How I Spent My Thanksgiving Vacation PART TWO

Where did I leave off? Playing Neopets at Jase's I believe....

Saturday evening--we ate leftovers and watched another episode of Mystery Science Theater--"This Island Earth"....I hate to admit it but I was actually getting into the movie they were watching; but then I like cheesy B grade old sci-fi movies! Got home sometime between 10 and 11 and then decided to watch the old TV series "Twin Peaks" so I watched a couple of episodes before crashing around 2 am.

Sunday....told myself I was going to pack but went to Jase's in the afternoon and helped him with a Step Mania program...I am making him a "dance routine" to New Radicals "You Get What You Give" remix. Didn't think I would like it....in fact I sat there for the first 10 minutes thinking "I'm too dumb to do this...I am not computer literate...What was Jase thinking?" before venturing to tap a few keys. Lo and behold I am good at this! Of course, Jase's "easy" level song turns out to be incredibly hard to do so I am going to have to scale down the combination steps a bit! I really had a good time playing with it and am looking forward to finishing up the song and making him new ones. Whoa....didn't think there was a secret geek hiding out in me like that. Still, there's a satisfaction in knowing I am able to comprehend a little of what I am doing on the computer! We ate more leftovers and watched a couple of episodes of "Heroes" before I headed home and watched even more "Twin Peaks" (I am evil). Once again up until two and then up at 6:30 to get ready for work. Funny, but I didn't feel tired.

Monday...after work I went home, watched even more "Twin Peaks" (only a few episodes left) and started packing my crap...actually set aside books to donate!

Tonight....go through the craft boxes in the spare room and start deciding what to keep and what to give away. Yes I will watch "Peaks" some more...just on the computer this time rather than the TV. Still have plenty of energy and feel great about the move.

Side note: over the holiday I would have sworn I needed a root canal or something because the side of my jaw really hurt. There's a filling on that side that's been bothering me for about 4-5 years now but no one can see anything wrong with it. I think I may have just had a sore in the gums though because now its not bothering me. Thank goodness since I no longer have dental insurance the last thing I need is oral surgery!

How I Spent My Thanksgiving Vacation.... an essay by Shawna Zimmerman PART ONE

Well on Wednesday I got off work early to cash my paycheck and rush to the grocery store (I love Super Target)...spent my time wandering up and down the aisles trying to figure out just how many yams should I boil up and would everyone prefer jellied cranberry sauce or the whole berry. Hauled the spoils to Jase's place and then we took off to get more movies at Flix and did a drive-through at Taco Bell. We stayed up that night and watched "1408" which started out great and ended badly (but you can say that literally about every Stephen King movie out there). Stayed the night at Jason's as I was going to be cooking the turkey the next morning so I had a GREAT night of sleep on one of those wonderful new mattresses he bought for the spare room (I highly recommend trying it out!)

Thursday dawned bright and squirelly and in no time the turkey was cooking, potatoes and yams simmering on the stovetop and Jason's house pretty dang clean before I even bothered taking a shower. By the time everyone arrived (Annette and her 6 kids, Melissa and Kirsten) the place smelled great. Thankfully though Melissa and Kirsten were running a little late so I could run home and grab my barstools for extra seating! Everyone had a wonderful time, Jase had a dance pad set up in his office downstairs hooked up to the computer and the kids spent a lot of time boogying their feet off while the adults talked. Melissa and Kirsten left first but not before Janelle showed up and stayed for awhile. Annette was the next to go and she took two of her kids with her, leaving the rest to finish watching HP and the Order of the Phoenix. Once the movie was over Jase and Janelle took the other kids home. Once they got back we all finished looking at the ads for the next days "sweet" deals. Janelle was planning to try for a huge tv, Jase was on the lookout for an IPod sound system and DVDs, and I wanted a 2 GB jump drive (the 128 MGB is now a thing of the past!) Headed for bed around 11 knowing we had to be up before the sun!

Friday....we left late, about 4:45 am and drove to Best Buy. The line was huge but people were zipping through fast. Jase got his sound system (which later in the day he returned) and I got my jump drive. The DVDs were already sold out and we headed to to Circuit City. Nothing worth getting there so we went to several other office supply places with equal success. We ended up at Mervins (shocker--they have a plus size section!) where Jase ended up with a belt and me with a couple of shirts. (Yes, you heard right...he ended up with a belt--a belt after all the driving we did!) Regardless, it was fun for me but tiring! By this time Jason had a migraine so we came home and he went to bed while I boiled down the turkey carcass and made a great soup! I had planned to go home mid-afternoon and get some packing done but I ended up staying the night as we watched an episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000" and then "Shaun of the Dead". Jason was fairly awake by that time and was watching "Three Amigos" when I stumbled off to bed.

This morning....again, I planned to go home and pack but went to the store instead for breakfast supplies and made us scrambled eggs. Came downstairs and have spent the remainder of the day on Jason's laptop playing games in Neopets, checking email and watching Jase do his Dance Revolution workout. I did a couple of rounds but I really stink at it since I don't always register which direction the arrow wants me to go and I stomp the wrong square. Regardless, it is after 6 pm I am still here going to heat up leftovers and then watch another MST before REALLY going home this time. My goal with the move is to take something to Deseret Industries every day this coming week which means I really need to go through some boxes tomorrow. He hasn't said it but Jase is certainly getting tired of my hanging around as well!

Thus ends my weekend adventures so far......

Anywhere you hang your hat you call home....

Well, me and my hat are moving again....to Orem. Its a small 2 bedroom duplex a little over a mile from work so the commute will be great and the rent is amazingly low (try $260/mo with no utility charges). Downside? Sure....its a SMALL duplex....girl has got to go through 18 million boxes of crap and freaking downsize. The place is also a little dark...there's a large bay window in the front but no window in the back where the kitchen is. No biggie. She has a dog which I can live with: she's small, unable to jump on you and seems very well behaved (so I get a lint brush and remember to shut my bedroom door).

Move time? Hmmmm..... how fast can I pack? Actually it'll be at least two weeks--probably three so lets set mid-December as the goal. Not that I want to be moving my stuff in the middle of winter but, given last year's weather, the roads will probably be clear and it'll just be cold out. Luckily where I am now has only a couple of steps down to the U-Haul and the new place has none at all!

I am looking forward to being closer to work, and I like the gal I am moving in with...I met her through Dan, she works for the company next door to us.

Wish me luck!

Back to Vegas....

Well, its back to Vegas in February for another trade show and I am excited (for the show, not necessarily for Vegas itself). Dan has already paid to have a booth for his alarm switch at the Self Storage Association show Feb 5-8 at the Venetian Hotel (which looks amazing--I can't wait to ride on the Gondola!) We decided to also try a "tabletop" display in the Car Wash Expo section for the bollard covers. I'm getting creative with this one since I can't have anything on the floor, just what I can put on the table. Since I can't block the guy next to me I thought why not cut down our usually 52" covers down and display just the top 18" across the top of the table in a mini rainbow, along with a slideshow on a laptop and all of my brochures, flyers, etc etc. I think it will look great....its going to be hard to sit still for the next two-and-a-half months until we do this!

What cancer cannot do

It cannot cripple love
It cannot shatter hope
It cannot corrode faith
It cannot destroy peace
It cannot kill friendships
It cannot suppress memories
It cannot silence courage
It cannot invade the soul
It cannot steal eternal life
It cannot conquer the spirit.

This is a sign I read the other day and started pondering...

The Week In Review....

Well lets see....work work work work work (kidding). We finished painting the office and it actually looks pretty good--I love how my office turned out! The rest of the office is a beige and cream combo but I painted my space in a spring green that looks very fresh and perky to me (Dan and Bill just roll their eyes but then they don't have to work in here!) The accent wall is a kind of tan/peanut buttery color and the trim is cream so its a nice, but interesting combination. And on that note Bill, the other boss, is back from his couples mission to Greece. I think Dan was a little concerned whether or not I'd like Bill and vice versa since he's got a unique personality but I think he's a hoot. No problems there, and according to Debbie (accountant) Bill likes me back (says I have spunk!) Its just a relief to have the office back together more or less.

Confirmed dead mouse #1, unsure of how many more there are but they are still carrying off the bait blocks so I'd say there are at least a couple more hiding out.

Actually vegitated out this last Saturday--gave the kitchen a deep clean and then read a couple of books (yes you read that right). I actually polished off four books but you really have to count 2 of them as one because they were smaller books. Read The Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry, Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg, Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Countdown by Iris Johanson. Wasn't impressed with the Johanson novel....I used to really like her but her books are all the same and fairly unbelievable from start to finish. Was surprised by the Romanov Prophesy though....DI had a copy of one of his other books--The Amber Room--I think I will swing by there on my way home tonight and see if its still there. Redbird Christmas was an absolute gem to find...I love Fannie Flagg's stuff and just hadn't gotten around to this one yet. Little House simply made me want to read the rest of the series since this is the only one I've ever read. Now I am halfway through "French Girls Don't Get Fat"....

What else? Went to Jase's on Sunday for our now-becoming-a-regular-thing dinner and watched a couple episodes of Heroes. We also wandered into a website with this ongoing comic/cartoon called "Making Fiends" that was actually quite funny.

Got a call from Richard during the first Heroes episode so I went outside to talk with him while Jase finished watching the episode (I'd already seen that one anyway). It was a nice talk and its official, he's now the one going with me to the work Christmas dinner.

I think that fairly well wraps it up.....thank you for tuning in.....

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair....

It's official kids...Disney is finally getting around to animating my favorite fairy tale character, Rapunzel. Called "Rapunzel Unbraided" its scheduled for a 2009 release. I hope that it lives up to my expectations...but she looks pretty spunky for a gal locked in a tower. Come to think of it, it doesn't look like she's even IN a tower! Kewl.....I am looking forward to this one!

Its raining men? Well...a drizzle anyway!

Funny thing....I asked Jase's roommate Brian to go to the work Christmas party at La Caille on the 6th. Now Richard is talking to me again (sigh). Knowing me I am going to spend my time wondering if I should have waited and asked Richard to go! It is flattering though...I am going with one guy but another one is interested in me. Okay, okay, I know that the thing with Brian is a one-timer and its only because I asked him but its a nice (and extremely foreign) feeling anyway!

Are they gone yet????

Who knows....I came home last night though and the little stinkers hauled off one of the blocks! Yes! And I found some bright blue mousey poo (I'll never look at turquoise the same again) so I know they are eating it! Lets hope they are stupid to the last mouse and not realize that its the "food supply" that's making them cramp up and die...

Following a little something Miya did....

Okay, do a google image search with the answer to each of these questions and post--pick an image off the first screen of search images only...its amazing how some of these really don't make sense with the actual answer!

1. Your age on your next birthday:


2. A Place you'd like to travel to:


3. Your favorite place:


4. Your favorite object:


5. Your favorite food:


6. Your favorite animal:


7. Your favorite color:


8. The town you were born in:


9. The town you now live in:


10. The name of a past pet:


11. The name of a past love:


12. Your nickname or screen name:


13. Your first name:


14. Your middle name(I cheated since I don't have one and used one mom thought up a couple years back and wanted me to change my name to):


15. Your last name:


16. A bad habit of yours:


17. Your first job:


18. Your grandmother's name:


19. Your college major:

Its a mouse invasion....

Well there's more than one mouse...looked over last night and saw two zipping along the kitchen wall. I looked back a moment later and then saw one of them (or possibly even another mouse)happily checking out the middle of the kitchen floor. Ewwwwwwwwwwwww. All I can say is thank goodness I am moving in the spring (I keep pushing it sooner and sooner--first May, then April....now I am thinking March). I didn't get around to buying mouse poison earlier because the idea of coming home to a dead mouse in the middle of the floor was grossing me out...now the idea of living rodents are even worse! Sadly we've reached this point because the little stinkers are smart enough to avoid the traps; lets just hope they aren't smart enough to ignore the poison.

Happy Girl

Always found listed under Martina McBride but the song was written and first performed by Beth Neilson-Chapman and she does it so much better.... just a little song I love.

I used to live in a darkened room
Had a face of stone
And a heart of gloom
Lost my hope, I was so far gone
Cryin' all my tears
With the curtains drawn
I didn't know until my soul broke free
I've got these angels watching over me

Oh watch me go
I'm a happy girl
Everybody knows
That the sweetest thing you'll ever see
In the whole wide world
Is a happy girl

I used to hide in a party crowd
Bottled up inside
Feeling so left out
Standing in a corner wearing concrete shoes
With my frozen smile
And my lighted fuse
Now every time I start to feel like that
I roll out my heart like a welcome mat

Oh watch me go
I'm a happy girl
Everybody knows
That the sweetest thing you'll ever see
In the whole wide world
Is a happy girl

Laugh when I feel like it
Cry when i feel like it
That's just how my life is
That's how it goes

Oh watch me go
I'm a happy girl
And I've come to know
That the world won't change
Just 'cause I complain
Let the axis twirl
I'm a happy girl

Oh, yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I'm a happy girl

Mouse Update

Well, he's still alive and kicking....or rather, alive while I am doing the kicking. I was awoken early Sunday morning (3 am)with a very early morning caller and while I tried to wake up enough to carry on a decent conversation I moved my feet around. Squeak. Didn't think much of it and moved again. Squeak. Paused and deliberately moved my feet again and this time got a torrent of squeaks. Maybe I was too tired and still sleepy but it didn't really occur to me at the time that the mouse was on my bed. If memory serves I think I told my caller that it sounded like there was some mousy fight going on in the house....it wasn't until later that morning that it occurred to me that he could have been squeaking because I was kicking his little rodent butt. Needless to say I got up this morning moving rather carefully just in case.

Disclaimer

Okay....okay.... Thank you for your concern and I really do appreciate it but contrary to how my previous post sounded I am not steaming mad or contemplating suicide here. I had a blue day....I get them every now and then. I feel bad, blow it off and then am back to my normally (whatever) self. Its a cycle, I know its a cycle and I have learned to accept it. I get up, go to work and get through my day--its not like I am holed up in my home, unable to crawl out of bed. Still...I am glad to know you all care and I love you all dearly.

Oh the power of forgiveness...and the agony of misunderstanding

Just got off the phone with dad a little while ago. He cried, I cried...he was so worried that I was upset and hurt by him and I was so worried that he was disappointed with me. Turns out both of us were wrong.

It is sad to think that I have spent these last few weeks and months feeling that I wasn't wanted when the truth was exactly the opposite...

We talked about what is happening at home, about me coming home, about dad's plans for after.

We talked about friends, jobs, and homemade jalapeno jelly.

We talked....and felt loved again....

Do we ever reach the point where we feel like we're worth something?

Angry, sad, anger again, tired, hateful of myself, hurt....as Ron Weasley so perfectly put it "No one person could feel all that...they'd explode" (cue cleanup crew)

Once again I am just reminded of how much I do not feel as if I fit in, as if every choice I make (however right it seems at the time) is yet another mistake. I am angry that I allow people to lie, manipulate and use me, tired of being so trusting but feel like I am being a real witch if I try to stand up against it. Why is it wrong to stand up for yourself...and why do I feel like a complete s*%t when I do? I am just tired of always questioning my place on this little ball of dust and wondering when I am going to pull my act together enough to make something of myself. I guess I just feel overwhelmed and fast approaching burnout... I want to start screaming if anyone adds one more thing to all that is crashing around me already. Sadly, I wouldn't though...I'd just smile, say "no problem" and do whatever it is while berating myself for being a spineless wimp. Why do I attract these kind of people who just know they can use you and use you and use you until there is nothing left? How can people believe its okay? And how do they freaking justify being angry with you when you finally do reach the breaking point and say "no more"? I just want one accomplishment in my life; it doesn't even have to be a big one. Hell, I don't even care if no one else knows about it...I am used to people being disappointed in me. Just one thing I can look back on and say "see, you didn't screw that up. Good job". I go into so many things with the best of intentions and I always manage to mess it up and fail miserably... and I am so scared of trying yet again only to fail. I should have had my life together long before this....no wonder I feel worthless.

A little scare and gray hair

Well this was quite the packed weekend--sleepover, late nights, making jalapeno jelly...and a head lice scare....all of that before the sun had risen far on Sunday. Elaborate? Okay.....

Friday was a sleepover at my friend's--just her and her daughters as her husband is up in Canada for work/research. We had tacos and then we left the girls to watch "Meet the Robinsons" upstairs while we watched "Evening" and "Lucky You" on the big screen downstairs (sadly, neither one was very good). Woke up early the next morning and while I waited for everyone else to come crawling out of bed I started reading a copy of "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbitt that was sitting on the counter (love the movie--never read the book). Finally everyone was up and moving and I made some bacon, eggs and toast while they went around doing their little projects. Afterwards they went to a baby shower while I stayed "home" to make some jalapeno jelly since they have all the canning apparatus that I needed.

Forward to later evening...I had gone to the store for more Certo (jelly gel medium) and grabbed a roast and some fresh rolls from the bakery next door and had that cooking when everyone came home. We had a great dinner (tho everyone seemed a bit shocked I had done it) and then we finished it off with cherry pie (yum!) Snuggled on the couch with the girls several times over the course of Friday night/Saturday before heading home....didn't mention to anyone I had started a killer headache--gotta hate caffeine withdrawls.

Sunday. Didn't go to church as my headache was worse but was thinking I should call the gals and cancel coming over later to help make greeting cards when I get a call.... a bug had possibly been spotted in one of the girls' hair. Eeps.....I hugged and held kids on my lap all weekend....crap. I'd never had lice before but now I was panicking. Sunday visit was cancelled but I did find one thing while I was worriedly checking for little buggies....a whole crapload of gray hair. Its not noticable with my hair down but dang, once you lift it up (my hair is nearly long again to french twist)there is a ton of gray in there. Seriously...its a freaking silver mine on my head.

Of course there is a part of me that thinks I will look great salt and peppered but there's another part that wants to shriek out "I AM NOT OLD!" and scramble to the store for hair dye. Of course I know dye won't do a thing since my gray is resistant...crud, all of my hair is dye resistant...but its hard to accept what literally lies beneath the surface here. No bugs (thankfully) but a definate sign that I am getting older. Sadly, I know it makes me look more "dignified" but I still haven't got my act together enough for gray hair....don't I have to be more responsible first?

Chivalry is not dead

It is alive and well in the form of a preschool cowboy! Okay, okay I know his dad must have pulled him aside and told him "this is what you do when you see a lady" but it melted my heart anyway. Allow me to explain....I am driving east on 12 South in Springville on my way to Cynthia's when I spot this little cowboy on the side of the road waiting for his parents to catch up. The little buckaroo looks up, sees me driving towards him, reaches up to tip his hat to me and gives me a big grin.... and that was all. Nothing earth shattering; the world is not going to be all sunshine and daffodils because of it....but one sweet little boy definately made my day....