I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...

Don't know when I'll be back again...

Today is a good day! I leave tomorrow, and I paid off not one, but TWO of my credit cards today. That alone makes me smile. When I pair that thought with being in Hawaii tomorrow I want to turn cartwheels.

I have a post rolling around in my head about my debt. Someday I'll share. I'm not quite ready yet. But man, does it feel good to be paying it off!

This past week was a roller coaster. To top off my fever-flu-cold, I broke out in hives on Sunday from the medication I was taking. I'm definitely allergic to something! That's finally cleared up. And I'm finally feeling better. Still have a little cough and a little congestion, but I'd say I'm 90% better than I was a week ago. And I'll take that.

Monday was a eggy day at work. (A word coined by one of my associates, works perfectly, don't you think?) Everyone that came in had this issue or that issue. And we were all liars and had told this person that we had a $30 plan, but they charged her for $35- and she would even call her daughter to prove that's what was said. Never mind that there isn't a $30 plan in the brochure and never has been...

And this guy wanted us to personally go out and put up a tower in his town last night because he's been paying for service for a year and can't use the phone in his house. But he's known that from day one that his town isn't a good service area, and we do have a cancellation policy. But it's not a one-year policy. And oh? He's going to be charged early termination fees if he cancels early? He didn't know that. I could go off on an entire tangent regarding that one. Long story short- if you're signing a contract, you should know what you are signing for.

The kicker was the guy that called and wanted me to do a credit check over the phone. I explained that we don't do that for security reasons. We won't take a social security number over the phone and we need to see photo id, etc. This guy wasn't having any of that- he couldn't walk and he was going to send his daughter down to sign the contract for him but she was under 18 so we couldn't do a credit check on her. I told him I'm sorry sir, but for security reasons you have to be here for the credit check. He didn't let me go on to explain that we also need him to sign the contract physically at the store- it's all electronically filed in our computers. Nope, he told me "you mean you won't?! &*%$ you!" And slammed down the phone.

That was Monday. Yesterday was much better. Customer's were polite and happy, reasonable even. OR maybe that was because I kept telling everyone I was on vacation mode and I'm going to Hawaii. And everytime I said that I couldn't help but smile. Makes a day go by fast when you keep smiling and rubbing it in that you'll be on vacation soon!

And at the end of the night I had one of those customer's that let me know that she does appreciate the work we do. And that's always nice to hear.

Cause I'm leaving...

Finally getting around to answering these questions... Some of them were tough, but I gave it my best shot!

1) What's the best trip you've ever been on?
This was probably my trip to Alaska. I spent six weeks there after I graduated from high school. It was so much fun to just travel and see a little bit of the state. A close second would be the road trip that I took out east.

2) If you could change anything about your appearance, what would it be?
Right now I would change my hair. It's at a horrible stage but there's not much I can do except for wait to let it grow.

3) If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what would be it be?
Mashed potatoes, chicken, corn, salad and ice cream for dessert

4) How many kids would you like to have someday?
I will take how ever many are given to me.

5) What is your favorite flower?
Daffodils. Make that yellow daffodils!

6) What do you believe is your greatest accomplishment to date?
I believe my greatest accomplishment is in the time I spent working as a teacher's aide in one of the local schools. There was one student I worked with who was legally blind in one eye and had very little sight in the other. At the beginning of the year she would walk out of my office when she was frustrated with her homework. By the end of the year we were able to work through the frustration. She would let her teachers know that she needed to come and work with me when she couldn't handle the classes.

I loved the work I did there. One of my favorite quotes sums it up
"One Hundred Years from now It will not matter what kind of car I drove, What kind of house I lived in, how much money was in my bank account nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a better place because I was important in the life of a child"

7) What was your favorite toy as a child?
I had a few toys that I loved. I don't remember any one in particular lasting for too long. I do remember a bear that I won in 2nd grade. We had an end-of-the-year field trip to the roller-rama, and it was there that I won this teddy bear. It was bright orange, so I named it “Orangie”. I slept with that bear for years.

Blech

I'm not feeling so swell. I have a high temperature, the chills, a cough, queasy stomach, you name it... Not so much fun.

I leave on Thursday, I just hope I'm feeling better by then!

Baby Drew

I woke up early Saturday morning to make the trip to meet my nephew.

The roads were clear and the sun was out, so the drive went by pretty quickly. My parents also were at Kelli and Bryan's.

It was Laura's 8th birthday, so we celebrated. It was nice to see the family. I haven't been home since Christmas. And of course, it was fun to see Drew.

Everyone fought over holding him. Mom even suggested a timer to be fair...

They were supposed to go home yesterday but we started listening to the weather reports. Unfortunately, the weather did not want to cooperate with everyone's plans. So my parents packed it up early and left around five-ish to get ahead of the coming storm. Michelle also ended up leaving after work to come out there.

It was a good thing they did. It rained for awhile and then turned to snow at about nine Sunday morning. Then it steadily snowed for the entire day.

We stayed home and took turns cuddling with Drew. There is something about holding a baby. It's one of the most relaxing things to do. Love it.

Michelle and I ventured to the grocery store in the afternoon. Then the three of us baked a rib dinner. So good!

I got to baby-sit for this sweet little guy today.

Poor thing- I was acting like the paparazzi. Oh well, he didn't seem to mind. And now I have a few pictures to keep looking at until I make it out there again!

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Answers

If I send a box up this weekend with my youngest brother - would you be able to find away to get it? :) Absolutely! I would love to find a way to get it! :)

You don't really want to leave that snow do you? I do love the snow... Which is funny because when I was younger I hated winter. In fact, I always said I would never live here because of the winters. And then I moved for school and fell in love with the place, and the winters. Still, I like to have a short break from snow right about now.

Have you ever skied down Ripley? No, I have a season pass for Bohemia though.

How's auntie life treating you? It's good! I love knowing that we finally have a little one around to spoil

When will you see him? This weekend!

Oatmeal or chocolate chip? Oatmeal. I've never been a huge fan of chocolate chip cookies. If I was making them (chocolate chip) for myself I would only put half the amount it calls for

bananas or apples? It depends on the day. I love bananas with peanut butter but apples from the orchard by my parents- I could eat those everyday!

what is the one thing you want to see before you die? I want to make it to Finland before I die. I would love to be able to see the places that my great-grandparents knew and called home

how tall are you? between 5 ft 4in and 5ft 5in (I think, not really sure about this! )

whats a talent you always wished you had? ( I wish I could play an instrument...) I always wish I had more of an artistic ability

how many more days until you meet your nephew? .. o wait-- I know that one! TWO!!! :) Can't wait to see you Katie! I'm excited to see everyone also!

Cobwebs in my head

I don't have much to write about lately.

So... what do you want to know about me?

Would it be Wrong....

To take down my suitcase and start packing?

Church was cancelled last night because of the weather. So far the schools are on a two hour delay today, and I'm hoping if I start packing now my vacation will come a little bit sooner.

Tagged

The Rules:
*You must post the rules before you give your answers.
*You must list one fact about yourself for each letter of your middle name.
*Each fact must begin with that letter.
*If you don't have a middle name, just use your maiden name.
*After you've been tagged, you need to up-date your blog with your middle name and answers.
*At the end of your post, you need to tag one person for each letter of your middle name.(Be sure to leave them a comment telling them they've been tagged and need to read your blog for details)


Maybe very bad at remembering to give birthday gifts, cards, etc...

Always up for a trip somewhere.

Really would love to be good at one thing. I feel like there are a lot of things I can do pretty well but I still haven't found that one thing I'm really good at

In the process of paying off my debt

Emotional girl... I'm better than I used to be, but there are still random times that I get all teary-eyed. And it's never ever over something that requires tears.

I tag Karen, Michelle, Jolynn, Leigh, and Cami

I love me some sunshine

This picture has nothing to do with my post, other than I took it today while I was playing around with my camera...


There's nothing better than a February day with blue skies and sunshine. Unless it's a blue sky day on your day off.


Which it was.


So while other parts of the state enjoyed a snow day, I went up to our lot. I wasn't going to, I was feeling a little bit lazy. But I am so glad I did.

I drove up there, put on my boots and (Annette's) snow pants and went crazy with my camera.

It would have been a lot easier with snowshoes. In a lot of places I was sinking past my knees.

When I got to the end of the lot, I saw this.



And in the other direction:

I took well over 100 pictures, playing with different settings. The ice build-up in the picture above was taller than me.

It was really windy, and cold but I'm glad I stuck it out.

A different look at the ice

I took these next shots with my continous setting.

This one sprayed me.

I love the water, I could fill many albums with the pictures I have taken of different bodies of water. I was hoping that I would be able to catch a winter sunset but the clouds rolled in too early... Maybe next time.

I'm an Aunt!

Kelli had a baby boy last night... Drew Donald was born around 7:30pm. Mom and baby are doing well.

I Just Finished Grocery Shopping

So I thought I would share this recipe:

Chicken, Broccoli, Rice Casserole:
(From my friend Jody in SC)

-3 chicken breasts
-1 C uncooked rice
-1/2 C celery
-1/4 C onion
-1/2 stick butter
-16 oz velveeta cheese
-1 can cream of chicken soup
-16 oz bag of broccoli (cut)
-1/2 C milk

Boil chicken for 15-20 min, cut into small pieces. Cook rice (2 cups water- boil) Saute next 3 ingredients
Combine chicken, rice + broccoli mixture in a slow cooker on low for 1 hr
(Or bake in a casserole dish in oven @ 350 for approx. 20-30 min, until bubbly)

I personally think it's better cooked in the slow cooker, but either way it's excellent!

It is...

...this wonderful woman's birthday today!

Something new

I tried kickboxing last night.

It was interesting. The instructor was one of those guys still stuck in the 80's- florescent pants, big hair.

Anyway, Kara and I went, we've been doing Tae Bo lately so it was fun to try something a little bit different. I may go again. There were quite a few girls there.

And then we all went out for dinner afterwards and packed in the food.

It was just nice to get out and try something new. That seems to be a hard thing for me to do in the winter. But I'm trying!