00.010-04:00

During the cleaning:And look what was in the drawer: the original owner's manual. Awesome!
The drawers are plastic with wood fronts, so I scrubbed them out really good.

On the inside, it's as clean as it's probably been in 20 years. I swept, scrubbed, vaccuumed and deodorized it this morning. Took about 4 hours. I then had a nap, studied and now I'm getting ready to go take my Stats test. A productive day, I would say. And much better than being at work.

Prepare yourself to be wowed. Are you ready?

The living area side:

The bedroom area side:

And this is what the inside looks like when the kitchen is swung outside. It frees up valuable floor real estate.

Pretty nifty, I think. I even put non-skid material in the bottoms of the drawers and stocked it with the stuff I've been buying at thrift stores and IKEA.

Now it just needs a few more things before we can take it out:

tires need air

wheel bearings need to be inspected and repacked if necessary

the hitch connection thingy needs to be oiled

we need to find or make bed supports

the gas line needs to be checked

we need to figure out how to get the water tank out and flush it

needs a tag and the title changed to my name

This doesn't need to be done for the first trip, but I would love to replace two of the clear vinyl windows that are extremely damaged. I'm sure I can sew something once I find the "fabric". Jason said a marine shop might have it, but it's expensive, at about $20 a yard, and I need about four yards. So it might have to wait.

Off to class!

TGIW

2009-10-28T19:53:00.005-04:00

TGIW= Thank goodness it's Wednesday (Wednesday is my Friday)

My voice is better. Ninety percent, which is ahead of schedule. We opened the camper tonight and it has an issue: the piece that connects the canvas to the roof has come undone. It's obviously been repaired once before, evidenced by the two holes per each screw, in the header. I offered to Liquidnail it and Jason said we need to make it more permanent. What's more permanent than Liquidnail, I ask? Seriously, it's permanent.

I'm getting some rest tonight. Tomorrow I will clean the camper in the morning, maybe take a nap, study in the afternoon for a Statistics test, take said test at 6pm, then come home to rest some more. I'm still fighting off "the creeping crud", as my dad would call it.

I'm itching to camp. Especially since reading today that many campgrounds in NC close at the end of November, due to the cold. Pah-lease. Cold schmold. I'm from Kansas, and an NC December is like a Kansas October. Open up, campground babies!

I can't sing but I can talk

2009-10-27T20:50:00.003-04:00

Thankfully. I was getting a little worried. It's just not like me to be sick for six days, especially "sick" sick, as in: in the bed, under the covers, calling in sick, sleeping and eating soup. Today I worked a half day and it seemed very long but I made it. Then I had class and cut out early because the instructor was reviewing stuff I already understand. Now I'm home, eating pizza that Jason made for us, getting ready to take some more Mucinex and Cherratussin and Aleve. Tomorrow I should be 75% and Thursday (time to work on the camper!) I should be 90%.

Expect some pics soon of the camper interior, once I get in there to clean it. Man, I can't wait to get in there to clean it. It is, no joke, the single thing that has helped me drift off to sleep at night over the last week. I just think, camper...outside...nature...relaxing...puts me right to sleep. Well, that and a shot of Nyquil.

Sweet dreams.

I still have no voice

2009-10-27T07:27:00.002-04:00

This is the fourth day and it's starting to piss me off. Not much sound comes out when I try to talk, but when it does, it sounds like a donkey with laryngitis.

I need to get better for my friends Jen and Jon's Halloweenie Roast this Saturday. And to work on the camper.

Hello, Starcraft Galaxy Swinger, it's nice to meet you

2009-10-25T18:23:00.006-04:00

I am Jen and we're going to be spending a lot of time together. I know we just met, but I already think I love you. Is that weird? For a girl to love a camper she just met? I don't think so either. *sigh* We're meant for each other.

Today we learned that you are 32 years old but have spent much of your life just sitting around. I usually don't like to hang out with the younger set, but you seem wise beyond your years, even though you have probably only been to a few different places, like Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. You have a swing-out table that I didn't know about until we got you home. It's so groovy. I can't wait to serve a meal on it. Do you have any favorite foods? Maybe avocado?

We got to really check you out once you were home safe, in the garage. We swung out your kitchen for inspection, cleaned it up a bit, and tried to figure out how to get your water collection tank out. Then we decided to get really bold and test your power supply. Because we brought you home for such a deal, we weren't sure anything, including your gas or power was still operational. We brought you home "as is" and that's how we will always love you...just as you are.

We decided that we hit the lottery, because all of the electric things on you that are supposed to work, do indeed work. Your interior outlets, interior lights, kitchen light (wait until other people see how cute this is) and exterior outlets all work! We're not sure if your gas works, but I bet it does. Mine works too, regularly-another thing we will have in common.

Wednesday night of this week, we're going to take a stab at perturbing our neighbors by taking you out into the driveway and raising your roof. We're only allowed to leave you out for two days at a time, according to our HOA bylaws, so we will need to put you back in the gargage this weekend. But I promise you will be back outside next week. And hopefully, if all goes well, me, you, Jase and the dogs will all be on the road to our first date within a month. I will be counting the days.

xoxoxo

The camper has arrived

2009-10-25T15:06:00.003-04:00

It is safely in our garage, ready for me to feel better so I can work on it.

Already we found an unexpected surprise: a swing-out table, to go along with the swing-out kitchen. It's dirty, but appears barely used. We also noticed the name is a Starcraft Galaxy Swinger, rather than a Stardust Swinger. Both names are pretty groovy, baby. Does this mean that we are Galaxy Swingers? Hilarious to me right now, but maybe it's the cold medicine.

When will the sickness end?

2009-10-25T11:13:00.002-04:00

Today I feel pretty good. My throat is much better and the scratchiness is mostly gone. The problem? I have no voice. Literally. When I try to speak, no sound comes out, except for a whisper-like noise. Not sure what to do about this, considering I'm supposed to be a receptionist tomorrow at 830am. Hopefully I will wake up 100% better tomorrow. *fingers crossed*

On a totally different note, guess what? We pick up the camper today!

Still sick but getting better

2009-10-24T08:48:00.002-04:00

I think. My skin no longer hurts and my throat isn't quite as sore but I'm developing a nasty chest-originated cough. And I've traded some sore throat relief for a scratchy, tickly feeling throat. Although 90% of the time when I get sick I fall hard, sleep for two days straight then I'm back to normal, this feels like one of those viruses that tends to stick around for a while.

Jason's mom leaves tomorrow morning and I feel so bad that I've been nearly 100% antisocial during her visit. But the last thing I wanted to do was give it to her. I'm even sleeping as far as possible from Jason in the bed. And he's helping me by staying on his side, for a change. (He hogs the bed.)

I'm having some oatmeal and getting back in bed for now. I'm hoping later today I will feel well enough to at least be up and around.

Sick

2009-10-22T16:55:00.002-04:00

I went to bed last night with a sore throat and woke in the middle of the night with a horribly sore throat, achy skin and with a headache. Convinced I had H1N1, I hightailed it to the doctor this morning to find out I have a virus. He doesn't think it's H1N1, but it could be the flu. Basically all I can do is take Aleve, remain hydrated and sleep. I'm following doctor's orders so that I'm well on Sunday when it's time to get the camper. I feel really bad being 100% antisocial while Jason's mom is here but I also don't want to get her (or him) sick.

I slept about six hours today and after I work on Stats homework online I'm going back to sleep. I'm going to wish really hard that I wake tomorrow feeling better. Any improvement will be welcome. Damn germs.

Follow up on the school front

2009-10-21T17:30:00.003-04:00

Since dropping Chemistry, school is going well. I have a 95.5 average in Statistics and a B average in Geography. Geography is really Meteorology and boring as hell but it's another four credits towards my degree. I'm hoping to eek out an A in GEO by spending more time on the chapter tests; a couple of C's have really brought my grade down.

I'm still not sure what direction to take my career in, but I'm not really worried about it either. I'm focusing on enjoying life right now, really for the first time in my life. And I feel pretty balanced, with a part time work schedule and 8 hours of classes. I'm doing more of what I like than I ever have. The balanced schedule means more time for fun things like volunteering, gardening, cooking, reading and hiking. Working out still needs to be fit into the equation but it's not something I really like. However, I don't really like being fat either so I better get on that.

Jason's mother is here, downstairs, as we speak, so I need to get down there and host. I really want to stay on the internet and read but I don't want to start her trip off by being antisocial. So here goes.

T minus 4 days until we pick up the camper

2009-10-21T17:18:00.006-04:00

Until then, I'm spending a lot of time exploring thrift stores to furnish the thing. Today I spent my lunch hour at one. This is what I bought yesterday: two vintage towels and five melamine coffee cups.

Today I hit the jackpot. A full set of Corelle dinner plates, salad plates and dessert plates, in the Crazy Daisies pattern. And one bowl. For $8. Now I just need three more bowls. And I love the pattern. The name...the color...the everything.

Accessories for the camper

2009-10-20T21:24:00.003-04:00

After running errands this morning (dentist!), I had about an hour to kill before going to work. Naturally, I went to a couple of thrift stores to find vintage stuff for the new camper. The cool thing about finding items from the 1970s to use is that they are cheap! I bought a goldenrod colored pitcher, the kind you make your Kool-aid in, for 95 cents; four very dark brown coffee cups for 25 cents each; blackout fabric to make the new interior curtains out of for $25; an older but perfectly good set of steak knives and cooking knives for $5.

I really wanted to use Corelle dishes in the Butterfly Gold pattern or Woodland Brown pattern, but they're a little more than I wanted to spend. I like the Corelle because it's lightweight, easy to clean and nearly indestructible. I also love that it reminds me of eating meals at my grandma's house. We may have to make do with whatever I find and work on collecting a set.

I also bought a couple of "definitely from the 70s" towels, very soft from lots of washings, in orange, yellow and brown. They were a quarter each. How can you not love shopping at thrift stores? I mean, candy out of the kids vending machines at the grocery store is more than a quarter. We're going to use linens we already own for the bed, and ditto for bath towels. It doesn't have a shower but we will only be staying at campgrounds with hot showers, thankyouverymuch.

We pick the camper up this Sunday, and I'm sure I will spend every moment the remainder of the day cleaning and fawning over it. And taking pictures, of course.

I'm hoping once it's road ready that we can invite some friends to meet us at some park somewhere for a "camper warming". Seems like a fun way to get some people together.

I'm getting a camper!

2009-10-19T19:04:00.006-04:00

I'm getting a camper! I'm getting a camper! I'm getting a camper!

I'm so excited that if I was able to do cartwheels without injuring myself I would.

I've decided to run with the 1970s theme and furnish it accordingly:

Meant to be!

2009-10-18T16:27:00.007-04:00

I think we have found a camper. It's a 1977 Starcraft Stardust Swinger. I love it. It's big, when it's folded out, it's a price we can afford, and it's in good condition. The exterior looks good and the interior is avocado green. Jason is not thrilled with the avocado but I love the retro nature of it.

It probably needs new tires because it's been sitting for a while, and needs a good cleaning, but there's no water damage or mildew and the guy selling it is a good, honest fellow. He reminded me of my grandpa. It also could use some new curtains inside. They would be easy to sew and the hardware is all intact. The existing ones are a little stained and sad looking. I would find some neat fabric and make new ones, as soon as the budget allowed.

The unit appears to be hardly used, even though it's over 30 years old. The foam cushions are in great shape and don't need any work, along with the foam mattresses. We may upgrade the foam on the beds when our budget allows--foam is really expensive. The linoleum floor also looks original and is intact and in great condition. I would love to keep it as original as possible. The two-burner gas stove and sink are inside but swing out, so that cooking can be done outside. Hence the name. The trailer is wired and has 110 volt outlets, has a propane tank for cooking and a tank for water. There's no toilet or shower but neither was on my wish list. Basically it's the camper I have been looking for.

In the picture below, we flipped both mattresses over to make sure there wasn't any water damage on the fold out parts. The mattresses are covered in the same fabric as the benches. The dining table pops right out of the floor and stores away.

I know I'm going to be dreaming of this thing until it's sitting in our garage.

Not meant to be

2009-10-18T12:48:00.002-04:00

The camper we looked at this morning was in much worse condition that it was described. I was so in love with the idea of getting a camper to restore that I actually was considering it, but Jason just kept shaking his head. Good thing for him, because I probably would have paid the guy. Honestly even though it was only $150 it should probably go to the dump.

Metal house, metal camper...same thing

2009-10-17T19:28:00.006-04:00

I found a camper tonight online that we're going to look at tomorrow at 8am in Gastonia, about 30 minutes from here. It's $150 and it's just a shell, which to me is better than a complete camper that has to have the insides ripped out before moving forward. The guy says it's structurally sound, other than the leaky roof, and I'm ready to buy it, as long as the wood on the inside isn't damaged.

The owner is a brusk man who likes to speak in incomplete sentences via email. He "does not want any BS". He doesn't know the make, model, approximate year or anything else about the camper. He just wants to sell it. I think it's a Shasta 1950s or 1960s model camper. Jason's not too happy about it, but we're getting up very early tomorrow.

Call me crazy, but I'm hoping to turn our camper into something like this:

More pictures are available here.

Metal house

2009-10-17T09:43:00.006-04:00

So I was finally able to get some good info on how to build a metal house to live in, similar to the gallery we visited up in the mountains a few weeks ago.

What we both liked about the gallery was the beautiful dark red metal exterior walls, interior heated concrete floors, and sparsely fixtured interior. It also had lots of huge windows and double sliding doors. So I set out to find out how someone could build something similar, to live in.

I found out the construction process goes in this order:

find land

if land has been developed (water, electric, etc has been run to the site), get permit

if land has not been developed, the utilities must be run to the site, then a permit is applied for

pour slab

drains, plumbing, electric are brought through the slab

erect the building along with the roof

install windows and doors

work on interior

Just knowing the order of construction helps me feel more comfortable with the whole process. I still have lots of questions, such as what is involved in getting a construction loan. But the whole idea of building our own house, especially getting to work on it myself, really intrigues me. I can totally imagine moving in, to spend my days installing cabinetry and lighting, and tiling the bathroom. I loved remodeling our old kitchen and I know this is a much bigger project, but it sounds like so much fun.

Old kitchen before and after: before, typical mid 1970s nastiness.

Jason is giving "the finger" to the floor in the next pic, because the tile had been laid with about an inch of mortar under it. I would hit a tile as hard as I could with a sledgehammer, and it still wouldn't budge. It took him about four hours of extremely hard work to get it all up. Luckily we didn't have to replace the subfloor.

And the after:

I loved this project. We tore up the old ceramic floor (I needed help with this) then laid large vinyl tiles that look like slate. I wanted real slate but it wasn't in our budget. The vinyl was actually really nice, because it hid dirt well and could be completely sanitized after the dogs would track in crud from outside.

After the flooring, I was on my own. I sanded the cabinet frames and doors down to the wood, stained and sealed them, added new pull and hinge hardware, under counter lighting (hard wired!) and tracks to the drawers. The drawers weren't on tracks previously, just wood rubbing against wood, making them very hard to open.

I installed a new range hood, new slate backsplash and painted the walls.

I ordered a Corian countertop, my one big splurge, with a huge sink. Found a fabulous european faucet online for 1/3 the cost at Home Depot, installed it, caulked around the counter, then almost cried because I was so proud of myself.

I had really wanted an appliance garage louvered door to cover the area where the microwave and toaster oven site, but the kits were hundreds of dollars. For a kit!

So anyway, I love to make stuff. And I really want to make a house.

Thrift store find

2009-10-17T02:31:00.003-04:00

I found an awesome new thrift store today. They had a whole section of vintage Tupperware and I almost went crazy trying to pick out which pieces to bring home. I've seen Tupperware sections at antique stores but it's usually over priced. These pieces were between 75 cents and a dollar. I got so excited when I found them the people around me will probably go home to tell their neighbors about the "crazy white woman and her Tupperware".

These are by far my favorite find: parfait cups. With lids. For 75 cents each. In fabulous condition. When Jason saw them, even he went a little nuts over them. They're the coolest things ever and I'm going to the store tomorrow just to buy pudding. And milk. Swoon.

I also purchased one of the old school bright red hard plastic bowl with starburst style lid. It was a splurge at $2.99 but worth it. This store is now on my to-frequent list.

Is the font too small or am I just getting old?

2009-10-13T09:41:00.002-04:00

I'm going with "too small". Now it's bigger. Don't you wish everything was as easy to fix as font size?

The treehouse from hell

2009-10-12T17:10:00.009-04:00

This is the rental page that describes the cabin where we stayed over Labor Day weekend for Jase's birthday this year. Looks great, right?

We thought so too. Until we got there.

What hit us as soon as we entered was the heavy smell of mildew. A dehumidifier was on full blast and maybe it had helped but anyone with asthma or a breathing issue of any kind could not have stayed there. We both had sore throats and runny noses after being there just a few hours. But we stuck it out. We were there to have fun and by golly we were going to have fun!

So we laughed off the disgusting, dirty and dank dark green carpet.

And we laughed off the lack of a shower curtain. And the rotten apples, placed for us by our gracious host, for our enjoyment. Seriously, the apples were 100% rotten.

We stayed outside as much as we could, on the deck, which was surrounded by poison oak and sumac.

We wished we could have seen the beautiful rock outcroppings at night, but the "extensive exterior lighting system" was not working. It was just dark. Real dark. So be sure you get home before dark, unless you want to fall down the unlit 25 steps to the house. And watch out for the poison plants, in that dark.

The kitchen was the nicest part of the place. It indeed had stainless appliances. But it also had dirty dishes and silverware in the drawers and cabinets. The coffee maker had been used to make coffee some days past, but still had coffee and an old filter still moist. I'm guessing the humidity of the place preserved it. But don't look under the sink, I'm sure there's more than one "something" living in there:

The smell of humidity was so bad that it actually woke me up at night. In the middle of the night I would awake and feel a little nauseous. It was the smell. We even brought our own linens, but the smell permeated the sheet I held so tightly to my face.

We laughed off all of the nastiness of this place, until the morning of our departure, when we decided it was finally OK to talk about how bad it was. Finally we both felt like we had had our good time, and now it was time to crucify this place. As we packed, we remarked at the atrocities of the cabin. And we took photos. Then, Jase found this:

It's a note left by a previous guest, for the owner. Along with some incense and air freshener. Why the owner kept it in the closet for someone to later find baffles me, but Jase found it as we packed and we immediately had a laugh fest.

This is what it says:

"4 1/2 out of 10 stars. We had to buy: bar soap, hangers, incense to cover up the really bad mildew smell. Carpet could use a good cleaning. Left incense and deodorizer for next guest to use. I would not rent this unit out as it is. We spent two days trying to cover it up to make it tolerable. PS: thanks for allowing us to watch TV.

Oh yeah I forgot to mention there was a TV but no basic cable, no nothing but snow TV. There was one DVD movie, I think it was Saw 3. Nice. I would think for $150 a night the place would have basic cable, but that's just me I guess.

So we're looking for a camper. Labor Day weekend was the last time I spend over $100 a night to sleep in a crappy place. Sleeping in my own crappy place on wheels will be much better. :)

Then I left a note for the owner, along with the "old note" and "accessories". My note was nicer and just reiterated that the mildew issue really should be taken care of before it's rented again. But it doesn't look like he has heeded my advice, because the place is still for rent, now for $150/night!

Popup camper shopping

2009-10-12T16:55:00.003-04:00

I've been scouring the internet over the last three or four months, looking for a popup camper that's in bad enough shape that we can actually afford it. Last night I added an ad to Craigslist and Freecycle and today received a reply with a promise to send pics later this week.

This is all I know about it so far, and it must be in really bad shape to be on the market for under $200:

sleeps six

working stove

working ice box (I'm wondering if it really needs ice or if that's just what the guy calls it)

mid 1970's Starcraft model

working dining room table

If it's in good condition structurally, this will be my new fix-up project. In addition to the kitchens, of course. I'm rediscovering how much I love to hang out in the garage and make stuff. The camper will provide a way for us to travel out to the mountains with the dogs and not spend an arm and a leg on lodging. Last time we went we spent $100/night on a really crappy place. Come to think of it, I never wrote a post about that weekend. I need to do that. The place where we stayed was bad. Real bad.

Going to a party!

2009-10-10T18:33:00.003-04:00

This is the first time I've gotten gussied up in a while. I'm excited to get out and meet some new people, and to do something that's not associated with work, school or The Raptor Center. I even bought a new BCBG dress, on sale for $32 at Dillard's, and I'm wearing leggings under it since it should be cool out and since the sales ladies told me "that's the style". I really think the outfit needs flat boots but since I don't have any I'm wearing black wedge heels, which look OK, just not as comfortable as flats. I tried ballerina flats but the look was too "ballerina dance-y" with the wrap dress.

Take a good look because although I've lost 16 pounds over the course of the last 9 months, I'm getting my tail back into the gym this week. I've been on hiatus on account of school and I want to lose ten more pounds, before the holidays, and I'm going to do it!

Reception=leading indicator

2009-10-07T18:34:00.003-04:00

Work is really crazy right now. I can only hope the incoming call and visitor volume is a leading indicator of good things to come, like beating earnings expectations. Seriously, the volume is about five times that of just a couple of months ago. Some days I count the incoming calls and visitors, and it was about 55 and 26 respectively back in July. Monday of this week we had 355 deposits. A lot of them were good sized, in the $300,000 and up range. And today we had 127 calls and 52 visitors. That's more than April 15th, which is notoriously the busiest day of the year.

The good news is, I think things are starting to turn around. The bad news is, the stock market is one of the first things to turn around. Everything else, including employment figures, takes longer. The question is: how long?

Everyone in a support role at our office is overwhelmed. That happens when 25% of the staff is laid off and the rest are left to hold it together. I'm hoping hiring will start towards the end of this year, and when I say hiring I mean support personnel, not more rookie brokers, like the company has already started hiring. Yeah, they're hiring more brokers to saunter in around nine, sit in cubicles to study for the Series 7 exam while the other people who actually "earn" their paycheck are struggling to be able to get away from their cubicle for a pee break. It's the way it is and I'm afraid it's the way it will always be. And it's one of the reasons I'm in school.

Update from a fairly balanced life

2009-10-06T08:50:00.003-04:00

I just realized I haven't posted about the Raptor Center in a while. The kitchens kind of took over, but I am still volunteering at the center every other Sunday. I have gotten very proficient at grabbing the birds for their treatments, and I'm starting to learn how to give sub Q (subcutaneous) fluids, force feed and give meds PO (orally). Last time I was there I got to show a newer staff member who had never grabbed a vulture how to do it. It was cool to know that I have progressed enough to show other people how to do tasks.

I'm getting a little bored though, and I'm looking for another place to volunteer, more specifically at a farm. I really like animals like goats, cows, chickens and sheep. I'm not sure why because I've never been around them other than at a petting zoo, but they really interest me. A friend referred me to an equine vet and I'm going to call her today to see if she knows of anything available. I'm not really into horses but I would take some time to learn more about them if given the chance. Truth is they scare me a little. Not as much as ostriches do though. Shudder, ostriches.

The Play Kitchens now have their own site

2009-10-03T13:22:00.004-04:00

Check it out when you get a chance.

Play Kitchen Pics

2009-09-30T07:20:00.005-04:00

The play kitchens are still in the works. As Jase predicted, they are taking a lot longer to make than I estimated. But I'm having a blast working on them. Here are some preliminary pictures. Hopefully they will be complete by the end of this weekend and I can show them off! Better pictures and descriptions to follow.

Kitchen #1 before and during it's "renovation":

Kitchen #2:

Play Kitchen Fun

2009-09-27T19:53:00.003-04:00

I love making stuff. Baking, cooking, painting, ceramics, writing, collage, woodworking, sewing, crafting, etc. I've often said my dream is to make a living "making stuff". The problem is I'm not really great at the aforementioned hobbies. I'm just OK, and OK isn't good enough to sell stuff, usually. No one will buy a cross stitched tea towel, for example, if the stitches aren't nearly perfect. A majority of the reason I believe I'm not really good at crafts and stuff is because I'm impatient and a little OCD. Nothing it more tedious to me than spending hours on one little piece of a project. I would much rather spend a few minutes sewing, then a few sanding wood, then some painting then...you get the picture. Working on an assembly line would make me insane in about an hour.

I think I've found my new favorite hobby. It's making play kitchens out of old entertainment centers. My friend Jen's sister-in-law Erin made one and posted it on her blog. I thought it was simply brilliant, so I set out to find an old cabinet and some materials to complete the project, for cheap. Found the cabinet for $10 at Goodwill, and spent another $20 between a salvage place and a Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Spent another six bucks at Home Depot for some foam rollers and tape. I have about another $25 dollars I need to spend, on a "sink", some fabric, some hardware and more foam rollers. The total cost should be about $55.

Since starting my project last week, I have spent nearly every discretionary minute working on my kitchen. Actually, it's plural: kitchens, because I went crazy and bought two entertainment centers since they were so cheap. I'm excited to post pics but I'm less than half way done with each kitchen. But I'm having a great time designing and putting together my little kitchens mostly from stuff I have on hand. And it beats Chemistry any day. :)

I'm not quite sure what to do with these kitchens. Sell them? Donate them? One of my friends who has a little girl has said she will buy one for her girl's birthday in January. And there are lots of charity events in the fall where I could donate to a silent auction. But I could really really use some extra money so Jase and I can have a Christmas this year, so maybe I could make and sell a few. Although I have no idea what to charge. Not a clue. But since I've gone part time and Jase has taken a pay cut, we're in deficit each month and Christmas is going to be paltry, as in homemade cards and IOU coupon books, without some added income.

I will post some pics when the kitchens get closer to being finished. In the meantime, I'm loving my new projects.

Bad bumpersticker - Charlotte NC

2009-09-26T08:31:00.005-04:00

I saw a truck yesterday with signs all over it for "So-and-so's Martial Arts Academy". Then on the lower left bumper, a sticker:

My kid made your honor student tap out.

My immediate thoughts:

1. I'm sure he's a great parent, always supportive of any hobby or interest his child wants to try, including art classes or reading, right? Right.

2. The sticker and people like this make me nauseous.

3. I'm glad I didn't follow my childhood career aspiration of being a teacher because I would have to deal with parents like this. It would not be good for my blood pressure.

4. Sports are so good for kids; let them learn and play and compete but keep the "bully aspect" out of it.

5. I wonder how much the guy driving the truck resembles this fella from Karate Kid:

I dropped Chemistry

2009-09-22T10:08:00.004-04:00

It's been a very hard decision to make, but after all the work I've done my grade is still in the 40s. The last day to drop is this Friday. I could maybe eek out a C but if I don't, it's not worth wrecking my GPA over it. I will take it again next semester with a different teacher. Since I now have a bit of a base I'm sure I will do much better. I plan on continuing to work on the material over the next few weeks.

I slept so well last night after making the decision. Best sleep I've had since I started the class.

Now that I'm only taking 8 hours of class and working 17, I will have so much more time to do stuff! Good stuff, like working out, going to the park, volunteering at CRC and exploring career options. I also need to look for an internship/part time job for winter break. I'm hoping to get into a Veterinary Hospital near by, Carolina Veterinary Specialists. They have over 30 board certified veterinary specialists. To get board certified a Vet needs an additional 2-4 years of school after vet medical, which means specialists have a total of up to ten years of education. An amazing amount of knowledge and talent is under one roof at CVS. I would be honored to work as a part time receptionist or kennel assistant.

I also would like to finish up at The Raptor Center. I will have 100 hours in a few weeks and would like to take a break for a while. Because it's a 40 minute drive from home it really eats up my time. I need something closer. I would love to find something on a farm but I'm not sure where to begin. There are some Belted Galloway cows down the road from here and another place with goats. I'm wondering if I could just stop by there and ask if they need any help. I love the cows, they make me smile whenever I drive by.

Sharing CRC

2009-09-20T19:33:00.006-04:00

I shared it with Jase, a girlfriend of mine from work and her three year old daughter, and a friend of Jason's.

I was nervous, giving my first "tour" of the place, I'm not sure why. Maybe because I wanted CRC to live up to the expectations of them as much as it does to mine. I'm not sure that's even possible, now that I think of it. While they all had a good time, I really feel like I enjoy being with the animals on a different level. No better or worse, just different.

It felt neat to be able to take them through the woods, stopping at enclosures to talk about the different birds. I surprised myself a little by how much I have learned in just a few months. Jason took a few pictures, and his friend with the paparazzi lens, as Shan called it, will be posted soon.

Lazy Saturdays in the park rock!

2009-09-20T11:17:00.004-04:00

Since the weather has cooled down a bit, we can finally spend some time at McDowell Park. There are great little picnic areas with grills tucked in the forest, accessible only by foot trails. It makes for a great peaceful environment to hang out, read, and make and eat dinner. Last weekend we took the dogs to the park to hike, then decided we should really go home, get some provisions, and grill out.

The flames only lasted about 30 seconds after dousing the charcoal with lighter fluid. Mmm, lighter fluid, the new condiment.

We had fun despite the "old charcoal" Jase was blaming it all on.

We ended up tossing the meat into the woods for the raptors. Our "gross" is a raptor's "nom nom nom".

We hit Five Guys (best burgers in Charlotte) on the way home. Overall, we had a blast, especially making fun of Jase's inability to get the grill going. Good times.

I really wanted to go back this weekend but yard work and Chemistry are keeping me home. Good news: the yard looks great and I'm starting to understand some of the basic concepts that alluded me. Thank you, YouTube Chemistry videos!

A realtor is coming over tomorrow to talk about putting our house on the market. We really need to lower our monthly expenses and renting or buying a much smaller place would help tremendously.

Wear hooker shoes to get ahead?

2009-09-14T17:22:00.006-04:00

So I used to work with this girl who wore these shoes to work. I'm not saying she wore them on occasion, I'm saying she wore them every single day. At a financial services company. She had a pair in black, white, and *shudder* red.

The women at the company had no respect for her, because of the shoes. But there were no women in power at this company; all of the higher ups were male.

The men at the company had no respect for her, because of the shoes, but they were always very nice to her, never challenging her opinion or giving her a ton of work with a short deadline. So she appeared like a *superstar employee*, because it's easy to be seen as really really good when you only have two things that take 5 minutes to do during the course of a day.

One Tuesday afternoon, I remarked to one of the board members of the company, a man, who I had a close friendship with, "Does she just not get it?" He replied, "Oh, she gets it.", meaning she understands what men like and how to give it to them. I remember the conversation today, nine years later, because it was such a bizarre moment. I was floored.

I left that company about three months later.

Shuffle forward a few years, and this is one of the styles I have seen worn around the office. They're patent leather, and six inches high with a platform at the toe. They are definitely more conservative than the hooker shoes of yore, but are they appropriate?

I personally don't think they are, mostly because if you wear something that is an obvious distraction, it's inappropriate in the workplace. It doesn't matter if it's a pair of shoes or a tie or a hair style. And if financial advisors are gabbing about your shoe choice-of-the-day at lunch with their buddies, it's a distraction. But guess what? The people who wear these shoes don't get laid off. Even though some of them might be poor performers, they don't get laid off. So I'm wondering, am I the idiot, for not wearing them?

My newest obsession - the modern home

2009-09-13T11:05:00.006-04:00

I want to live in a very modern, 1200 square foot home with concrete floors in the mountains. Something like the dwelling pictured above, but larger. It won't need A/C because I can do without it in the mountain air. It will feature the following:

one kitchen, with IKEA cabinetry

1.5 baths, one with a large walk-in shower, maybe a small Japanese soaking tub

lots of windows

metal exterior in dark brown or dark red

interior walls covered in drywall

back deck

wood stove for heat

ceiling fans

two bedrooms

one big, open kitchen and living area

The modern prefab homes we have found cost between $115 and $180/square foot, and that's not including the land and in some cases, foundation. Basically it's totally out of our price range.

While visiting Boone last weekend, I found a place that I loved. It was an art gallery and I was ready to move in. This is it:

It's a metal building that has been upfitted with drywall, concrete floors, and nice windows and doors. It's exactly what I want, minus the kitchen and bathrooms. I wish I would have taken some shots of the interior.

So I have started to do some research and I think we could build one on a piece of land for as little as $70,000. I'm going to call the gallery today to see if they can offer any input. I'm more than willing to put in a ton of sweat equity to be able to live in a place like this. I'm just not sure where to start: do I look for land first? Find a manufacturer of metal buildings? Try to come up with a floorplan? Look for financing? Research building codes? It's way out of my scope of expertise. I know how to estimate the cost, for the most part, from my insurance adjuster days. But I've only estimated repair and not new construction. As an example, I have no idea what a foundation costs, or what it costs to run plumbing. And for that matter, I have seen some lots advertise that site work is in place. Does this mean the site has plumbing already and it just needs to be run to the house? What if the site doesn't have site work? How much is it to perform? Geesh, does anybody know anything about any of this?

The great college textbook swindle continues

2009-09-11T10:17:00.004-04:00

I just realized the $100 lab experiments book I was required to purchase for Chemistry has 43 experiments in it. According to the class syllabus, we're doing just 10 of the experiments. What a ripoff.

You too can get swindled. Buy one here!

Maybe I should be a statistician instead

2009-09-10T21:02:00.002-04:00

I woke up early this morning to spend a few extra minutes reviewing my Chemistry material. It helped a little but not much. I'm basically predicting that I made between a 65 and 75 on the test.

The Stats test I took Tuesday went much better. I thought I had made an A, and in fact I scored 98%. I'm very happy about it. It's nice to have a little positive reinforcement after all of the negative feedback I've gotten from the Chem class.

Tomorrow I have no work or class (that's right, I have no class--I'm a classless pirate hooker), so I'm dedicating the day as follows:

Wake up when I wake up, with no alarm

Eat breakfast while reading blogs, newspapers and Facebook posts

Crack open the Chemistry book around 9:30am

Work on Chemistry until I "get it" (approximately 4-6 hours)

Go to the gym or walk/run outside if the weather is nice

Go to a party at a co-worker's house at 5:30

Come home and hang out with Jason and the dogs

Hopefully I can get a handle on the new unit we have started, on The Mole. I thought I understood it in class, but when I tried to do the homework I obviously didn't quite grasp the concept. I also need to work on the concepts I didn't get for the first exam, mostly nomenclature. I'm good at the math parts but really bad at

the "language" parts. I'm also bad at foreign languages, go figure. I just don't get why acids and bases and ionic compounds and salts and polyatomic compounds with H all are named differently. I'm more confused with these than I was with Equity Options while studying for the Series 7.

I'm heading back to CRC this Sunday after a two week hiatus. I'm anxious to see how the birds are doing, especially my little Osprey buddy. Although I needed the break to get caught up in school, I have really missed going there each week.

How can you not love this face? ------------->

School is really pissing me off

2009-09-08T19:50:00.002-04:00

I scored 40% on the first pop quiz of the semester for Chemistry, taken last week. Just when I think I get it, I don't get it. It's infuriating. The first test is the day after tomorrow and I just got home from school, so I will be spending every spare moment tomorrow at lunch and after work studying for the test. After school and work today and more school tonight, my brain is toast. Took my first Statistical Analysis test tonight and I think I did well but I thought I did well on the pop quiz. My confidence is really shot.

Another class I'm taking, Geography, is online. Basically you read a chapter, email the professor for a test, and email the test back within a week. The professor has sent out four different versions of how to get a test, beginning with "he will send it on a Tuesday and it's due back that Thursday" to "email me when you want a test and it will be sent to you that week and will be due back in two business days unless it's a Friday, where in that case it will be due back Monday". It's about the most convoluted testing process I've ever encountered. So last week (Friday) I emailed him asking for a test. He sent it and asked, "want any more?" I said, sure, thinking getting the tests will allow him not to have to send me an email every week. So he sent me five. Then he comes out with a new testing email explanation for how it's going to be done, and it says all tests are due back in two business days. I email asking him when mine will be due, since he sent five when I asked, and he said I have submitted one and the other four are "seriously overdue". Ugh! I can only think he will take points off each test for lateness, which means the A I thought I would get in the class is probably now a B. This is the second online class I've taken and I reluctantly took it because I don't have good luck with them: I have straight A's for college courses with the exception of the one online Psychology class I took where I made a B. I'm going to pray hard for the teacher's leniency with this incident, although it was his ill communication that caused the whole problem in the first place.

I still can't believe I made a 40 on that Chem quiz. I spent a ton of time and thought I had started to understand the material, but it's obvious I did not. I'm seriously questioning whether I'm smart enough to become a Vet. I printed out the curriculum for the Vet Med Tech program at Gaston Community College today. That feels like such a white flag to me though. Hopefully with a ton of work tomorrow I can get a solid grasp on this crap.

Birthday Lunch at The Palm

2009-09-04T16:46:00.004-04:00

Since both of us were off today, I treated Jason to lunch at The Palm in honor of his birthday this weekend. I had been there once before, when my boss took me for my birthday, but Jason had never been. It was such a treat for both of us: the fine dining service, excellent food and the luxury of leisurely eating a meal together that neither of us had to prepare nor clean up afterwards.

He had the Business Man's Lunch (Funny! Does that come with a side of scotch?) which consisted of a soup or salad, entree, side and dessert. He chose the lobster bisque, twin filet mignon, onion strings and key lime pie. Since I eat much smaller meals, and not much meat, I had the lobster bisque and salad. And two glasses of white wine. The bisque was rich and delicious, and I could have drank a quart of it. The salad was very green with lots of different kinds of lettuce and a vinaigrette made with high quality olive oil. What a beautiful feeling, to be eating a wonderful meal with the person I love while drinking wine on a weekday afternoon. Bliss.

Tonight we're going to relax and starting packing for our trip to the mountains. I stopped by the library today and picked up a bunch of books and dvds, including:

Six Months in Sudan (looks absolutely riveting)

Prefabulous (I'm currently a tad obsessed with prefab construction)

Treehouses of the World (for fun)

Magic Books and Paper Toys (I'm a sucker for a craft book)

A documentary DVD on Wright homes (non-fiction DVDs can be kept for 2 weeks!)

A documentary DVD by National Geographic on the wilderness of Alaska (I heart the library)

DVD My Kid Could Paint That

The cabin may or may not have internet service, which frightens me a little because I'm such a current events junkie, so we are going to need some reading material and movies to watch in case there's no cable. Ordinarily I wouldn't worry so much about books and movies, but the skies opened and poured rain on us every single day of the last two trips we have taken, so I'm going to be prepared. A reminder: ten days in Nova Scotia, poured rain every single day. Never even left the room. Six days in Myrtle Beach: poured rain every single day. Came back less tan than I arrived. There's only a 30% chance of rain this Sunday, so I'm hoping we're safe. Please, God, don't make it rain. Please, please, don't make it rain.

We're taking the camera so there should be lots of pictures to share when we get back. I'm also taking some school work with me since I have tests next week. So far I have a B in Chemistry, an A in Statistics and an A in Geography. That B in Chem and A in Stats is tentative though. Extremely tentative. I will be happy to have a B in each at the end of the semester.

Happy weekend people!

Charlie bit me - again

2009-08-31T07:11:00.001-04:00

This video from YouTube cracks me up. A big smile was just what I needed this Monday morning. Have a great week!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM

What happened to hanging out on Sundays?

2009-08-30T15:29:00.004-04:00

I'm starting to understand Chemistry, and it's getting more interesting to me. I took today off from volunteering at CRC (it's my first Sunday off in three months), and I'm glad I did. Tonight I can relax and prepare for the week. We're going to the mountains for Jason's birthday next weekend, and I do not want to bring a ton of work with me. Chemistry homework is complete for the week and the 3rd section quiz is done. I scored 80% on it. I think our first test is the class after the holiday, so I won't have to learn anything new that weekend, just review.

This is where we are going, and I can't wait! The owner gave us a great student-discount-last-minute rate. Jason is really excited about going too, even though it's his big 35th birthday and I can tell he's feeling a tiny bit "old". After his birthday, I will start feeling "old" because I was born just about 4.5 months later. Nana's is coming by the house twice a day to watch the dogs. It should be a nice, peaceful and fun weekend sans "the kids".

On a different note, my friend Jen and her husband bought a camper and although we don't have a truck big enough to tow one of the magnitude they bought, we could definitely get a popup like this and tow it with the Jeep. With a camper we could take the dogs with us on trips and save money on pet sitting as well as spend more quality time with them. Plus we would have a stove and fridge and a bed to sleep in at night. And we could go on vacation much more often that we can currently afford to since campground fees are so low compared to hotels. I'm on the lookout for one for sale on Craigslist that needs to be refurbished for cheap cheap cheap, like as in $200, or trade for something that we have but no longer need, like tools or something.

What the hell has gotten into me? JennBenn wants to buy a popup camper? Seriously? I'm sure my parents think I have lost my ever-loving mind. I dunno, but I want to be outdoors and a camper sounds a lot better than sleeping on the ground. Maybe that's why it makes sense. Or maybe I'm just cuckoo. Or maybe it's a phase. Could be a phase. I think I need to think about the camper some more before actually buying one to make sure it's not impulsive.

Dentist

2009-08-29T08:28:00.004-04:00

No one like going to the dentist, but I really fear it. Just making an appointment raises my anxiety level. If something in my mouth hurts a little, I generally ignore it until it becomes something I can no longer "forget about".

Since I've transitioned to part time at work, I am losing medical benefits, including dental insurance. Tomorrow is the last day of my coverage. So when one of my teeth gave me a jolt when I chomped down on some cereal last Thursday, I forced myself not to ignore it. I called Dr. Drake's office and they fit me in at 8am the next day. The tooth in question had a huge, old filling in it, and basically the tooth needed a crown. I took an extra Xanax, the hygienist gave me a stuffed dragon (exhibit A, to the left, is that the craziest thing you have seen?) to hold, and Dr. Drake explained the whole procedure in detail, until I was ready to relax enough to lay back in the chair. He is the best dentist I have ever been to.

Just a little background, I used to get sedation dentistry, back when I could afford it. The dentist would totally knock me out and do whatever needed to be done. I chose sedation because I simply could not deal with the anxiety of dental procedures. I think the Zoloft I'm now taking, coupled with the extremely patient and sweet Dr. Drake is the difference. Mostly it's Dr. Drake. His hygienists are awesome too. The whole staff, actually, is 100% fantastic, from the receptionist to the doctors. If you live in Charlotte and need a dentist, I highly recommend Williams & Drake Dentistry.

So I'm the proud new owner of a temporary crown, with a permanent on the way. I'm a tiny bit sore today but not even sore enough to take Ibuprofen. The doctor gave me some pain pills to take yesterday and I took 1/2 of one when I started to hurt, just in case it was going to get worse, but I didn't need another one. I'm excited that I'm one huge step closer to not being afraid of going to the dentist. I'm also excited that dental insurance paid for most of this procedure; if I had waited it would have cost me an additional $870. Bullet dodged!

Disclaimer: I have not received any compensation or discount for mentioning this dentist in my blog. Not that I need to mention it, but I thought I would.

Chemistry

2009-08-27T21:04:00.004-04:00

I'm having a really hard time with it. The first week, I vacillated between lost and faintly understanding the lessons. After completing all of the homework (six hours of it) I understood the concepts pretty well. This week, I'm lost. And just when I think I start to understand, I find out that I don't understand. So today I spent three hours in the lab working on problems in Chemistry such as dimensional analysis and converting 480 decimeters/hour into x number of nanometers/second. I thought I was getting it, so I took the quiz online, which counts towards my grade, and is open book. I got 53% correct. My heart sank into a very large vessel. Would you like me to compute the volume of my heart? Or the density? Sorry, I can't.

Damn it! I'm good at stuff...bowling, golf, tests, cooking, writing, math, english, etc. etc. but I'm not good at Chemistry. It's killing me. I had heard it was hard but thought I would attend class, apply myself, study hard and excel, which is what I've done in every other class I have ever taken, in my life. But I'm not doing well and I'm getting discouraged. I'm thinking I'm not spending enough time on homework, but I'm so tired at the end of the day that I feel like I don't have enough brainpower left to work on Chemistry. When my day is spent at work, I'm emotionally drained, and when my day is spent at school, I'm mentally drained. Don't get me started on the days I do both.

This is just undergrad, and I'm starting to understand why my favorite Vet School bloggers don't post very often. Speaking of favorite Vet School bloggers:

http://olderinvetschool.blogspot.com/

http://ejh345.wordpress.com/

http://lifeofaveterinarystudent.blogspot.com/

http://helpingthemspeak.blogspot.com/

http://vetontheedge.blogspot.com/

http://lifeinvetschool.blogspot.com/

http://www.vetschoolblog.com/

Life in Vet School is my favorite, because it's the most relatable for me.

Just found this one, tonight:

http://3amveterinarian.blogspot.com/

Looks promising. Love the *gross* picture.

Tuesday Notes

2009-08-25T21:31:00.002-04:00

Managing my time is getting easier.

Saving all Chemistry homework for Saturday morning is not a sound strategy.

Working out during the break between work and/or classes is awesome and stress busting.

The temperature outside is finally cooling off and hopefully we can sleep with the windows open in two or three weeks.

I'm getting very good at prioritizing my day and learning how to make the most of even a few spare minutes.

I'm training a new hire at work to do my job, part time. I do not like training people.

I lost another pound since I last weighed myself.

Statistics seems like a class that doesn't seem too hard but could sneak up and bite you in the ass if you don't pay enough attention to it.

Chemistry is starting to make sense. I am extremely relieved.

One of the career paths I'm exploring is the Veterinary Radiologist.

I need to start working on finding externships or volunteer positions for when school is on break this Fall, such as Winter break. RAVS doesn't have anything during the Winter.

Are seasons capitalized? This is one of those grammar things I can't seem to remember. I'm too tired to look it up.

Time for a salad. Nighty night.

I was a euthanasia witness tonight

2009-08-24T20:09:00.003-04:00

Last night at CRC was eventful. Because I got home so late and didn't get a chance to tell Jason about it, I just finished telling him after work tonight and thought I should write a blog post about it since it was so profound. The problem is that it would take about five pages to talk about everything.

In a nutshell, all went as usual, prepping meals and feeding birds. I'm getting faster and more efficient at measuring, and deciphering the Vet's instructions. I grabbed a few birds for treatments then was given the chance to actually give the SQ (subcutaneous: under the skin) fluids versus assisting. It's a lot harder than it looks. Keeping the needle steady was the toughest part. Next, I practiced grabbing the head of a bird (while being held by another person) so the mouth can be opened and medications given PO (per os: by mouth). Again, much harder than it looks. Since it has to be done without a glove, I was worried about being bitten. I never got the mouth open, so the vet tech did it for me, then I pushed the syringe of medication down the trachea, past the glottis, and pushed the plunger. I learned it's not done with your thumb, like on TV. I also learned that it's hard to push a syringe that has been re-used a bunch of times (this is a rescue organization) with my ring finger.

Then a volunteer brought in a bird in bad shape. It had an injury to its wing but we weren't sure how or to what extent, and it was very thin. Upon inspection we found a hole in the wing (gunshot?) and a maggot infested wing. Very long story short, we administered oxygen, sprayed the bird for the maggots, and started to pick out the bugs. An hour later, after medication, radiograph, etc. he was barely hanging on and we had to euthanize him. I held his legs while the injection was given and stroked his head as he left us. He was given a bunch of gas first so we went much more painlessly than how he came into the clinic. As the tech was listening for a heartbeat I stood there grasping the gravity of the situation. This was the first animal I had witnessed being euthanized.

The tech allowed me to put on the stethoscope and confirm a lack of heartbeat. Something about this cemented, once again, that I am on the right path. I wasn't terribly sad, as I expected to be, but more relieved that we could provide some relief to this poor, suffering bird. It left me wondering if I will feel the same way when it's an animal covered in fur rather than feathers.

Before spending time with animals in a rehabilitation setting, I was convinced that euthanasia would be the issue I would have the hardest time dealing with. Then I learned that I needed to cut up dead mice to feed birds. I thought for sure that would be the hardest part. But I then learned cutting up dead mice is otherwise known as preparing food for birds of prey. So it's a food chain thing. And I used to get mad when people would dismissively say, "it's just part of the food chain". But now I get it, the food chain thing. Then today I saw the anguish an animal can experience, and I saw the look in this bird's eyes, begging for mercy. It didn't make me sad, like I had expected. It made me focused, on what I could do to help the bird. And euthanasia wasn't such a scary concept. It was something I could do to help this bird, to relieve its suffering.

Is there a God? I'm not sure. I know for sure faith plays a very important part in many people's lives, and his existence cannot be discounted. On the occasion I have prayed, he has answered. And believe me, I don't pray unless I absolutely need to. :) Being the person who "plays God" makes me very uncomfortable, and I assisted in "playing God" last night. But I discovered something about myself I wasn't aware I had, something I can't really describe yet. Some kind of inner power to help, where all of my anxiety left my body and all that was left was my thought processes and gut instinct. It was weird and I will write more as I discover.

I released my first bird today

2009-08-21T14:46:00.002-04:00

Today was a pretty sweet day. I woke up early and hightailed it over to CRC to cover the morning shift. After prepping meals for the birds kept inside and the outdoor diurnals, I was able to practice grabbing, since four birds outside needed to be weighed. The first was a red tailed hawk, which was easy because it was in a small enclosure, and the second was a Cooper's hawk, which I couldn't get even though it was a small enclosure. They jump up and down like popcorn kernels in a hot pan. I thought red-tails were crazy but Cooper's take the cake. Next up, a Black Vulture. This was, by far, the largest bird I've ever attempted. They weigh about 2000 grams, they're smart and they're strong, so they're hard to get and keep. I caught him but he flapped his wings wildly and got away. The more seasoned volunteer I was with caught him once more. The last bird was a red shoulder and I couldn't get him. Sweaty and tired, we walked back to the rehab center and talked about school. She goes to UNCC and has taken classes at CPCC. We're about the same age (she probably a couple of years younger) and we both are interested in becoming veterinarians. We clicked instantly. It's so nice to meet someone similar to me and I can't wait to learn more about her.

As I was leaving, Carly the volunteer coordinator asked if I wanted to release a bird today. Um, of course I do! I didn't even care what kind of bird, just a bird. Meeting up with my friend CJ for lunch will have to wait. So we picked up a Kestrel out of its enclosure, banded it, boxed it up and I drove to the McDowell Nature Preserve. I stopped at home first to grab my camera, then hoped I could get a shot of it flying off, which is no small feat since Kestrels are so fast. I was fairly certain when taking the pictures I wasn't getting anything because I was basically just pointing randomly and clicking as fast as I could. But guess what? I got a shot! I'm so excited to have captured my first release. Whoah, oxymoron! Behold:

"After" a though Thursday

2009-08-20T21:07:00.004-04:00

Update: It was so tough I spelled it wrong in the title and just realized it today, about three weeks later.

The pic I took this morning is Thursday "Before", or before the 12+ hour day. The following pic is the Thursday "After":

Pretty awful looking! Chemistry was very tough today and I swear I almost started crying at one point because I just couldn't seem to understand anything. Then the lab was eventful because *small world alert!* my lab partner turned out to be the Branch Administrator (similar to what I did before the reception change) for another large financial services company located exactly one mile from my office. That last sentence seems like it doesn't make sense, but maybe it's because I'm so tired. If it still doesn't make send tomorrow I will clarify at that point. After lab I walked to a parking garage and spent 20 minutes looking for my car until I realized I was in the wrong garage. As I was walking to the correct garage rain started pouring down on me and ruined my already marginal hairdo. I got to my car, broke out the chocolate milk from my cooler of food (more on this at some point), and drove 45 minutes in the pounding rain to the Levine campus. There, it is sunny and hot and muggy. Made a b-line to Subway because I was starving, despite all of my snacks. Got a sandwich, wolfed it down in front of a cafe PC, obsessively checked email, Facebook, news and the usual, then headed to the computer lab to study. Spent about 2.5 hours on Geography and mostly Chemistry. I still don't understand anything in Chemistry. This weekend will be spent trying to figure it out.

Then I walked on the treadmill in the awesome fitness center for 40 minutes, weighed myself and re-weighed myself because I didn't believe the first result. I LOST ANOTHER FOUR POUNDS! OMG! I had not weighed myself because my usual gym, Planet Fitness, does not have scales. They say it's because muscle weighs more than fat and they don't want people to get discouraged; I think they're just cheap, scales are expensive. I have lost 16 pounds total. I feel great. Finally.

Showered, ate some cheese and grapes and headed to Statistics. Interesting class. Drove home.

Having some wine and soon I will be in the bed after a salad. Tomorrow I'm putting in an extra shift at The Raptor Center so I can get some more time working with the Vet. I'm not looking forward to getting up at 645 right now but after my shift I'm sure I will be glad I did. I'm meeting with CJ, one of my old friends from work, afterward. He was laid off in March and just found a job. Yay CJ!

Blogging is good. Wine is good too. A glass of wine and writing a blog post works wonders. See?

"Before" a tough Thursday

2009-08-20T07:26:00.001-04:00

My Thursdays this semester will go something like this:

900-150 Chemistry at the uptown campus

200-230 drive to the Matthews campus

230-600 study in the lab then work out in the campus gym

600-815 Statistics

815-845 drive home

It's a long day but I'm very excited about a gym being on the Levine campus. It's brand new and has floor to ceiling windows that look out to a grassy area. After a full day I can hop onto a treadmill and walk or run to relax. They even have a locker room with showers. The campus is very new and beautiful, with lots of common areas featuring big comfy chairs and vendors like Subway. Mmm Subway. It's not as large as the Central campus uptown, but it's much nicer.

One more great thing about Thursdays: casual!!!

One more great thing about Thursdays: since it's so close to my friend Jen's house maybe I will get to see her more!!!

First Day of School

2009-08-18T21:41:00.000-04:00

I'm tired. Got home about an hour ago and I've been checking emails, talking to my mom and catching up on news. Usually at 9:45 I'm in the bed reading a book and nodding off, but I'm just now starting to wind down. Classes were good; at first brush Chemistry is going to be a challenge and I will love Statistics. Geography will be easy. I almost wish I had taken one more class but that may have been too much right out of the gate. My real-job work days feel very long even though they are considerably shorter. I'm thinking about swapping my four hour shift at CRC for a full day shift on Fridays. It would provide much more time working with a Veterinarian versus a Vet Tech, not that there is anything wrong with being a Vet Tech (I might decide to be a VT versus a DVM) but I think learning from a DVM provides exposure to a certain level of precision.

Time for salad then bed. No book... can't comprehend any further. :)

Almost Forgotten

2009-08-16T20:29:00.000-04:00

I just realized yesterday was my ex-husband's birthday. This will sound harsh to anyone who doesn't know the story, and it's a very long story I don't feel like going into right now, but I'm hoping one day to wipe him clean from my memory. I look forward to the day when I can't remember what he looked like. He was an evil person who I never should have married in the first place.

I'm glad I had such a great day yesterday, on his birthday, in the mountains. He would not have liked Blowing Rock; not gourmet enough and too rural, although the food was delicious and scenery beautiful. We never would have sat in the park, taking pictures, like Jason and I did, and we never would have gone just for the day: we would have been in a five star hotel. We probably would have checked into a hotel, gone to dinner, he would get drunk, then he would get his evil-drunk-face on and berate me until he passed out. I would cry myself to sleep.

But that didn't happen on his birthday this year. Instead I had a fabulous day, with my incredibly wonderful boyfriend, in a beautiful new town we explored for a few hours. I even enjoyed the four hour drive up the mountain and back. Then nobody got drunk last night, nobody fought and nobody cried. This morning I woke up, grocery shopped, kissed my sweet Jason good morning and then went to The Raptor Center, a place the ex-husband would 100% not understand. I love my "new life".

Beat the Heat

2009-08-15T17:51:00.001-04:00

The heat in Charlotte has been oppressive for a few weeks, so we decided to spend today in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. It's under two hours drive from our home and the high temperature today was 74 whereas it was 92 in Charlotte. Neither of us had been there before but we had heard from people that it was a neat place. Personally there were way too many rude South Floridians in $400 shoes for my taste, but overall I enjoyed our day. While we were walking around at first, I just thought visitors there, in general, were a little rude and over dressed. Then Jason mentioned all of the Florida tags and it clicked. I do not miss living in South Florida for one hot minute.

We started off at The Blowing Rock, then stopped at Storeys for a tasty lunch. I had a piece of grilled chicken and mac 'n cheese; Jason an applewood smoked bacon, brie and apple panini. We then walked through Art in the Park. The weather was warm, the sun was shining and there was a slight breeze and it all just what we needed on a Saturday: relaxing exploration on the cheap with a little gourmet thrown in. We spent some time lounging under a tree in the park and headed home.

Weekly Recap

2009-08-14T17:03:00.001-04:00

This was my last full time week at work. I made it. Praise God!

School starts Monday along with my new schedule. I'm so excited about it all. I have all of my books and supplies laid out on my desk just like when I was a kid. Geez, I'm a little bit of a geek.

Jase and I are going to Blowing Rock tomorrow to spend the day hanging out, exploring and relaxing. An art festival will be in town.

My dad is in the hospital. I'm worried about him. But I know he will be OK. He's a strong person and one of the people I look up to the most in the whole universe. Get well soon, Dad. I love you. I hope you can feel me thinking about you.

I have been very good about working out and have lost a total of 12 pounds. My legs are getting very toned and my midsection is getting smaller. Back fat, shudder, is nearly gone. One thing I know, for sure: there is nothing sexy about back fat.

I'm ready to move to a smaller residence. It's suddenly ridiculous to me that we have one bedroom and a room on the first floor we don't even enter on a regular basis. I was thinking we would have some children to occupy the space but that didn't go as planned so it's now just wasted space with a big mortgage payment attached to it.

I'm coming up on my two year anniversary of not smoking. Not bad for a pack-plus per day smoker for 18 years. At one point I wasn't sure I could make it one hour without a cigarette and now I seldom think of them. I've come a long way, baby. Ewww, that was so cliche. I'm embarrassed for myself. So why don't you just delete it? Because I have come a long way. In just two years, I've come a very, very long way. I feel like I have run a marathon and I'm currently running down a long dock toward a sparkling clean lake. It might be a long dock but at least I can see the water and feel the humidity on my skin.

Napping

2009-08-09T08:03:00.000-04:00

Diesel is still tuckered out from the hike yesterday. Right now he's sound asleep next to my desk, half on and half off his bed. He cracks me up.

McDowell Nature Preserve

2009-08-08T16:02:00.001-04:00

We opted to forgo fishing since the dogs were coming with us and they're hard enough to babysit without fishing line and hooks around. Diesel, although always excited to get into the car, does not like to actually go anywhere. Maybe he's agoraphobic. He would be most happy driving around the block and ending up back at home. Bean, on the other hand, loves to go anywhere, including the vet.

We hiked for a while, then found a sandy beach to camp. Bean went for a short swim and Diesel even got his feet wet. We sat there for about an hour, then Diesel started getting very whiney so we headed back home. It was a good, relaxing morning. Once the weather cools off a bit we will go more often and stay longer. I can't wait to try camping this Autumn.

We managed one decent self portrait, which Jason took. I feel like I look really pale, probably because I am really pale without makeup since I wear SPF always. Maybe I need some bronzer or something.

Happenings

2009-08-07T17:30:00.000-04:00

Jason's Birthday

Jason turns the big 3-5 September the 6th and I wanted to do something special for him. So I have been searching online for a little weekend getaway and have booked a cabin near Blowing Rock, North Carolina for Labor Day weekend. I wanted to keep it a surprise but I'm the worst at keeping a gift a secret. So I told him and he's thrilled and I'm thrilled and we're just going to hope and maybe even pray that it doesn't rain. The last two vacations we have taken (Nova Scotia and Myrtle Beach) downpours fell every single day of seven day trips. And I'm not talking rain for an hour or so, I'm talking rain all day long. I came back from a week at the beach whiter than when I left. If it rains this time I'm just gonna freak out.

This Weekend

Tomorrow we're going to the McDowell Nature Preserve and Park. We will pack the dogs, a cooler full of food and water and the camera up in the Jeep and spend the day there. I can't wait. It's supposed to be very hot, in the 90s with plenty of humidity, but the area is heavily wooded and we can sit and put our feet in Lake Wylie to cool off. The dogs love going there, especially when they get to hike and then cool off in the water. We're also going to try fishing, courtesy of the Charlotte Park and Rec department, which loans fishing equipment for free. Jason knows how to fish but I have never been. I looked up how to humanely kill a fish, should we actually catch something big enough to eat. Lots of pics to come. I'm expecting it to be gross.

Health

I have lost twelve pounds since starting to work out and eat less. All of my "fat pants" are loose and I need a belt to keep them up. I'm also feeling much better mentally. I'm happier and less anxiety-ridden than I have been in a very long time. I know I have made it through the dark tunnel and the light around me gets brighter every single day. I'm excited about the future and I'm elated that I have found my true calling. It's about freaking time!

I Heart The Raptor Center

2009-08-02T21:34:00.000-04:00

I worked a late shift at CRC today, from 2-9pm. Just got home and I'm tired and sweaty yet grinning because I learned lots of new stuff. Bullet points because I'm tired:

grabbed a red tailed hawk who was paralyzed and held him while he was fed and given medication

learned how to give fluids subcutaneously

learned that OS is the left eye, OD is the right and OU is both

helped to grab a Barn Owl who was screaming like a banshee

I can't believe how loud Barn Owls can screech

cleaned empty cages, which means lots of birds were released this week :)

got a permanent name tag, to replace my disposable one

grabbed a baby hawk and held her while she was fed and given meds

held a red tailed hawk while it was fed and given meds

Cleaned cages and checked on the Osprey with an amputated wing. He's hanging in there!

high-fived myself when I learned I didn't have to go into the enclosure containing the hawk who wants to scratch my eyes out.

I wish I could go back to CRC tomorrow instead of to work. I'm putting in an extra shift Tuesday after work and I can't wait!

Saturday Night Dog Pics

2009-08-02T12:15:00.000-04:00

I love that it's still daylight until well after 8pm in the summer in North Carolina.

Birds

2009-07-31T18:01:00.001-04:00

I happened upon these photos today of birds of prey. They struck me as good examples of the ratio of bird "body" to bird "wings". It helps explain how the birds are so lightweight. In addition to lots of feathers, the birds have hollow bones and some of their organs shrink when they don't need them (reproductive organs). A Barn Owl, shown in the last pic, is about the size and weight of a mini Nerf football. The Osprey (first pic) is the size and weight of a full size Nerf football. The eagle in the middle can grow up to 15 pounds with a wing span of 6 feet.

I share this info because I had expected the birds to weigh more. When I picked up my first bird last weekend, I was so surprised at how little it weighed, at just 600 grams.

Countdown to Fall Semester

2009-07-31T17:46:00.000-04:00

Work has been pretty tough lately, so much so that I have kept a "school countdown" for about two months. After today I have only two full weeks until I go part time. I can hardly wait, and I spend every task-free moment at work Googling animal-related careers, images and information. In the meantime, I'm putting more hours in at CRC. I have arranged to work eight hour shifts this Sunday and next, and a few hours after work on a Tuesday. Working additional hours is exciting to me because I get to feed the nocturnal birds, who I haven't met yet, plus I will get to meet new people at CRC, which is always good. Every person I have met at CRC, I really like, as opposed to the people I meet at work, who I mostly dislike.

This fall I am taking my first college level science courses:

Statistics

Chemistry 1

Geography

All are four credit hours each. Chem and Stats have labs, and Geo is online. My schedule is totally manageable:

Monday - work a full day

Tuesday AM - school Tuesday PM - school Tuesday late PM - school

Wednesday - work a full day

Thursday - full day and night of school

Friday - study

Saturday - study, volunteer and recreation

Sunday - volunteer

This is a very easy schedule, compared to the veterinary medicine schedules I have seen online. It's much more challenging when you're taking 25 hours of courses, which is what most vet programs require. Remind me of that when I'm whining mid-October about homework.

Not So Common Sound

2009-07-26T17:40:00.001-04:00

I almost forgot to share my Common Barn Owl experience. These owls hiss very loudly when they feel threatened. The sound freaks me out a little because it is so loud. At CRC there are four of them in an enclosure that's on my list to clean and change water on Sundays. I start to chuckle a little when I first hear them but then I just get scared and get out of there, so they're doing a good job.

Here's a video from YouTube, make sure to turn your volume up nice and loud: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akwc82DOb4k

Carolina Raptor Center Excitement

2009-07-26T16:49:00.000-04:00

Today at CRC, the same hawk came after me. As I walked up to his enclosure, I sighed, then worked at psyching myself up to go inside. As I started to open the door, he buzzed it and I hesitated, then quickly got inside and closed the door behind me. I stood in the corner, waiting for all five birds to calm down. Red Shouldered Hawks are notoriously freaky. So I waited, then all of a sudden, he swooped right down at my head. I held my leather gloved arm up to block and he landed on my hand. I stood there in a little bit of shock, freaked out because I could really feel him holding on to me, not that he was hurting me, because of the glove, but I could feel his talons holding onto my hand. He stood there for a few seconds, then I shook my hand a little and he jumped down to the ground, and stayed there, just a foot away, while I cleaned his water dish and refilled it. He seemed so fearless. Man I hope we get to release him soon so I can avoid injury.

After I finished my cleaning duties, I asked Carly, the volunteer boss, if she wanted to show me something new. She asked if I wanted to "grab". Grab a bird? Of course I do! I was nervous but very excited. We needed to move four Barred Owls from one enclosure to another, so they can attend "mouse school", which means they learn how to hunt mice rather than being fed dead mice. So she showed me how to grab, then I got to practice. It was so cool. I will never forget holding on to the first owl, by the legs, cradling it sort of like a baby with my other hand, and looking into its eyes. I feel so fortunate to have figured out "what I want to do with my life" at 34 years of age.

Today is Thursday Tomorrow is Friday!

2009-07-23T18:55:00.001-04:00

I am ready for the weekend, as usual. Hopefully the weather will be nice so I can get a little sun.

My bruises from last Sunday's run-in with the hawk are still blue. They were actually a little worse than I had thought prompting a couple of people to ask me about them; I explained the whole incident in detail. The funny thing is that as soon as I start talking about the birds, it puts me in a great mood. It doesn't matter how rotten I feel or how crummy of a day I'm having, talking about the birds lifts my spirits and makes me smile. I love that I have finally found something that makes me so happy.

On a totally different note, we're thinking about taking a weekend trip to Washington DC for Labor Day weekend to visit The National Zoo (it's free!), some Smithsonian museums (they're free!) and to hear the National Orchestra at a, you guessed it, free concert Sunday the 7th. Flights are cheap and we can use public transport while we're there, so a bulk of the cost will be for lodging. I'm going to put an ad on Craigslist for a place to see what comes up. Under $75 in a decent neighborhood and we're going!

Raptor Center

2009-07-19T18:16:00.000-04:00

Today was my 8th Sunday in a row at The Raptor Center. Something I have noticed is how relaxed and confident I feel while I'm there and after I leave. There is no question in my mind that, at 34, I'm finally on the right path.

I was able to do a couple of new tasks this shift. I got to feed three bald eagles (they eat fish), feed live mice to some hawks, and I also was able to see some tiny little baby Barred Owls. Next week I will get to do some "Rehab 2" duties, such as feed some birds in ICU and maybe grab one of them for a treatment. I'm so excited about grabbing.

One of the Red Shouldered Hawks swooped at me while in the enclosure today. He buzzed right by my head to give me a warning and I stumbled a little to the ground. I didn't leave, because I still needed to clean the enclosure and replace the water, so he came at me again, this time landing right on my back. I was a little freaked out, but after a second (it felt like a minute), he flew back up onto his perch. I can remember a few weeks ago when something like this would have left me really shaken and I would have exited the enclosure immediately and let the staff know I couldn't clean it, but I'm not afraid of the birds as much anymore so it really didn't bother me much. I would prefer not to be dive-bombed by hawks though.

Next week I'm going to try to bring my camera to take some good pictures.

Weekly Recap Tidbits

2009-07-17T18:43:00.001-04:00

Today I paid my tuition bill for fall and purchased one textbook. Since I'm going to community college this semester my books will cost as much as my tuition. I love to read and appreciate books but $250 for a used book makes me nauseous.

This has been a summer of reading, with about nine books so far. The last was The Secret Life of Bees and it was good. Next is James Herriott's All Creatures Great and Small. One of my favorites was Tell Me Where It Hurts, written by a small animal emergency vet. Marley and Me was great too. I think I should read a non-animal related book after Creatures to broaden my horizons a little.

I lost three pounds!

I'm no longer an anxious ball of nerves!

This weekend at The Raptor Center I'm going to talk to the resident vet or the volunteer coordinator to see if I can start to focus on some duties other than cleaning cages and feeding. I'm happy to do both, and I know they are vital but I really would like some more exposure to medical procedures. I'm going to suggest expanding my shift two hours from 10-4pm so I will have time to clean, feed and learn new stuff.

One of the guys at the check-in counter at the gym told me I looked pretty today. That's always so nice to hear.

Vital Signs

2009-07-16T16:56:00.001-04:00

Today I went to my two week follow up for the new Zoloft prescription. I have been on the medicine for 13 days and could not be more pleased. To put evidence of my relief in quantifiable terms, my vital signs were as follows before starting the Zoloft:

Blood pressure: 140 over 90

Resting pulse: 94 bpm

Weight: 173

Mood: scared and agitated

Today:

Blood pressure: 110 over 60

Resting pulse: 60 bpm

Weight: 170

Mood: happy

I'm officially a walking advertisement for anti-depressants. I'm a little upset at myself for waiting all these years to try an SSRI but I can't and won't beat myself up over it.