Thursday, April 24, 2008

Great diet-friendly find!

I just have to say, with summer around the corner, I found a great treat to have on warm afternoons:

Edy's Fruit Bars: No Sugar Added (Strawberry, Tangerine, and Raspberry)

Zero. Points.

Ohhhhh yummmm....

So, what did I do today on my afternoon off?

Well, for starters, I ended up leaving nearly an hour and a half late, due to needing to finish the DASH posters.

I went home, had lunch at 1:45 pm, and then sat on the couch, "for a few minutes," and fell asleep about 20 minutes later.

Good one.

I have tomorrow off, too, but it is scheduled breakfast to dinner with non-stop sewing. Oh, and I have to pick up the corsage at 4:00...

I totally did not want to waste this afternoon, but it felt great to snooze with the windows open....

Friday, April 18, 2008

Milestones...

Well... it had to happen sometime.

My son will have his 14th birthday this coming Monday.

And next Friday...

He will have his first date!

!!!!!

He asked the girl that he likes to the 8th grade semi-formal. Apparently, he's been thinking about it, and trying to figure out how to ask her for about two weeks. He finally told me about it Wednesday night, and I gave him a couple of pointers.

He had decided to ask her yesterday, and was a little scared when I asked him if he was still going to ask her, as he was leaving for school. Then, turns out that she was gone yesterday.

So, this morning, when I asked him if he was still going to ask her, he had a very firm "yes" as the answer.

He called me when he got home from school, and I could tell right away that he was smiling. "She said yes!" And apparently was smiling the whole time she said it.

And from what I understand, he's one of the few boys who actually asked a girl in person, and not through post-it notes left on lockers... It took guts to just go for it, and I made sure he knew that I was proud of him. :)

I am very happy for him, and at the same time, I'm feeling incredibly old right now...

Thursday, April 17, 2008

And...

The Boomstick has it! (Joint poll between blogspot and renspace, and lab monitors!)

Okay, quick poll...

Buying my son an iPod shuffle for his birthday (the red one). It comes with free engraving if you want. So, I'm torn between two quotes. Can I get a quick vote from people as to which quote?

1. "'Tis only a flesh wound!"

or

2. "This... is my boomstick!"

Any thoughts????

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

One major project hurdle passed...

I am now at the halfway point on one of my major projects! The most complicated part is finished, and the rest should be really simple. I learned some new fabric finishing techniques, and am really excited about the results.

And this post degenerates into a series of nearly unrelated items. Enjoy!

Well, McDonald's had cheeseburgers for 59 cents and hamburgers for 49 cents today. My son begged and begged to have cheeseburgers for supper tonight, even calling me at work to remind me about the deal. So, I bought him three cheeseburgers, fries, and a coke for supper. You would have thought I was buying him an iPod or something. ;)

And speaking of iPods...

My son is turning 14 next week, and as a mark of his new maturity level, instead of video games, he's asked for a red iPod Shuffle (1GB model). I have to go back to WalMart tomorrow night, and see if they got any red ones in, because the last time I was there, they only had silver and purple left. He's already planning what songs he wants to put on it if he gets one. He he!

And because this is Iowa, turning 14 means that you can take the test to get a learner's driving permit.

!!!

Obviously, he has a lot of studying to do, and he needs to bring his grades up a bit before he can take the test. I did, however, stop by the DMV to pick up the book for him. Here's a hint: Don't go to the Ames DMV at 4:45 pm on Tuesday. The place was PACKED, and the line went out the door. I was very glad I only needed a book. He was a little surprised when I handed it to him. :)

Okay, time to try to sleep tonight. I slept great last night thanks to that Tylenol PM. My leg is feeling much better (no limp now - I had forgotten how awful a strained muscle can feel), so I am not going to take any tonight. It was nice to not wake up a bunch during the night, though. I didn't wake up until the alarm went off, and normally I wake up around 5, and then try unsuccessfully to get back to sleep until the alarm goes off at 6:30. If this lasts much longer, I am going to talk with the doc about it. I'm a night owl, and I cannot, repeat, cannot get up at 5 if I can't sleep until 11:30 or midnight. Tried it once, and it was the worst day... I was sleepwalking through the whole work day. That is a recipe for disaster in IT.

Seriously, good night. Hope you enjoyed the weather today!!!

Sunday, April 13, 2008

End of a long day, beginning of a long week.

(I'm sure I've used that title before...).

I got a lot done today. I didn't sleep well last night, due to noisy neighbors during my optimal "drift-off" period. It was VEISHEA weekend, so it was a given that it would be louder than normal. The iPod did an okay job of drowning out the drunken college boy yells, but not quite enough.

I was up later than normal anyway, due to trying to copy out a list of materials needed for this massive costume project for the Des Moines Faire. I was also trying to get some research copied out, so Holly and I could work on our outline for the show we are going to co-write with Lynne (Queen Catherine of Have Court, Will Travel). We are putting together a show for the ladies, since the men have their weapons talk (very well attended last year!). We will be dressing a lady of the court from pretty much the undergarments out, and explaining the various articles of clothing of that era, along with historical information. It will be both amusing and informative, and should be really fun! There are nine pieces of clothing that we will have to create, so we are anxious to get the planning out of the way so we can start immediately after the Dubuque Faire.

Speaking of the Dubuque Faire, Holly and I are trying to put together a short version of this show really quickly. Since there will be only two ladies in attendance, besides the Queen, it has fallen to me to be the model for the talk. There should be some great jokes in there, as we have toyed with the idea that I would be "late" to the show, as I felt it was inappropriate to accept the Earl of Oxford's generous offer to help.

Anyway, I think the Tylenol PM is starting to kick in. My legs and shoulders are in a great deal of pain, due to the enormous amount of sewing, cutting, ironing, and general costume creating that took place this weekend. Every single night this week has to be dedicated to sewing so I can complete everything I need to finish on time. I have a very hectic schedule pretty much starting this weekend, until after Dubuque.

I think it's really great that the court is booked at three faires this year. We have so much fun together! I'll have a post with all of the faire information later, as I am really sleepy right now. So much fun just around the corner!!!! :)

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Snow

Yep. It snowed. It is snowing, just a bit. Obviously, we did not go to the parade (which just started about 10 minutes ago). I have a problem with standing in the snow to watch a spring parade.

Anyway, so I decided to start working through the massive list of things I need to do this weekend. Laundry is in the washers (three loads - one of the benefits of apartment living).

I got out the project I am working on, and discovered that I cannot find my good fabric scissors anywhere. Just gone. I have looked every conceivable place in my newly rearranged (and organized) bedroom, in the kitchen, and living room, and came up empty handed. I even looked under the couch. I am baffled. I really do not want to have to go out and buy another pair, as they can be pricey. I also don't want to use my paper scissors to cut fabric, as the sharpener I have is for the good pair, and may not work so well on this pair.

Anyway, I know they haven't left the house, and they will probably turn up where I least expect it. And my house is not that unorganized. I left them on the dining table, next to the pattern pieces that had been cut out. The teenager claims he didn't borrow them.

Well, I have to get back to my search. What a waste of time....

Friday, April 11, 2008

Blogging Drought

Sorry. I meant to blog more frequently, but I've been working late nearly every day this week (and to be honest, for the last three weeks). Yesterday was the first time I was able to leave on time for awhile, and I was able to repeat that feat today. Yippee!

So, what have I been doing this week?

Well, last Saturday, we drove to Manson so I could work on my mom's computers, and my dad could change the oil in my car. We had a great time!

Can't remember what I did on Sunday. Drawing a blank. Monday through Wednesday were spent wrestling with a problem on our new printer (which is INSANELY BEAUTIFUL), nicely resolved by finding the correct drivers for the Macs. Thursday was spent adding the fix to the labs and rewriting installer scripts.

Oh, now I remember what I did on Sunday - I was sick all afternoon. I woke up around 8:30, after not really sleeping well (we didn't get home until nearly 11). I slept on my right shoulder wrong, and was in a fair amount of pain. I still managed to rearrange my bedroom, mostly because I had started before I started feeling ill, and couldn't just stop at that point to rest. Anyway, the reward was getting to take a nap afterwards, with the windows open. I slept a solid four hours without moving, and then of course, couldn't sleep that night.

And that was the theme for the week. Not able to sleep at night, extremely busy days, little time at home in the evenings. I slept well last night, and still managed to doze off for an hour this evening. I am hoping to be able to sleep well tonight, too, so I can get a bunch of things done tomorrow.

My son really wants to go to the parade tomorrow, but I am not so thrilled about the idea. We have a 50% chance of rain or snow flurries, and it's going to be windy and cold. We'd have to take the bus, as parking on campus will be insane, and I just cannot be out in that type of weather right now. I can't afford to have my cold get worse, as there is too much going on in the next seven weeks or so.

Anyway, so that's the update. Not terribly interesting, but such is my life right now.

Friday, April 04, 2008

15 Minutes to BSG...

So many questions....

5th cylon cannot be Baltar...