Liquid Sunshine Monday

Well, the weekend came, the weekend went, and I feel like I need a vacation! Good thing I just booked my flight. I'm going to SUNNY California to visit my Dad's side of the family. Wowza, but this is a good bit of traveling! This weekend both tracks rained out, but we made a durn good effort at it Saturday. I kept watching the radar on my phone (which is just too cool, I love it!) and it just kept getting worse and worse. Then, it started to sprinkle. And then sprinkle some more. Then, lots of rain. I love rain. Yesterday evening I sat out on my front porch, on my swing, looking at the amazing view of the hot pink azalea crowned by white dogwood, while my dog rested in the yard. That was so peaceful, and so relaxing. Then, this morning when I got up it was pouring down rain. I love my metal roof when it rains! I also was able to get some flea treatment out in the yard. There will be NO cooties in my house!

This week promises to be slower, and I certainly hope so! We're going to run at the dirt track on Friday and Saturday, so fun fun! Hopefully I can get some rest . . . it's overdue!

TGI FRIDAY!

Man, am I glad to see the weekend here! Not that it's going to be relaxing - I think I'm busy about every minute, but I'm ok with that. 50/50 on rain tomorrow, so that would allow for some down time, but it's hard to pay bills when we're not racing!

Yesterday wasn't the best day I've had. I had a not so nice run in right before I headed home for the day, and by the time I got home, I had a raging migraine. I made Won-Ton Salad for Mike and Andi, and then went to EMT team practice. Came back home, to make ANOTHER salad to take to work and to K. I'm tired, my head hurts, I'm in an overall bad mood. My kitchen is trashed because I was being lazy and not washing as I went (sorry Mom!), and I'm frying Won Ton skins. Frying them isn't bad, but it's time consuming and if you wait even a little to long, they burn. I'm going along, and somehow manage to drop the tongs down in the hot oil and splatter oil all over the front of my shirt, burn my stomach, and my toes (wearing flip flops!) Youza! I did realize something about Britney - she has sensitive ears! She hates for the exhaust fan to be on, and will hide in the bathroom where it is quieter. Funny! Anyway, so I finally get to bed about midnight, and of course, I'm on call. 3:05, Rescue 3, respond, MVC. Yay. And stuff. Ugh. It's a Murphy's Law thing, the more tired I am/earlier I have to be up/# of calls ran on the previous 4 nights dictates the liklihood of having a call.

After my experiance yesterday I've been thinking about how I react to situations. It's human nature to get snappy and obnoxious when we're tired, hungry, or not getting our way, but isn't it something we can overcome? Mistakes happen. As long as we bring it to someone's attention, and they make every effort possible to resolve it, should you still turn into a raging monster and yell/threaten/intimidate them? I've long been a believer in that you catch more flies with honey . . . what do you think?

Stacey

Ah, Stacey. The love of the workplace. Want to know why? Because she does things like this: And, I'm sorry, but I'm new to the YouTube thing, so if someone wants to fill me in on how to rotate a video, let me know!

Test Post

This was on my cell this morning when I picked up service again. Talk about an AWESOME birthday surprise! This is L., K's daughter . . .

Birthday's and Schtuff

Good morning, beautiful people! (and, hi, Stacey!) Yes, yesterday was my birthday, and THANK YOU to everyone who posted comments. I really do appreciate it! As you can see, I got flowers yesterday. The first bunch, I have no idea who they came from! The card just said, "Happy Birthday Sunshine!" The second bunch came with "No Signature Requested", but then my co-workers 'fessed up that they were from them. I love wildflowers and spring time, so both bouquets were dead on! Although, C. said that if someone is referring to me as "Sunshine" they don't know me that well! Anyway, yesterday afternoon was pretty calm and uneventful. Mom and Dad sent me "Cars", said that anyone that worked at a race track should see it, so I started watching that as well. My friends kept asking what I wanted to do, but I explained that as little as I get to see them, I just wanted us to all go to dinner together as a big group - K. and family, Msh and H., D., A. and S. and lots of others - and just have a really great time, so once we can get schedules worked out, that'll be the celebration time. I'm working open to close today, tomorrow, and Friday, but even then, it's bankers hours so no complaining, right? And, if you've gotten this far in this post, make sure you check out my survey and let me know what you think! Make it a spectacular day . . .

Vehicles

So, everyone seems to get a big kick out of my car. Let me set the record straight: I love my car. It's an 88 Honda Accord, and I got a great deal on it (thanks, Fire Chief!). I've talked about the VW before, but did I tell you I also paid $.17 a mile, everywhere I drove, as long as I had all A's and B's. If I got less than that, I paid $.27 a mile! Let me tell you, I didn't often drive anywhere I didn't have to go, and I knew the shortest route! This was in addition to insurance and gas! The first vehicle I bought was a 74 Malibu. I had no idea what a treasure I had! Bought the thing for $1000, and sold it for $400. My next "owned" car was an 87 Honda CRX, which I adored, but realized it didn't fit Britney well in the back. So, when Mom and Dad went to Argentina, they gave me the Toyota Corolla. That died, hence, now I have my Honda. I also have a Buick Park Avenue that Mom and Dad are enjoying . . . in Houston . . . with no A/C. Whew, at least the window's go down! But, my current Honda gets me around, and does what it needs to do. Insurance? Cheap. Taxes? HA! Paid in change. Something to be said for not having the latest and the greatest. What's been your favorite car? You're craziest memory in one?

ETA: Today, Apr. 23, Stacey asked, "Does your Honda have A/C?" I said, "Yup. All four windows go down!!!"

More weekend schtuff

Ah, so I forgot to tell about my laundry lesson! Now, I'm 32 (tomorrow!), and have been doing laundry a LONG time. One of my first household chores was helping to sort, so I know, white's with white's, dark's with dark's, etc. Wellllll, I learned an important lesson on Saturday. It was a gorgeous morning, brisk breeze, sunshine, so I figured I would make use of my clothesline. I've been really excited about silly things in this new house, such as a clothes line and a mail box. Hung my sheets out, and it took about 10 minutes for them to dry. Since I'm looking at a $700+ electric bill from this past winter, I'm a huge fan of sunshine! But, did you know that prior to hanging clothes out, you better make sure that the line is CLEAN? I took my whites out, hung them out (last load!), but when I brought them back in, there were nice BLACK lines along everywhere I had the pins! Very frustrating. Needless to say, they got washed again and then tossed in the dryer. So, on the to-do list this week includes cleaning the line.

Weekend Adventures and other Disasters

So, this weekend was all kinds of fun! Worked at the Drag Strip on Friday night, and then the Dirt Track on Saturday. People were so happy to see me back on the back gate! I didn't realize I was missed. However, we rained out, so we'll have to try it again next week. I spent some time up in the tower just enjoying being around people, and then came home. Sunday, I woke up early and decided to put together some breakfasts for the rest of the week. Simple, right? I started with the bacon, on low heat, so it would be nice and flat and crispy. Pre-heated the oven, and started on the muffin mix. Juggling everything quite nicely, until I opened the oven to put my muffins in. Weeelllll. I have a dog who REALLY likes bread. So, I've taken to putting it in the oven so that she can't eat it. I forgot the bread was in there, so now I had a loaf of toasted bread, and melted wrap everywhere. I yanked the rack out, got the muffins in, realized I left OUT a can of blueberries, but in the meantime, my bacon was burning! Finally got the bacon under control, and went to check on the muffins. (9-12 minutes @ 425) Went back after 20 minutes, and the muffins are obviously not done. I then realize that my spiffy oven has a safety feature that turns the oven off if it is open for too long. So, by the time I get it hot enough again, now the muffins are flat. My fantastic breakfast is now burned, flat, and I have had enough!!! I had a bagel this morning - kinda hard to screw those up!

Went to Lindsey's dance recital last night. She was adorable! She ended up with an armful of flowers, as every girl should!!!

One of the best things . . .

About my life is my puppy. Here's her deciding that she's going to bring me a stick. She found this underwater and then worked it back to me. Good dog!!!

Pappacito's

Stacey, this photo is for you. We went to dinner at this great place in Houston called Pappacito's, and whoa. It was DELICIOUS! Place was packed, and I can't understand why, can you?

Thankfulness

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about being grateful, and saying "Thank you" openly, honestly, and sincerely. While in UT, I took an extra minute to ask the counter guy, "How are YOU?" and really listened to the answer. He was stunned! As I departed various aircraft's, I took a second to say "Thank You" to the attendants. It was really interesting to watch them be puzzled for a second, then just light up and respond. How hard is it to be courteous, polite, and be genuinely appreciative of those that help us? Just because you tip a waitress, and are technically paying for the service, should you not have to say thank you? An interesting Co-nin-in-drum, as my friends would say.

I'm so glad to have had a great trip - also glad to be back home and settling back into life. Not so happy to have had a squad call at 4:25 this morning (with night call ending at 5!), but you know what? It's an opportunity to be of service to someone, and I think over the past year or so, since Drew left, that I've lost sight of that. I'm not sure how to go about getting it back, but I'm working on it.

Not a bad week, as far as weeks go. Busy, but nothing too crazy. I do have my award luncheon tomorrow, so I think I need to be excited about that. Whoo-hoo, and schtuff!!!

Left Off

Well, let's just see where I left off, shall we? We were going to go to the museum on Tues, but when we realized that it was costly per person, we decided, "who needs to see a bunch of old stuff, anyway?" and just headed for the zoo. Saw all sorts of wonderful animals. I love zoo's. Not quite the same as seeing them in the wild in Africa, but I still really, REALLY enjoyed it! Came home for dinner, then crashed.

Wednesday, we did a tour of the Houston Boat Channel. Now, few facts. First of all, Houston is the 4th largest city in the U.S. Wow. Also, it's 50 miles inland, but one of the largest ports in the U.S. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was still cool to go down and see the different HUGE ships, and the various companies in business there. That night, we went by Pappacito's, and had some of the most delicious Tex-Mex I'd ever had. Shrimp fajitas, and WOW. Slurp. Yumm!!!

Thursday was Zone Conference, so we went to help feed hungry missionaries. That afternoon, we rode North about an hour, and viewed the amazing Blue Bonnets and Paintbrush flowers. Came home, and Mom and I went to feed ducks, while Dad picked up dinner . . . Good 'ole Texas Barbecue. Do you get the idea I ate well??

Friday was go home day. Got up, packed, and Mom and Dad had a surprise for me. They had arranged for us to go tour/play with the Houston FD at the airport, and see their toys. Big toys. Awesomely big (and expensive!) toys. Quite a treat to tour and see someone else's facility. He even took us out and showed us how the remote hose and everything worked. Ok, so not everyone's cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it! We visited some more, and then I flew. Houston to Atlanta, Atlanta to Philadelphia, Philadelphia to Roanoke. And, you know what? What a shocker . . . I'm missing a bag. But, it's all good. They turn up, right? RIGHT?

Today, I got up, unpacked, relaxed, walked Britney, then went to the Race Track. I didn't do very much, but I really enjoyed just sitting back, playing with the kids, and just being back to my own life. Tomorrow promises to be nice and relaxing, and then it'll be back to work. As much as I enjoyed visiting, I'm ready to be back to normal!

Sidney had my car while I was gone, and the kid worked miracles! New brakes, dents hammered out, new power steering, all sorts of little "fixes" that needed to happen. Sidney, you are amazing . . . simply amazing!!!

Texas, baby

Finally! Internet access! But, wouldn't you know it . . . Church software BLOCKS MySpace! How rude! Just kidding . . . makes good sense. I had a great time with Grandma, and got LOTS of reading done. I couldn't tell you the last time I sat and read a J D Robb book in 24 hours! Very relaxing. I did get a kick out of the fact that Grandma brings the contraband to the dining room. She brings the real butter, and everyone shares it.

I left SLC on Sunday, and landed in Houston to find that it is hot. HOT. They tell me it's winter time here, but it feels like Virginia in July. Mom and Dad's apartment is pretty nice. There's a pond, and lots of ducks, a pool, exercise room, and decent sized. Monday, yesterday, we went adventuring. We went to the San Jacinto monument, which is where Sam Houston defeated General Santa Ana in 18 minutes. This battle started everything that lead to Texas' Independence. The monument itself is the largest masonry building in the world. Like the DC monument, but 12 feet higher, 'cause, well, everything is bigger in Texas! Oh, and Stacey, those barn stars you like so much? Those are TEXAS stars, and one is atop the monument! We saw the USS Texas, and from there, headed to Galveston. Once in Galveston, we toured an Oil Rig museum, saw LOTS of pelicans, and then went to the ferry. Rode the ferry to an island and back, and saw MORE pelicans. Watching them fish is amazing! Then, there were these black bird/duck looking things. Someone said Cormorants or something like that. But, they dive down under the water, stay for 15-20 seconds, fishing! Fun to watch. Then, we went to the beach, and waded in the Gulf of Mexico. The water was SO warm, but people said it was cold, because it's winter! Yeah, 'cause 75 degrees is my idea of cold. Saw several jellyfish, blue, with a pink top on them. They were on the beach and while I took pictures, I stayed away! Had Sonic on the way home, then crashed about when we got to the apartment.

Dad has a meeting this morning, but then we are off to the zoo, and then the Museum where they have a display about Pompeii. Tonight we're going to watch Ratatouille, and tomorrow we're doing a cruise down the ship channel. Houston is 50 miles inland, but one of the largest ports in the US. Very interesting stuff going on here. You'd think with all the refineries and everything, gas would be cheap, but it's really the same price as in Virginia!

Going to go surf the net now . . . more later!

JetBlue

Good morning! I made it without any incident to SLC yesterday. Let me tell ya . . . I love me some JetBlue! Comfy seats, pleasant people, decent entertainment. That's rare! No problems, totally on time. How rarely does that happen?

Alice picked me up from the airport, and then we picked up Grandma and went out for dinner. I crashed about as soon as I got back to the apartment! Four am had come awfully early. Got up this morning, we went to breakfast, and now I'm going to help her with some "projects" that she has been saving up for me. The mountains here are gorgeous, in a totally different way from Virginia. Hard, rocky, rather than the rolling hills of the Blue Ridge. I flew in over the Great Salt Lake. I'm always amazed at the beauty in this part of the country. Oh, and as a side note, the computers here won't let me in to my email, and I can't access MySpace, so . . . . little bit of withdrawal here going on! But, I do have text messaging, so if you REALLY need to get a hold of me . . . you know where to find me!!! Hope everyone is having a great day!!

Off I go!

Just realized it's been a few days since I posted. Happy April Fool's day! One of my favorite April Fools was when I was a kid. Mom had gone on to work, and Dad had fixed breakfast for Brad and I. Colored pancakes (purple, maybe?), and everything was upside down. Plates, silverware, glasses, everything. You know the little dip in the bottom of a glass? Dad had put milk in that! Well, as we were leaving, Dad told us to hurry home so we could see the new kittens. Yeah, like we were going to fall for THAT! Well, sure enough, there were new kittens! I love harmless pranks like that.

Got off work a bit early today and ran a few errands. I had lunch with Karey today . . . steak . . . mmmm. Not that I could afford it, but steak. Slurp. Happiness, right there! I better go do some more cleaning for Drew's arrival . . . I'm sure I'm the only one that doesn't mind Britney fur . . . . Gorgeous day today. Walked Britney down to the river where the ducks were again. Well, this time she didn't hesitate, swimming she went!! Ugh, didn't really want a wet dog, but she was having so much fun . . . c'est la vie, right? I love springtime, the flowers are starting to pop out everywhere, weather's warm, ahhhh, life is SO good!!!