KirstenL4W

We are doing the super-casual, super-budget-friendly wedding.  So a lot of the things on the bridal magazine checklists are just not for us.  Still, there is a lot to do once we figure out what we want and need.  We could just elope and tell everyone, “Hey, by the way…” but I don’t really want to look back at my wedding and feel like I missed out on anything.  I want to have the feeling that I had a wedding day, not ran an errand and ended up married.  Even with just a few things, it’s amazing at how fast the costs spiral up and up and up.

We went and ordered part of my dress today.  Rather than the traditional wedding dress, I’m going for separates, since I know I can wear them again.  The top is a custom-made corset, from the fab folks over at Bad Attitude.  Ialready have one of their corsets, so I know I can wear it for a length of time.  Then we went to dinner and talked to the owner of the establishment about having the reception there.  It’s a nice cozy Eye-talian joint that we frequent, so the owner is willing to accommodate us.  Plus, having it in a restaurant we figure we’ll just have people order whatever from the menu, and we provide the cake and champagne.  Works out better that way - cheaper for us, of course, and everyone will be happy with their meal since they have more than 2 choices.

We still have cake, favors, flowers to consider, I’m really trying to get in touch with VegasRic and convince him to be my photographer, even though he usually takes pictures of nekkid ladies, since that’s so much more fun and profitable.  So keep your fingers crossed there.  And oh yeah, invites.  And the rest of my dress.  And the license, to make it legal.  And probably a few things I can’t think of right now.  I’m reading the Kvetch boards at Indie Bride to really make my head spin.

We went back to look at some of the condos we saw yesterday, to get a better feel for it and remember it better.  We saw so much yesterday that it was hard to keep them all straight.  But our lease is up in 6 weeks, and we either sign another lease - 6 month minimum - or fork over an extra $100/mo for the priveledge of not having a lease.  Plus we don’t want to move too close to the wedding, and after the wedding will be blazing hot.

When will my head stop spinning with all this stuff?  And when oh when will I stop staring at my ring long enough to be productive?

Here’s what I’ve been able to cross off my list from the post below this one:

• Make craft for my Mom I started it - it’s in progress
• Make craft for a friend of Boyfriend This will probably not be a Christmas Gift at this point. Maybe a mid-year gift.
• Make a stocking for Boyfriend with no sewing machine and remedial sewing skills I have the fabric cut and pinned. I might go to Joann to see if I can use one of their demo sewing machines instead of stitching it all by hand.
• Find blank address labels amongst my stuff in the garage so I don’t have to buy more when all I need is 2 sheets I decided to just hand address them. Afterwards, when I was looking for something on my desk, I found the damn labels.
• Sign, address, and mail Christmas cards
• Burn and send latest CD for mix exchange working on this one - I need to test the two that I made to make sure I’m not having an issue with my burner
• Find time to finish Christmas shopping, as soon as I figure out what to get Only a few more quick things to get!
• Mail Christmas presents to family back home!
• Which means I need to buy the right size boxes, so I guess I should finish shopping first, eh? Got this info written down for today’s shopping excursion
• Make banana bread out of bananas I didn’t eat before they turn to total mush and rot through the counter Slightly burned it. Might have temperature problem with this oven, since I have never burned things before cooking in this oven
• Regularly scheduled Thursday night oil change with our friends at the Greasy Spoon. The food is great, if you like it greasy! Must remember to get salad next time. Must convince myself that a salad will satisfy me.
• Attend Sweet 16 for our friend’s daughter Friday night, which will likely be followed by an after-party for the adults No after party, but the party was a success.
• Keep from getting myself committed to the loony bin or having my insanity making the national news. Still working on this one

Boyfriend and I are supposed to go out to finish shopping today. He wanted to get out by 10 so we can be home by 2, but he hit Level 70 last night in his silly little game, and that’s where he sits right now - in front of his computer. I was up early for a weekend, got my websurfing done, addressed and signed my cards, updated my checkbook, wrote down box sizes for stuff I need to mail, and even found a tiny bit of surface space on my desk. Boyfriend just announced that he will be taking a shower shortly, so I guess it’s time to get myself all prettied up to face the Christmas crowds.

Just so you know, I’ll be writing my annual Christmas post soon, and dating it Christmas Day, so it will stay up on top until Christmas. My blog address is in all my cards, so my family and friends will be stopping by to see what’s up with me (I hope!)

The other day I stopped by the apartment office to remind them that I still have a puddle of water under my sink. I know they are having major issues with other things like leaky roofs and heaters, but some acknowledgment would be nice. They’re so very nice when I go in there, but then they never call. I did manage to figure out where the leak was - sort of. Seems that the lines to and from the dishwasher have water dripping down them. Oh, and there’s a clamp missing on one of the lines, which may not necessarily be the spot where it’s leaking, but is definitely a disaster in the making. I can’t exactly put a bucket under it, because the water seems to be not only leaking out of the various places the hoses connect at the top, and where that connection connects to the faucet, but water also runs down these hoses and dribbles all over the place. Perhaps instead of a bucket I can try to fit a kiddie pool under the sink. As it is, the floor of the cabinet is so rotted out that there’s a huge dip in the floor. I think the only thing holding it together is the peel and stick vinyl tile that maintenance put down to fix cover up the rotted cabinet. If they ever decide to come and fix it, it will be interesting to see what their solution is.

In other news, time is careening towards Christmas at a breakneck speed, and I still have so many things that I need to get done. Here’s a close to complete sampling:

• Make craft for my Mom
• Make craft for a friend of Boyfriend
• Make a stocking for Boyfriend with no sewing machine and remedial sewing skills
• Find blank address labels amongst my stuff in the garage so I don’t have to buy more when all I need is 2 sheets
• Sign, address, and mail Christmas cards
• Burn and send latest CD for mix exchange
• Find time to finish Christmas shopping, as soon as I figure out what to get
• Mail Christmas presents to family back home!
• Which means I need to buy the right size boxes, so I guess I should finish shopping first, eh?
• Make banana bread out of bananas I didn’t eat before they turn to total mush and rot through the counter
• Regularly scheduled Thursday night oil change with our friends at the Greasy Spoon. The food is great, if you like it greasy!
• Attend Sweet 16 for our friend’s daughter Friday night, which will likely be followed by an after-party for the adults
• Keep from getting myself committed to the loony bin or having my insanity making the national news.

I’m sure there’s more that I just can’t think of right now. And, of course, as if the weekends need to be any busier, there is a possibility that we need to go to Colorado the weekend of December 15. Please, let’s do it after the holidays, and if we have to go, please, Santa, bring me some winter boots size 8 1/2 narrow for Christmas. Living in Vegas means that I don’t need to have winter boots unless we actually go somewhere that has winter, and everyone who has seen South Park knows that Colorado has snow year round.

I’m gonna try to cook some banana bread now, if I don’t blow up the kitchen or something. We ended up with pizza for supper tonite because I went shopping to get stuff to make Shepherd’s Pie and forgot potatoes. There are 3, count ‘em, THREE, ingredients in Sheperd’s Pie and I forgot one. I don’t know where my brain is today. Hopefully I have enough of it to get the banana bread right. So, I’m gonna go insane make banana bread and try to get to work on a craft or two, and try to keep reminding myself that plenty of sleep and my full-time job are good things and not getting in the way of everything I have to do this month.

(taken from Chitowngal who took it from Poi who took it from Henna)

aprons - y/n?
nope, I don’t have any, therefore don’t wear any. Perhaps I should though.

baking - y/n?
If I can cook it in a toaster oven, sure.

clothesline - y/n?
No, nowhere to put one. But I do have clothespins.

donuts - ever made them?
Nope, but I might have to start because there are no Dunkin’ Donuts here.

everyday - one homemaking thing you do everyday?
Homemaking? Daily? You’re kidding, right?

freezer - do you have a separate deep freezer?
I live in a studio apartment. That should tell you what you need to know.

garbage disposal - y/n
Now this I have. I like using my disposal.

handbook - y/n?
Well, my mom brought me to see this show for my First Annual 29th Birthday, and I bought the DVD after the show. It came with a handbook. I can’t do anything in it though. Cuz I’m a girl.

ironing - love it or hate it?
Hate it. I avoid it to the point that I wear mostly knits.

junk drawer - where is it?
I don’t believe in junk drawers. Everything should have a proper home.

kitchen - design and decorating?
One of these years, yes. But right now I live in a van down by the river studio apartment. I can try to give it all the love I have, but it’s still gonna be a tiny, horrible kitchen.

love - what is your favorite part of homemaking?
How about “home - what is your favorite part of lovemaking?” to which I answer NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS!!!!!!

mop - y/n?
Mop? I’m confused.

nylons - wash them by hand or in the washer?
I live in the desert. It gets very hot here in the desert. Hotter than the sun sometimes. Nylon has a very low melting point - about 420-430 degrees Fahrenheit. Therefore, I don’t wear nylons because I don’t want them to melt onto my legs.

oven - do you use the window or open it to check?
I don’t use the oven. I use a toaster oven. I live alone, don’t forget. No sense firing up the big old oven to cook a little something for myself. Did I mention that I live in a studio apartment?

pizza - what do you put on yours?
Sauce, cheese, and sometimes I like sausage and onions on it. Just as long as it’s not spicy. And it’s not on me.

quiet - what do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment?
A quiet moment during the day? Nothing, it’s too short. But if there are enough of them all strung together, then I take a nap.

recipe card box?
I have a bunch of cookbooks that I don’t use because I’m rarely home to eat. Does that count?

style of house?
Dumpy, needs to be renovated 20 year old studio apartment. But it’s a good size for a studio.

tablecloths and napkins - y/n?
Tablecloths no. I tend to drag them off the table with my thunder thighs when I sit down. Napkins are a necessity. Can’t live without them.

under the kitchen sink?
cleaning supplies and tools. Neither of which I use very often.

vacuum - how many times a week?
I vacuum semiannually. People actually vacuum multiple times per week?

wash - how many loads do you do a week?
1? 2? It depends on how many clothes I wear.

x’es - do you keep a list of things to do and cross them off?
I am a compulsive list maker. I am not, however, a compulsive list-crosser-offer.

yard - who does what?
I live in a VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER!!!!! The landscapers take care of all that.

zzz’s - what is your last homemaking task for the day?
I may or may not be home for my last task of the day. And it may or may not have to do with homemaking.

I had the television on the other day when I heard something familiar. I went to look and was greeted with this:

Bread, sandwiches, whatever. But the song was vaguely familiar. Isn’t it from Ren & Stimpy? I watched way too much of that show when I was in high school. I know all the words for the Log Song, which you can see here. And how about Powdered Toast Man? In any case, it’s just not right that something as wholesome as Sara Lee baked goods is being pitched with a song from the original cartoon for grown-ups.

Why is it that when I’m doing my laundry, as I’m about to bring my clean clothes in from the laundry room the sprinklers decide to spew water everywhere? I usually cut through the lawn between 2 buildings, cutting my walk to the laundry room from a half a mile to about 100 yards. But I can’t cut through the lawn when the sprinklers are doing their thing. I don’t have much luck walking on the pathways either, because the sprinkler heads are constantly being trampled on by kids in the area, which leads to water getting everywhere but on the lawn. So much for water conservation.

I still have a massive to-do list, but isn’t that always the way? I’m really feeling the need to get more organized, and it will come, eventually. (Oh dear, I just hear my neighbor next door fart. Through the wall. Thank goodness the smell doesn’t travel - it’s not the first time I heard that). Anyway, where was I? Oh yes. I’m getting there slowly but surely. I think I need to write my to-do list out so I can see it every day, and then check off things as I get them done. Or go back to writing it on my bathroom mirror, since I still have those markers in there. That’s what I’ll do. First on my list is go back to Curves. I used to work out there when I first moved here, until I needed to work a second job and life got in the way. Now, I only need the one job, and there is a Curves studio right next door to my office, so I won’t have much of an excuse. I like going to Curves, and with all the weight I’ve gained recently, I really need to get off my ass and get it done.

I think that’s about all for now. I still have a bunch of stuff I want to get done online, but I don’t want to be up all night.

You Are An ISFJ

The Nurturer You have a strong need to belong, and you very loyal. A good listener, you excell at helping others in practical ways. In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music. You find it easy to be devoted to one person for whom you do special things. You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

What’s Your Personality Type?

Yes, despite popular belief, I do have a personality. Gem has been encouraging FOGs (Friends of Gem) to see what their personality type is. I am an ISFJ, which means this:

I — Introverted: turned toward the inner world of symbols, ideals and forms. An introvert, or introverted type, is one whose dominant function is inwardly focused. Introverts are inclined to express themselves, using their primary function, indirectly, through inference and nuance.
S — Sensing: physiological perception; perceiving with the five natural senses. Extraverted sensors are attuned to the world of sights, sounds, smells, touches and tastes. Introverted sensors are most aware of how those perceptions compare with their ideal internal standards. In Jung’s typology, sensing is an irrational function. Sensing’s opposite is iNtuition.
F — Feeling: Making decisions from a personal perspective. In Jung’s typology, feeling is a rational function. Feeling’s opposite is Thinking.
J — Well, you just need to read this page to understand it a bit more.

I also got the same result from this test, so since internet based quizzes have never been known for their accuracy, I’d encourage you to do a few to see what the results are.

In other news, despite my relaxing week so far (actually, its been a lazy week), I’ve got some built up frustration and anger somewhere, so I need to get rid of that. I was chatting with a friend a little while ago online, and some of my anger is directed towards him, which it really shouldn’t be because he didn’t do anything really to deserve it. So rather than hitting him, I’m going to try and go out tomorrow to hit baseballs. Whenever I have this kind of pent-up energy I always feel the need to hit or throw something. Once, in college, I was angry and threw my keys towards the wall. They didn’t bounce off the wall, instead, they stuck in the wall. I was so upset that it didn’t even amuse me at the time, and it really scared my RA when she came in to see what was wrong. So I try to stay away from that kind of damage now, and heading to the batting cages might be just the thing. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Also, I finally got my above-mentioned friend to help me drag in the cabinet I bought. My desk area just doesn’t have enough storage space in it to really be effective, and because of this I constantly have a pile of stuff on the floor beside my desk. You can’t see the pile, but here’s the desk and mess on top of it:

So, what I’m going to do is move this bookshelf next to my desk:

Now, I know that I have the file cabinet next to the desk, but it’s on wheels so I think I’ll be fine just rolling it around to be out of my way. Also, I don’t go in the far side of my closet too often, so it’s not a huge inconvenience for that side to be blocked. So now there’s just the question of what I am going to put where the bookshelf was. I do need to put something there, since I do still need some sort of storage space, which studio apartments are notoriously lacking. I bought this at War-Mart:

I have the bottom cabinet and the 4-square cubby thing to put on top of it. I think that it will give me plenty of storage space. I won’t have to have my laundry stuff on display (yay!) and it will be a much better system for storage than I had before. I can’t wait to get started, and I even thought about starting it now, but I need to try and get back to daytime hours before my first day of work on Monday.

Oh, and I’m done v-cat (what I’m calling the xxxxxx Catalogues), my mix cd. I’ll post more on that later. I just need to fine tune one little thing, then I can burn them all. I hope to have them mailed out on Friday.

So, a decent night sleep, a decent talk with a good friend, and a weekend off if it kills me, and I have a plan. I’m going to do laundry today, clean my kitchen, and go shopping. I have so much stuff to do right now, but I need to do one at a time. I’ve decided that if I buy a small hutch or pantry cabinet it will help me with that awkward space next to my teeny coat closet, and if it has doors I can hide all my laundry detergent and such. The, I can move the bookcase that’s there next to my desk, reorganize my desk and hopefully be better able to keep that clean.

Laundry is always a given, but I think I’ll buy a 3-part sorter. I love my antique white wicker hamper, but it’s just not being used to its fullest potential. I can store blankets and such in there and have an effective laundry sorting system that will help keep clothes off my freaking floor.

My kitchen is a dumping ground, and just needs to be cleaned. Period. I know I have a busy life lately, but that’s no excuse. And the junk food - yeah. Got to go. I’ve got to start eating better. I’ll feel better and I do need to lose weight, so I’ll be able to fit into all those nice clothes I still have that are on the other side of my closet.

I need, I really need, to stay motivated. I know some of you probably think the whole feng shui thing is hokey, but I have definitely noticed a correlation between how messy my house is and how messy my life is. So I need to clean my house. I need to keep it clean and organized, then that will carry over into my life and help me keep that organized.

A little bit at a time, baby steps. I’ll try to spend some time this weekend making a list of all the things that need doing, then hopefully some it will actually get done if it’s broken down into baby steps. It will seem achievable

I finally got that mix CD made for the exchange I’m participating in. Here’s the list of songs I came up with:

1. A song from the year you were born - Free Man in Paris by Joni Mitchell
2. A song having to do with your favorite color - Turn Back Time by Aqua
3. A song that mentions a place name - Gulf of Mexico by Cameron Dezen
4. Up in the air and beyond (sun, sky, atmosphere, moon, planets, outer space, etc.) - Blue Sky by Patty Griffin
5. A food or mealtime song - Pizza Cutter by Letters to Cleo
6. A cowboy song - A Common Disaster by Cowboy Junkies
7. It’s about time - See #2
8. A song about music - Mix Tape by the Original Broadway Cast of Avenue Q
9. A song about the weather - Listening for the Weather by Bic Runga
10. Pick a name, any name - Susan by Aimee Mann
11. It’s getting dark - Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest
12. Something imaginary - Imaginary by Evanescence
13. A song by a singer/band from a continent you don’t live on - Going Home by Sophie Zelmani
14. A pretty ugly song - Beautiful by Joydrop
15. Don’t just sit there, get moving! (a song about some sort of action/physical activity) - Push and Pull by Nikka Costa
16. Money – either you got it or you don’t - Dealer by Chantal Kreviazuk
17. Seasonal songs – a song either mentioning a season or having to with certain seasons - Season of the Witch by Donovan
18. Hello/Goodbye - Big Exit by PJ Harvey
19. The animal kingdom - Smelly Cat by Chrissie Hynde and Phoebe Bouffay (found this one by accident on a music search of a different flavor - I don’t think there’s an official release of it.)
20. Wildcard – put on a song just because you want to include it - ‘Cuz I Can by P!nk

That’s ready to mail out to Saturnine, i just have to go to the post office tomorrow and do that. I like the mix exchanges, they’re fun to do and even more fun to get the CDs with new music on the. On my iTunes player, I created a playlist called “Mix CD Repository” where I dump all the music from these things on there. It’s great to put it on shuffle and just have it playing while I go about my chores.

I also managed to vacuum my apartment yesterday and get the piles of laundry done. I feel so much better now with those things out of the way.

In other news, lately I’ve not been feeling too inspired to post. I feel like my postings have been a bit trite, simply reporting on my daily happenings and such. I need to get my inspiration back. Dr. A has been going through a blog block lately, and seems to have resolved it with a video post. You aren’t going to get that lucky here, as I hate being on camera, especially video. So, I’ll need to find some other way to resolve my blog block.

I suppose I should get going now. I need to eat something and get back to bed (I slept all day). Tomorrow is another day, and I do have to go to work.

I found a place here in Vegas that could be a good source for selling some CDs. I miss my beloved Newbury Comics, so finding a similar place here to unload music would be great. My first round of CD unload saw me uploading all the songs I had that I wanted, but bought the CD for the one song. I uploaded those single songs and sent my music home to trade in at Newbury Comics when I was visiting. Now, I want to upload all the music I have just to have - you know, that stuff that’s supposed to be essential to all good music collections - and get rid of the physical CD. I still use CDs in my car and such, but I notice that I stick to a select few dozen or so. So, I’ll keep those ones and sell the rest. That means I’ll also be able to sell the CD rack that I have, and I have a friend in mind who might be interested in purchasing it. But first, I have many, many hours to spend in front of the computer uploading music.

I also think that I might purchase a pro account on Flickr. I want to keep things organized, and not only do I have to get them organized on my home computer, since my photo organization leaves much to be desired, but when people are looking at them online I want to have them nice and organized there too. A pro account to create more photosets would accomplish this. And it’s not expensive either, so why the heck not?

And, I’ve had a Palm Z22 for almost a year now, but only once have I synched it to my computer. I need to update that and sync it again, and I ought to start using it more regularly for other things as well. It’s an amazing little electronic device, so I should be taking full advantage. Even so, I don’t think it will help me find the time to get all this stuff done.

Ah well, the list never ends. Despite having all that to do, the main priority right now (besides sleep and work) is finishing the traffic school thing online and paying my stupid traffic fine by Tuesday of next week. Stupid Nevada traffic court system. I am so determined that there will not be a next time regarding any traffic issues, but at least I don’t have any points on my license for it. Yeah, well worth the money, sure. Still a major PITA, but at least they take credit cards and I can do traffic school online when I have a chance.

So I worked last night, and was up pretty much all day Sunday, so by the time I left work I had been up for something like 24 hours. I was exhausted. I went home and went straight to bed. I woke up around 10pm, after 12 hours asleep, but I have to go into work at security (currently my only job) for 9am Tuesday. See, one of the directors didn’t work out, and another director is going on vacation for a six day weekend or something like that, so the standing room won’t have any director at all. The mobile room director is also the operations director, so in addition to his stuff he has to run the whole place. Yeah. So, to fill in, I’ll be helping out the standing director with help from the night director. At least I’m getting some hours there, but I’m starting to feel like Security job is a big black hole that will suck me in and no one will ever see me or hear from me again - sorta like what happened to F. Now that I see how it is there, I’m wondering how I ever even met him or got to know him. Anyhoo, at least I have some work for now.

Since I’m up for a little while, I’ve been catching up on some blog surfing through Bestest Blog and all I can say is Bobby’s been busy! Lots of new blog submissions for the new year, and for the past 2 weeks there are 227 new blogs. I usually just open a bunch of them at a time in new tabs and go from there. Once in awhile I find one that I actually want to add to my list and read regularly, so it’s worth it, I think. I get quite a bit of traffic from there myself, so the link exchange was a great idea. My only gripe is that I am listening to my music, stuff I like, thru iTunes right now, and too many blogs play music automatically which bugs the shit out of me. You know who you are. Why on earth do people think that I want to listen to their music? If I want to listen to it, tell me what it is and give me the option of listening or not. But the so-called radio wars I do not like. Anyway.

I still have a lot of catching up to do, mostly in the form of computer stuff. Not catching up necessarily, but just things I want to do. Good thing I surf with a notebook on my desk, so I can write down stuff I want to visit or check out. Then, as I find the time, I go thru and hi-lite the ones I liked and will visit again, and cross off the ones that aren’t worth it. Not the most efficient method, but it works for me, and it keeps me from having tons of post-its on my desk.

Ok, enough middle of the night blabbing. I’m going to blog surf a bit more then get a bit more sleep before going back in to work in the morning. So much for laundry. I still have stuff I can wear, but hopefully I’ll be home tomorrow evening and can get some laundry done then. I hate not having a washer and dryer in my apartment, I tell ya. Next time I move, that’s on my list.

Still no progress on the job situation. I’ll be following up on that big time this week, because I really need to get that settled very soon. However, I am done at the shoestore. If I’m picking up more hours here at security, and the day hours interfere with my current schedule. This leaves me open to pick up more shifts at security, and when I get a day job, I know I can change my hours here at security on short notice to weekends only, so the shoestore won’t get in the way when I need to change my schedule suddenly. So goodbye shoestore, hello Sunday afternoon naps.

And even though I should be picking up some shifts here at security, I also have a lot of things I need to get done, so a couple days off will be really nice. I have boatloads of laundry to do, plus I need to do the annual vacuuming of my apartment. I forgot to run the dishwasher today before I left, so that needs to be done. I also have a few other cleaning things to do, and I’d also like to get a bunch of stuff done online. And music, I need to finish the mix exchange I committed to, and I’d like to start ripping a bunch of my CDs to iTunes so that I can sell them. I’m in a lean mean cleaning mood, so I’d like to really get some of this done and feel like I’ve accomplished something. Anyhoo, yeah.

Well now that I am done with my blogging vacation, I think I ought to list some of my hopes, dreams, resolutions and other things that I would like 2007 to bring.

The last week or so of 2006 was very busy. I worked at the security place a lot, worked at the shoe store, and attempted to work at the day job. I like the dispatch job, and I’d like to try and keep that in some way. I also like the shoe store, mainly because of the people. And the day job? Well, I said I’d be there now but I slept until 9. I haven’t gotten a phone call yet. I still have serious reservations about the stability of that job, and it’s really put a damper in my spirit as far as wanting to go in. However, while we’re on the subject of jobs, one of the new dispatchers at work and I were talking the other night. One of the first things he said to me was, “You seem like a reasonably intelligent person. What are you doing working here?” or something to that effect. He’s there part time, just for some extra cash. His full time job is at an excellent company that pays very well, and he’s looking to add people to his team. I gave him my resume and I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I’ll let you know how that turns out. If it does, I would be able to live off of just one job. One single job! And I’d still make more than I was making with 2 jobs. So keep yer fingers crossed for that one.

Of course I would also like to lose weight this year. Besides being so busy that I’ve had no time to work out (as if I even like working out), I think one of the main culprits is the Paxil. My doctor doesn’t think so, but my research and personal experiences from friends say otherwise. I’m not even going to give you a number, but let’s just say that I’m at my heaviest right now. Since there are physical effects of trying to go off Paxil, I’ve got a taper-down plan that I hope will work. Getting off that and a bit of healthier eating should help me shed the 30lbs I’ve gained in the last year.

There are lots of other things I’d like to get done this year, but they’re more of a to-do thing rather than a resolution thing. I’d like to clean my apartment. Reorganize my bookmarks. Get stuff done. You know, all the things I want to do but never get around to doing.

Most of all, I hope that all the job insecurity that fell upon me during the last quarter of 2006 will stabilize and that 2007 will be the Year of the Paycheck. Then I can visit home without worrying about the financial ramifications of taking a vacations. Perhaps I can even renew my passport and actually use it this year! That’s getting ahead of myself though. For now I just want to go visit my family and get to Florida to visit my sister and niece.

But first, I’m going to eat breakfast and play around online a bit more.

Has it really been that long since I’ve blogged? I guess that’s what happens when you’re as busy as I am. I worked at the store Monday and Tuesday evenings, so the rest of the week was mine, all mine.

Wednesday I took the morning off from work to get the rent issue taken care of. Lots of running back and forth, but it’s resolved, this month anyway. We’ll see if it happens again next month. It had better not, that’s all I can say. And speaking of apartments, I got a notice on my door when I came home yesterday. It’s from a realtor and it says that my community has been purchased for condo conversion. Great, just what I need. I had a feeling when I moved in and found out that they’d been sold just before signing my lease. Time will only tell what will happen to this place. They’re fixing things up, sort of. Light bulbs are still out all over the place, but they painted everything and remodeled the office. If anything, rent will definitely be going up.

It’s nearly 1pm now and I still have so much to do today, my only day off. I need to try and finish up my holiday shopping. I need to do laundry and put all my clothes away. I want to re-organize my closet to make getting dressed in the morning easier. I want to go get my box of holiday decorations. I need to clean this dump that I call home. There’s also a few other things, most of them on my mirror in dry erase marker. And, Macoosh, it makes me feel cool too!

So, I suppose I ought to go get some things done today.

Oh yeah, my to-do list seems to be multiplying exponentially. I’m so freaking busy lately that nothing ever seems to get done anymore. That’s got to stop. I mean, I love having the social life I’ve had lately, and I have no intention of stopping. But so much as fallen off the wagon, so to speak, that I feel really out of control of my life.

I got paid today and paid my bills (just about done that now). I finally entered the pile of credit card receipts into Quicken that I had from my trip, which was a month ago now. I noticed a discrepancy with my rental car charges, so I filled out that paperwork and got it ready to send off. As I was taking care of my books, I managed to find the surface of my desk. There’s still lots more organizing to do on and around the desk, but it’s a start, and it makes me feel better that I did the bit that I did.

Even though I feel better about getting my bills paid and desk clean, I did come home tonite to another frickin notice that my rent is overdue. Um, no it isn’t. I paid it in person on Saturday the 2nd. I handed it to the manager. Personally handed it to her. How in the heck can they think I haven’t paid it yet? I’m really pissed off about this, because they obviously don’t have their act together in the office. I’m gonna have to be late to work to take care of it, but I will take care of this in the morning. I mean, I made special arrangements to get it paid on time by borrowing money from F and taking out a cash advance on my credit card (I know, big no-no). But I went to humiliating and extreme measures because I never pay anything late. Never. So for me to go to such effort and have them pull this shit just, just - ok, breathe. Save it for the right people.

I got one holiday present out of the way. I decided to make a mix CD of silly and child-friendly holiday music for my little bro, Boo. There’s some Muppets Christmas songs on there, since he totally loves Elmo, and a funny surprise that will amuse Boo when it makes milk come out of Mommy’s nose.

I was over VegasRic’s house the other night, and I noticed that he has taken to writing to-do lists on his bathroom mirror. I looked at it and thought, hey, dry erase markers work on mirrors. So I did the same thing and put my list where it can’t get buried. Hopefully it works. I’m at the point where I have to really make an effort to get shit done around here because it’s really bugging me that I’ve had absolutely no motivation to get it done. Now I want to get it done and stop being so lazy in the little time I have to myself at home when I’m actually awake.

And the oversleeping thing. Well, this morning I was on time, but not without great effort and annoyance. But I wasn’t as annoyed as I am when I oversleep. Monday I was a half hour late for a Monday Meeting. Not good. Tomorrow I will be late to keep from getting evicted from Incompetent Estates. That one will be worth it.

Anyhoo, since it’s 1:30am and way past my bedtime, I really ought to get going to pay a couple more bills online and get my butt to bed. I’ll catch up on other stuff later.

1. I have pictures of Mia, since Sis finally got the internet turned back on. But, the way she sent them I can’t just right-click and save them. She needs to figure a different way to do that so I can just save pictures of my niece. Sis is decidedly not computer savvy. Word to the wise: don’t use Kodak picture-sharing service if you can at all avoid it. Just because you have one of their cameras does NOT mean that you must use their online photo album too.

2. When I wake up I have a bunch of stuff to do:

• Pay the rent!
• Find my desk under piles of paper
• Put laundry away
• Do something about the large unread pile of magazines
• Clean up the mess by my window and take shit to storage unit
• Water and trim plants

I know there’s more, but the sun’s coming up and I haven’t been to bed yet. I’ll chat more later.

Surprised? Not me. Besides this cold or whatever that’s been bugging me, I feel like I could sleep for a week. The cold - yeah. As soon as I got into the deeper parts of the southeast, my allergies went beserk. Then it all exploded when I saw a caravan of lawnmowers on the highway in Florida. I managed to suck down enough sinus meds when I was at my sister’s so the nurses would let me into the NICU to see Mia, but I think that besides the massive allergy attack, looooong days driving, and many climate changes over the past week have made my body go haywire. Now I just need to get used to being back home and get myself some freaking rest.

I feel like I’ve finally caught up with reading my blogs. I’ll never be caught up on all the things I want to do online, but I did manage to get pics of Mia up on my flickr page. Sis sent pictures of Mia to Dad but he complained that they were too big. I can’t even begin to figure that one out, because Sis only thinks she knows what she’s doing online and Dad will readily admit he doesn’t have a clue when it comes to computers. I figured the best way would be to put them on flickr and give Dad the link, then he should be able to see them just fine.

As for cleaning my house, I did do a mad dash last night in preparation for guests, but there’s still more to be done. There’s always more to be done. My bathroom has multitudes of travel sized toiletries all over the place, and my toilet needs a good scrubbing. I don’t know what it is with the water here, but I get nasty and impossible to remove water rings in the bowl. I bought a pumice stone to try and take care of that, and some industrial strength cleaners. I hate a dirty toilet.

And tired, yes, I am very tired. Like I said I feel like I could sleep for a week. I overslept for work this morning. I was supposed to be at work at 11:30. That’s practically lunchtime, and yet I still woke up at 11. I ended up being a half hour late, since personal hygiene was a bit of a priority for me. And of course a half hour into my shift the need for caffeine hit me. I really need to get off the caffeine. I drank gallons of it on my drive cross country, and I usually try to avoid it because I’m too sensitive to it. Now all sensitivity has been lost, so I need to get off it so it will work again. (BTW, my caffeine vehicle of choice is diet cola - I hate coffee in all its incarnations, so good old diet coke or pepsi it is, preferably cherry flavored.)

Oh, and I must rave about my new jacket that Mom got me when I was in NH. We went to the LL Bean outlet store so that I could buy a 3 season jacket, which would be perfect for winters here in Las Vegas. I ended up picking out this one with a windproof shell and thinsulate lining, which you can see me wearing in the first photo in my slideshow about my trip. It’s pretty comfy. As I’ve been wearing it, I found a few more neat features that it has. There’s a hood that rolls up into the collar of the shell, and it’s removable so that I don’t have to have the bulk there if I don’t want it. And of course the hidden inside pockets. This part is my favorite. On the shell of the jacket, there are 3 inner pockets, and they are LABELLED!!!!! Oh yeah, this is the jacket for me. There is a cellphone pocket, the perfect size for a phone, a music pocket, with a little hole in it for your headphone wire to go through, and a glasses/goggles pocket, and in that one there’s even a lens cleaning cloth attached with a tether so it won’t get lost. Is this jacket awesome or what?

Ok, that’s enough random rambling for now. I really need to set my alarms and get my butt in bed so that I can make it through church and work tomorrow.

I still have soooo much to do to catch up with my life, but instead I get thrust into a busy work schedule without a day off to decompress. I got back Wednesday evening, did some laundry, tried to relax, then a friend came over for awhile. Thursday I worked 12-8:30, then went out with friends. Today I got up early to go get my cast removed (Yay!), got my car’s oil changed and got it smogged so that I can register it, did some grocery shopping, then came home to dump off the groceries and eat a quick lunch before going to work. I just got home and am about to do a mad dash to clean up a bit before my social life comes calling again. Tomorrow and Sunday I work at the store, then Monday I start my new job. No rest for the weary, I tell ya. And boy am I weary.

So, since I am apparently not being allowed to sleep tonite, I must hurry and clean my apartment a bit to make it guest-ready for an evening of debauchery.

That’s right folks, in just 8 hours I will be on Runway 25 Right at McCarran International Airport, hopefully inside a Boeing 757, ready to take off for New Hampshire, where my new car awaits me. I’ve got my boarding passes printed out, but since I’ve been sooooo busy with work and being a social butterfly, I still have much to do in the next 8 hours.

I’ve already done laundry, but I still need to pack. I’m running the dishwasher, now that it’s fixed, so that I won’t have dirty dishes sitting while I’m gone. I’m currently ripping CDs into iTunes so that I can update my iPod, and I’m also searching for other tunes I want so I can upload those too. Then there’s the blog updating, apartment cleaning, taking out trash, double and triple checking that I have everthing, catching up on blogs, and perhaps sleep if there is time. With the schedule I’ve been keeping lately, I somehow doubt I’ll get to sleep before it’s time to go to the airport, which is fine with me. I am very good at sleeping on airplanes, and whether I get a decent amount of sleep or not, I do plan on sleeping in flight.

My cast has a decent amount of graffiti on it now. Here’s a sampling:

• “Oops” - from my new boss
• “Hope u get better” - VegasRic
• “Get off my arm fast!!!” - Russ, the other half of the A/V crew at church
• “Crash + Burn ♥” - a teen at church
• a picture of a donut - new boss’s son
• - AJ
• “Kirsten, I enjoy dancing with you in Vegas - Love, Valentino” - Assistant Shoe Boss (whose name is not Valentino, and who I have never danced with)

I’m sure I’ll get more graffiti on it during my trip, so I’ll take a picture of it later for you. And yes, even though I’m not packed yet, my camera is on top of my still-empty bag.

I have had a busy few days. I got home Saturday morning from VegasRic’s house a bit after 7, slept for about 4 hours, showered, ran an errand then went to my friend’s office to help him organize a bunch of papers. Boy, there were tons of papers just thrown about in piles. I got a lot done, got free lunch and some money (always a bonus), then another friend picked me up around 8 for a Halloween party. That was a blast, and I even got bitten by a vampire! It didn’t break the skin, unfortunately, but it was a great bring-me-to-my-knees bite on the back of my neck. What fun! I got home from that around 2? Not sure exactly with the time change, but I did manage to get a few hours of sleep before church this morning.

I couldn’t stay for both services at church this morning, since I had to go into the store earlier than I am available. I agreed to that because today is the only day all week that I am working, so extra hours are good, plus I was scheduled to work with AJ, whom I haven’t seen in too long. We were laughing because Ashes quit, but the manner in which she turned in her notice was different, to say the least. Yesterday, Shoe Boss called Ashes about something, perhaps her schedule (I wasn’t made clear on the purpose of the call), and her voice mail picked up. It went something like this: “Hi, this is Ashes, I can’t take your call, leave a message. Oh, and if this is the job, I quit!” Yeah. Anyway, AJ and I worked for about 4 hours together today and had great fun talking about computers and catching up on life in general (in between selling shoes of course).

Now, I don’t think I will have much chance to get online over the next week or so while I am driving cross country, so please, don’t panic!!! I am still here, and I will be taking many notes to be able to have one heckuva post for you when I return. I’ll be taking pictures, visiting friends, listening to music, and spending a lot of time on the open road, in addition to a little visit with my family. I’m really looking forward to this. Of course, once I get back, I will be starting my new job and getting back to super busy and all that jazz. But I’ll still blog. Just not for the next week.

See you all when I get back.

Man, being in an accident adds a million things to one’s to do list. I was trying to train my replacement at work today but between calls from my family and a dozen different people at the insurance company, I don’t think she learned much.

My dad said if the adjuster totals my car then he will look into sending one out to me, which would be awesome. Aside from my deductible, I do have gap insurance so if dad can do that then it would mean no more car payment. Gotta love when Dads do stuff like that. So now I am hoping that’s the way it turns out.

I’m getting the permanent cast on Wednesday. I am so going to hate the next 4-6 weeks. I did manage to go grocery shopping tonite, but I gotta do smaller trips. At least I have nice strong canvas bags so that I can carry everything in one hand easily. I’m also attempting to do laundry right now, so we’ll see how that goes.

It looks like I’m gonna have to start using my dishwasher. I’m not a fan of them, but I can’t manage doing dishes on my own with one hand, so that’s the way it’s gotta go. Besides, I can put my pots and pans in there too, so that will help assuming it does a halfway decent job.

I’ve had enough typing for now. I’m gonna finish doing my laundry and have some dinner.

I just got off the IM with Bubba, and he says it wasn’t him. He has 2 AIM accounts, and as soon as I said one thing that this alleged other person said, Bubba said he thinks he knows who it was. So he’s gonna use the other account almost exclusively for awhile, and if I see Bubba on the old account I’ll let him know. I knew he would never talk to me like that, and I also knew he’d be dead to the world at 1am. Whoever it was had no idea he was talking to his beloved Aunty. I thought the whole thing was weird. He also said he never gave out his password to anyone, so I suggested that he change it. I told him that even if you don’t tell anyone sometimes people have programs on their computers to capture this stuff, and if he used the computer at someone else’s house thats how they would have gotten his pw. So we’ll see how it goes. I added this alleged IM thief to my buddy list, so if I see him online I might have a bit of fun with him, and if I see Bubba signed on to his old account at odd hours, I’ll definitely have fun with it. Bubba’s supposed to let me know it’s him if he’s on there.

Today I made a list of things I had to do, and guess what - I did them all! That is so rare. I usually make a list with the intention of doing everything but end up getting so late in the day that things don’t get done. I feel so accomplished today. Now I have time to just sit back, play on the computer, eat dinner, and get to bed at a decent hour feeling pretty relaxed. And since I’m off Monday, I’ll use that time to get a bunch of stuff done around the house. I’m getting really motivated to get it done, so I hope Monday turns out as well as today did. One can only hope.

That’s about it for today. I hope you are all still enjoying my new template; I know I am. It’s just so freaking beautiful! I go on and read my own blog just to look at it. No, I’m not vain at all. Really.