Thursday we spent the day at my parents' house in Missouri. And, as per usual, Mom cooked enough food to feed 200. I don't know if she thinks an Army regiment is going to come through and finish it off or what. lol But, we tease her about it every year. She just laughs and says, "I know! I know!" lol Good thing she has a good sense of humor. :o)
While we were there, my dad called my uncle and got permission to get his 4-wheeler out for the kids to mess around on. So, all afternoon, the kids (and an occasional adult) rode all over town on the 4-wheeler. The population of my hometown is only about 600, so there's no worry about traffic or any other problems you might run into in a bigger city.
I wasn't one of those "occasional adults" though. It was too cold out. Brrrrrr!
And, of course, we played Pitch. Usually we play 4-5 games of Pitch during family dinners, but this time we only got 2 games out of the visit. We literally played 19 hands on the first game!!!! (Unheard of...as those of you familiar with the game can attest.) We played 15 on the next one. Wow! It was crazy!!! lol But fun! :o)
Last night, we had some friends over to play cards. We've been talking to them about having them over and just have never actually gotten around to it. 3 of us wanted to play Pitch, but one of the friends doesn't know how. So we played Uno Attack instead. I think our card "spitter" is dying, though. It had fully charged batteries and we had cleaned the rollers, but it would still sometimes suck the cards back inside when it was trying to "spit" them out. lol It was still fun! :o)
This morning, I got up to let Tobi out and it was snowing! There was actually snow on the ground...a very light dusting, but snow nonetheless. It made me ready for Christmas. I briefly considered staying up and just enjoying the quiet of the house...and watching the snow lightly fall, but, well, to be honest....crawling back in my warm bed sounded even better. lol We turn the heat down a little bit at night because we all sleep better that way, so the house was CHILLY.
So, I made sure Tobi had a warm blanket to curl up in (she loves to burrow in this one particular fleece throw), then I went back to bed....where I didn't sleep so much as toss and turn to find a comfortable spot.
But at least I was warm.
Now I'm up for good and dreading having to get out to run some errands. I have to go to the post office this morning and to the store to pick up some baking powder. I got everything out to make some egg noodles today and realized I'm out of baking powder. So....*sigh*....gotta go to the store.
Maybe I'll make some cookies later too. ;o)
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
*****NOTE:*****
I originally wrote this entry yesterday morning right before we left for my parents' house. When I hit 'Publish Post', it said there was an error and to hit the 'Back' button on my browser. When I did, the blog entry field was empty. Soooooo, I just kind of threw up my hands and said, "Oh well." We had to leave and I didn't have time to retype it.
But, tonight (after cleaning house all day), I got on and realized it probably just saved it as a draft...which it did. So, DUH, I could've posted it yesterday. lol
Sheesh.
So, here is yesterday's post tonight. Thank you for all the Thanksgiving wishes. You are all precious friends. I hope your Thanksgiving celebrations were memorable and special as well.
***********
It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is here again already! But, here it is!I have a lot of things to be thankful for this year. I have my family and friends. I have my health. I have a warm home and food on the table every night. And I have God's faithfulness, even when I haven't been as faithful as I should be.
Last night, in Missionettes, the Friends Club teacher and I combined our two groups...and even then only had 4 girls. I had a craft project for the Stars Club girls (my group), but I had enough to share with the other Friends girl.
They made Thank Books.
I bought some of those little flip open notebooks and some stickers. They wrote Thank Book on the front and decorated it with stickers. The idea is that when they are thankful or happy about something, they should write it in the notebook. Then, when they're having a bad day or get their feelings hurt, or whatever, they can flip open their Thank Book and be reminded of how blessed they really are.
It was a combo Thanksgiving craft/Women of the New Testament project. Women of the NT was the last unit we completed. We learned about several different women and what their lives teach us. So, it was also a project to remind us to be thankful to them too...and to anyone around us that we can learn life lessons from.
I think I need to make myself a Thank Book.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
How Does Time Get Away From Me So Easily???
It seems like forever since I've posted anything on here. It's hard to imagine that it's been almost a week ago since Nitro had his senior pics taken!
Wow!
Time certainly passes quickly the closer we get to Christmas!
A few interesting things have happened this week that I kept telling myself I would get motivated to share, but...blah blah blah... lol So I'm posting one of them today...when I should really be doing something else. lol ...the story of my life...
On Tues., the sales rep from the dosimetry company we use at work took the 3 of us in the office to lunch. (Dosimetry is the process of measuring the dosage of ionizing radiation - i.e. for our purposes, that means film badges for radiation workers.)
Tom is in his early 40s and has the perfect personality for a salesman! He's very outgoing and has no problem carrying a conversation. I'm thinking he didn't mind at all taking 3 women out to lunch. :o)
Well, after ordering, we were talking about all kinds of things and he mentioned that an ex-girlfriend of his contacted him by email. He said he didn't know what to think...and called her a kook. Whether she's a kook or not is beside the point. lol But I understand why he was a little suspicious or thought it was a little weird. He's not married and he was thinking, "She better not be getting any ideas!" lol
He couldn't understand why someone would do that, just contact someone they knew from 20 years ago out of the blue. I think I was able to shed light on it for him. (Not that I know everything, but...I do have a few insights into this since I've been very introspective the last year or so.)
I told him that probably, as she's getting older, she's seeing her friends' kids (or her own, even) graduating and leaving home and it's just probably making her think about her own high school and college experiences...and the people that she knew then. That's what's been happening with me the last year or so.
I must've provided a little bit of insight because he seemed to be thinking about it and then I said that I also thought that women were probably more apt to do that than men...for the most part. That's when he said, "Yeah...that's probably it."
But he said he still didn't email her back! lol
Anyway, later in the afternoon, he was talking and joking about how he answers his cell phone no matter what...even when he doesn't have a clue who it is. He said, "You could call me the day after Christmas and say, 'Hey, Tom! This is Guinevere at Creighton,' and I'd say, 'Hey! How's it goin'?"
So, know what? I'm going to call his cell phone the day after Christmas and say, "Hey, Tom! This is Guinevere at Creighton. Merry Christmas!" lol I told my boss and my coworker that and they told me I should. (Of course, I'll use my real name and not 'Guinevere' if I do it...)
What do you think? Would you do it? (Oh, and Muftak thinks it would be funny too.) :o)
Wow!
Time certainly passes quickly the closer we get to Christmas!
A few interesting things have happened this week that I kept telling myself I would get motivated to share, but...blah blah blah... lol So I'm posting one of them today...when I should really be doing something else. lol ...the story of my life...
On Tues., the sales rep from the dosimetry company we use at work took the 3 of us in the office to lunch. (Dosimetry is the process of measuring the dosage of ionizing radiation - i.e. for our purposes, that means film badges for radiation workers.)
Tom is in his early 40s and has the perfect personality for a salesman! He's very outgoing and has no problem carrying a conversation. I'm thinking he didn't mind at all taking 3 women out to lunch. :o)
Well, after ordering, we were talking about all kinds of things and he mentioned that an ex-girlfriend of his contacted him by email. He said he didn't know what to think...and called her a kook. Whether she's a kook or not is beside the point. lol But I understand why he was a little suspicious or thought it was a little weird. He's not married and he was thinking, "She better not be getting any ideas!" lol
He couldn't understand why someone would do that, just contact someone they knew from 20 years ago out of the blue. I think I was able to shed light on it for him. (Not that I know everything, but...I do have a few insights into this since I've been very introspective the last year or so.)
I told him that probably, as she's getting older, she's seeing her friends' kids (or her own, even) graduating and leaving home and it's just probably making her think about her own high school and college experiences...and the people that she knew then. That's what's been happening with me the last year or so.
I must've provided a little bit of insight because he seemed to be thinking about it and then I said that I also thought that women were probably more apt to do that than men...for the most part. That's when he said, "Yeah...that's probably it."
But he said he still didn't email her back! lol
Anyway, later in the afternoon, he was talking and joking about how he answers his cell phone no matter what...even when he doesn't have a clue who it is. He said, "You could call me the day after Christmas and say, 'Hey, Tom! This is Guinevere at Creighton,' and I'd say, 'Hey! How's it goin'?"
So, know what? I'm going to call his cell phone the day after Christmas and say, "Hey, Tom! This is Guinevere at Creighton. Merry Christmas!" lol I told my boss and my coworker that and they told me I should. (Of course, I'll use my real name and not 'Guinevere' if I do it...)
What do you think? Would you do it? (Oh, and Muftak thinks it would be funny too.) :o)
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
The Day is Done!
Finally, I can say that I am soooooo glad that Nitro's senior pictures have been taken and all I have to do now is pick them up when they're ready!
YAHOO!
I was so exhausted last night from all the time we spent working with the photographer and all the clothing changes (he had 2 JROTC and 1 Royal Ranger uniforms to change into). He was exhausted too. Unfortunately, it showed on his face in some of the later pictures. :o(
But they're done.
Nitro has never been a big "smiler". Even when he was little. It's always been frustrating taking him to have his pictures taken. The photographers always try to get him to "smile big", but when he does, it looks so fake. I just tell him to do his best to "smile real". lol That usually is translated as a smirk...but that's who he is.
I would rather have a portrait of Nitro smirking hanging on my wall at home than a picture of him with some big, fake, toothy grin hanging there. The smirk is him.
It was hard choosing which pictures we would get wallets of. There were about 3 poses that turned out really well, one of which was the best BY FAR. Most of the pictures of him in his uniform turned out well, but I didn't want every picture we got to share have him featured in a uniform. Those shots are the "extras", for the most part.
The picture I'm posting here is the one that I just adore! It's soooooo Nitro. He was in his Marines t-shirt and camos and we were trying to come up with poses. I just looked at him and said, "Just give us Marine attitude."
And he did.
Isn't it great??? lol
YAHOO!
I was so exhausted last night from all the time we spent working with the photographer and all the clothing changes (he had 2 JROTC and 1 Royal Ranger uniforms to change into). He was exhausted too. Unfortunately, it showed on his face in some of the later pictures. :o(
But they're done.
Nitro has never been a big "smiler". Even when he was little. It's always been frustrating taking him to have his pictures taken. The photographers always try to get him to "smile big", but when he does, it looks so fake. I just tell him to do his best to "smile real". lol That usually is translated as a smirk...but that's who he is.
I would rather have a portrait of Nitro smirking hanging on my wall at home than a picture of him with some big, fake, toothy grin hanging there. The smirk is him.
It was hard choosing which pictures we would get wallets of. There were about 3 poses that turned out really well, one of which was the best BY FAR. Most of the pictures of him in his uniform turned out well, but I didn't want every picture we got to share have him featured in a uniform. Those shots are the "extras", for the most part.
The picture I'm posting here is the one that I just adore! It's soooooo Nitro. He was in his Marines t-shirt and camos and we were trying to come up with poses. I just looked at him and said, "Just give us Marine attitude."
And he did.
Isn't it great??? lol
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Irony is Pretty Ironic Sometimes
Throughout my life, I've had some pretty ironic/coincidental things happen. I've just told the story of the crush from jr. high...and how we bumped into one another in college...well, actually the real irony was HOW we bumped into one another I guess. lol
There have been other times that played out similarly. And I've been flabbergasted every time.
My best friend (yes, the same one from the other stories) moved to another school district the summer after our 8th grade year. We hadn't seen one another all year our freshman year. That summer, though, she called and invited me to stay with her for 3 days at her new house. Amazingly, my mom let me go...even despite the fact that her mom worked all day and was only home at night to sleep.
Needless to say, if we wanted to go anywhere, we walked. Neither of us was old enough to drive and she didn't have any friends that were old enough to drive yet either. So, we walked...and walked...and walked...and walked....everywhere.
She had moved to a town that was much bigger than the town I lived in, so there were a lot of things to do. And, of course, being in the early 80s, we spent a chunk of that time at the arcade...mostly just to look at boys. (Have I mentioned that I was extremely boy crazy when I was a teenager? Oh Lordy! It was bad. I'm so glad I grew out of it! lol)
Well, while I was staying with her, she introduced me to her friends and we spent time going different places with them as well. One person in particular that she was anxious for me to meet was Bill. He was her crush. When she was around him, she just acted like he was a good friend, but I knew better. ;o)
Well, she called him and he was going to be home, so he invited us to come over. He said he had to do his paper route, but we could walk it with him if we wanted to. We did. Well, Lisa did. I was kind of indifferent and thought, "Ok. Yeah. Whatever." lol
So, of the 3 days I spent with her, we spent 2 of those days scheduling our lives around Bill. lol
Well, the funniest part came on the last night I was going to be there. But I have to give you a little "history" first.
My uncle, Bruce, has always been a bachelor. He's never been married. The year before all of this, he brought his girlfriend, Sherri, with him to Thanksgiving dinner at my grandparents' house. And she brought her son, Bill, with her.
Made a connection yet?
Anyway, back to the story. The 3 of us, Lisa, Bill, and myself, decided that we wanted to go roller-skating that night. Bill said that would work because his mom's boyfriend was taking her out and he would probably drop us off at the rink if we asked him to.
Ok. We all just kind of hung out at Bill's house for the rest of the afternoon. Bill's mom came home after work and Bill introduced us to her, then she went to get ready for her date. (Once I met his mom, I instantly made the connection between my uncle and her. And I remember thinking, "Wow! This is weird!") About an hour later, the doorbell rang and Bill answered it.
Now, remember, I wasn't absolutely sure who the "boyfriend" was at this point. I wasn't sure if she and Bruce were still dating or not.
In walked my uncle!!!
He looked at me and I looked at him and I thought we were both going to fall over! lol
He said, "What are YOU doing here???"
I just said, "We're going roller-skating. Wanna take us?" lol
We were both laughing and then I said, "Ok! Now I know why Bill's last name sounded so familiar!!!" lol
That's about when Bill made the connection too and he was like, "Wow! That is really funny!" Lisa didn't have a clue until we filled her in. Bill and I just joked around about how we'd already met before that weekend.
So, my uncle drove the 3 of us to the skating rink and dropped us off.
The funny part is, after having Bruce drive us all the way out to the skating rink, we decided not to skate and got a ride back into town from one of Bill's friends...and ended up at the arcade again.
We finally made our way back to Lisa's house (Lisa and I did anyway. Bill went to his own house.)
The kind of funny, but not so funny part of the night came a little later when the phone rang.
Lisa answered it and it was Bill. They talked for a few minutes and she was all giddy because he actually called her...but then she got really quiet and said, "Ok. Hang on."
Then she looked at me with a glare and said, "Bill wants to know if you'll 'go with him'."
I just stood there staring at her.
Besides the fact that we would never see one another since neither one of us had a car or could drive, I didn't see the point, but that was probably the turning point in Lisa's and my relationship. She finally had to acknowledge that, even while I was still shy, I could be someone interesting to a guy. Up until that point, she had always tried to pull me down to her own level of her own self-worth and self-esteem.
Bill and I wrote back and forth that year, but it didn't last. I saw him ONCE the whole time we were supposedly "going together". lol
Wow. Times have really changed, haven't they?
There have been other times that played out similarly. And I've been flabbergasted every time.
My best friend (yes, the same one from the other stories) moved to another school district the summer after our 8th grade year. We hadn't seen one another all year our freshman year. That summer, though, she called and invited me to stay with her for 3 days at her new house. Amazingly, my mom let me go...even despite the fact that her mom worked all day and was only home at night to sleep.
Needless to say, if we wanted to go anywhere, we walked. Neither of us was old enough to drive and she didn't have any friends that were old enough to drive yet either. So, we walked...and walked...and walked...and walked....everywhere.
She had moved to a town that was much bigger than the town I lived in, so there were a lot of things to do. And, of course, being in the early 80s, we spent a chunk of that time at the arcade...mostly just to look at boys. (Have I mentioned that I was extremely boy crazy when I was a teenager? Oh Lordy! It was bad. I'm so glad I grew out of it! lol)
Well, while I was staying with her, she introduced me to her friends and we spent time going different places with them as well. One person in particular that she was anxious for me to meet was Bill. He was her crush. When she was around him, she just acted like he was a good friend, but I knew better. ;o)
Well, she called him and he was going to be home, so he invited us to come over. He said he had to do his paper route, but we could walk it with him if we wanted to. We did. Well, Lisa did. I was kind of indifferent and thought, "Ok. Yeah. Whatever." lol
So, of the 3 days I spent with her, we spent 2 of those days scheduling our lives around Bill. lol
Well, the funniest part came on the last night I was going to be there. But I have to give you a little "history" first.
My uncle, Bruce, has always been a bachelor. He's never been married. The year before all of this, he brought his girlfriend, Sherri, with him to Thanksgiving dinner at my grandparents' house. And she brought her son, Bill, with her.
Made a connection yet?
Anyway, back to the story. The 3 of us, Lisa, Bill, and myself, decided that we wanted to go roller-skating that night. Bill said that would work because his mom's boyfriend was taking her out and he would probably drop us off at the rink if we asked him to.
Ok. We all just kind of hung out at Bill's house for the rest of the afternoon. Bill's mom came home after work and Bill introduced us to her, then she went to get ready for her date. (Once I met his mom, I instantly made the connection between my uncle and her. And I remember thinking, "Wow! This is weird!") About an hour later, the doorbell rang and Bill answered it.
Now, remember, I wasn't absolutely sure who the "boyfriend" was at this point. I wasn't sure if she and Bruce were still dating or not.
In walked my uncle!!!
He looked at me and I looked at him and I thought we were both going to fall over! lol
He said, "What are YOU doing here???"
I just said, "We're going roller-skating. Wanna take us?" lol
We were both laughing and then I said, "Ok! Now I know why Bill's last name sounded so familiar!!!" lol
That's about when Bill made the connection too and he was like, "Wow! That is really funny!" Lisa didn't have a clue until we filled her in. Bill and I just joked around about how we'd already met before that weekend.
So, my uncle drove the 3 of us to the skating rink and dropped us off.
The funny part is, after having Bruce drive us all the way out to the skating rink, we decided not to skate and got a ride back into town from one of Bill's friends...and ended up at the arcade again.
We finally made our way back to Lisa's house (Lisa and I did anyway. Bill went to his own house.)
The kind of funny, but not so funny part of the night came a little later when the phone rang.
Lisa answered it and it was Bill. They talked for a few minutes and she was all giddy because he actually called her...but then she got really quiet and said, "Ok. Hang on."
Then she looked at me with a glare and said, "Bill wants to know if you'll 'go with him'."
I just stood there staring at her.
Besides the fact that we would never see one another since neither one of us had a car or could drive, I didn't see the point, but that was probably the turning point in Lisa's and my relationship. She finally had to acknowledge that, even while I was still shy, I could be someone interesting to a guy. Up until that point, she had always tried to pull me down to her own level of her own self-worth and self-esteem.
Bill and I wrote back and forth that year, but it didn't last. I saw him ONCE the whole time we were supposedly "going together". lol
Wow. Times have really changed, haven't they?
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Jr. High and College Collide
Yesterday, I told you the story of a very bold thing I did in jr. high concerning a crush I had. Well, last night, I just couldn't resist. I dug out my old yearbooks and started digging through them looking...treasure hunting, so to speak. :o)
I actually found a picture that was taken at the jr. high Halloween dance! How funny is that??? I also found David's school picture from that year...and a picture of our class officers. I had forgotten that he was class president in 7th grade! He really was a cutie. I'll have to scan a pic and post it here. ;o)
Anyway, today I thought I'd share about our paths crossing in college...of all places. It's really odd how things work out sometimes.
My freshman year of college, I was living in the dorms and my roommate was very outgoing. Her initials were ET, so that's what everyone called her. She and I got to be pretty good friends. It was a bonus too that we wore the same size clothes and shoes too. :o) We were always sharing clothes...kind of like a community closet. lol
Well, her best friend from high school, Jim, was also attending college there and I think she was spending a fair amount of energy trying to set me up with him. But neither one of us was interested in the other like that and she finally kind of resigned herself to us just being friends too. lol But not before this...
One afternoon, she came flying into our dorm room squealing. I was laying on my bed reading and asked her what was going on. She said, "OH, Jenn!!! Jim and his roommate invited us to their dorm room for spaghetti tonight!!! His roommate is sooooooooo cute!!!! His name is Dave and he's just a doll!!! You and Jim can talk and I can get to know Dave a little better!"
She was a hoot! lol
I told her I would go, so she was even more excited. She rattled on and on and on about Dave and how perfect he was for the next hour and a half. Finally, she went down the hall to our other friends' room to tell them about our plans. When we were getting ready to go to Jim and Dave's room, I put on a sweatshirt and jeans and brushed my hair. But ET??? Oh no....she spent almost 40 minutes primping over her makeup and hair...asking me constantly if I liked the colors she chose...what I thought about the shirt she picked out to wear...should her hair be clipped up on the sides or left down...
It looked like this:
Me - laying on my bed watching her primp
ET - flitting between closet, desk and vanity primping and changing clothes over and over
It was a sight!!!
Anyway, she finally got everything perfect and we walked across campus to the guys' dorm room.
This is where it went really interesting really fast.
ET wouldn't knock on their door until she had "collected" herself. lol She was hilarious. I just had to laugh at her. lol Anyway, she knocked and Jim answered the door.
We said our "heys" and "hellos" and walked in. That's when Dave stood up.
ET's "Dave" was my "David"! lol
I started laughing and my eyes were like saucers. David started laughing too and he was said, "Oh man!!! Who would've thought you'd be in my dorm room???" We hugged and I just kept saying, "Oh wow! Oh my goodness! This is too funny!"
Well, "Dave" barely said 2 words to ET all night and she was not very happy. The problem was, I was so surprised that it was David (as much as he was), that he and I spent the whole time talking about school and what everyone was doing. He'd not seen anyone in our class since 8th grade, so wanted updated on everyone.
We left much earlier than ET thought we would, I'm sure.
She didn't talk to me all the way back to our room.
She didn't talk to me the rest of the night.
Even after I explained to her who "Dave" was. I'm not sure how many times I apologized. But it's just one of those weird coincidences.
Normally, I'm pretty aware of my surroundings and people's reactions and feelings in situations, but that night, I was just so surprised and happy to see David that I didn't even think. We were nose to nose talking and laughing the whole time. (I don't remember eating spaghetti AT ALL! lol)
Anyway, it's kind of weird how that all ended too, because that was the only time I saw David on campus...and Jim didn't have us over to his dorm room after that. (I think ET made sure of that.)
Funny how life plays out sometimes...
I actually found a picture that was taken at the jr. high Halloween dance! How funny is that??? I also found David's school picture from that year...and a picture of our class officers. I had forgotten that he was class president in 7th grade! He really was a cutie. I'll have to scan a pic and post it here. ;o)
Anyway, today I thought I'd share about our paths crossing in college...of all places. It's really odd how things work out sometimes.
My freshman year of college, I was living in the dorms and my roommate was very outgoing. Her initials were ET, so that's what everyone called her. She and I got to be pretty good friends. It was a bonus too that we wore the same size clothes and shoes too. :o) We were always sharing clothes...kind of like a community closet. lol
Well, her best friend from high school, Jim, was also attending college there and I think she was spending a fair amount of energy trying to set me up with him. But neither one of us was interested in the other like that and she finally kind of resigned herself to us just being friends too. lol But not before this...
One afternoon, she came flying into our dorm room squealing. I was laying on my bed reading and asked her what was going on. She said, "OH, Jenn!!! Jim and his roommate invited us to their dorm room for spaghetti tonight!!! His roommate is sooooooooo cute!!!! His name is Dave and he's just a doll!!! You and Jim can talk and I can get to know Dave a little better!"
She was a hoot! lol
I told her I would go, so she was even more excited. She rattled on and on and on about Dave and how perfect he was for the next hour and a half. Finally, she went down the hall to our other friends' room to tell them about our plans. When we were getting ready to go to Jim and Dave's room, I put on a sweatshirt and jeans and brushed my hair. But ET??? Oh no....she spent almost 40 minutes primping over her makeup and hair...asking me constantly if I liked the colors she chose...what I thought about the shirt she picked out to wear...should her hair be clipped up on the sides or left down...
It looked like this:
Me - laying on my bed watching her primp
ET - flitting between closet, desk and vanity primping and changing clothes over and over
It was a sight!!!
Anyway, she finally got everything perfect and we walked across campus to the guys' dorm room.
This is where it went really interesting really fast.
ET wouldn't knock on their door until she had "collected" herself. lol She was hilarious. I just had to laugh at her. lol Anyway, she knocked and Jim answered the door.
We said our "heys" and "hellos" and walked in. That's when Dave stood up.
ET's "Dave" was my "David"! lol
I started laughing and my eyes were like saucers. David started laughing too and he was said, "Oh man!!! Who would've thought you'd be in my dorm room???" We hugged and I just kept saying, "Oh wow! Oh my goodness! This is too funny!"
Well, "Dave" barely said 2 words to ET all night and she was not very happy. The problem was, I was so surprised that it was David (as much as he was), that he and I spent the whole time talking about school and what everyone was doing. He'd not seen anyone in our class since 8th grade, so wanted updated on everyone.
We left much earlier than ET thought we would, I'm sure.
She didn't talk to me all the way back to our room.
She didn't talk to me the rest of the night.
Even after I explained to her who "Dave" was. I'm not sure how many times I apologized. But it's just one of those weird coincidences.
Normally, I'm pretty aware of my surroundings and people's reactions and feelings in situations, but that night, I was just so surprised and happy to see David that I didn't even think. We were nose to nose talking and laughing the whole time. (I don't remember eating spaghetti AT ALL! lol)
Anyway, it's kind of weird how that all ended too, because that was the only time I saw David on campus...and Jim didn't have us over to his dorm room after that. (I think ET made sure of that.)
Funny how life plays out sometimes...
Monday, November 10, 2008
Bygone Days of Jr. High (aka What Was I Thinking???)
This morning, my boss and I were doing our usual chit-chatting about our weekends. All the regular Monday morning stuff. She has two daughters, one is 16 and the other is 12. The 12-year-old's class has so much diva type behavior amongst some of the girls, that it's just ridiculous! She tells story after story of things that a couple of the girls in the class do to make life miserable for their unlucky "victims". Most of the time, it's just the usual, hateful, pre-teen stuff like, "No one likes you. I don't know why you even bother coming to this school every day." You know, the normal stuff. (Kids can be soooo mean to one another!)
Well, after the highlights of what happened over the weekend, our conversation detoured...as it often does and we just started talking about totally unimportant, irrelevant things. lol But, since we were talking about jr. high and kind of that age group of kids, our conversation turned to telling stories about our own jr. high experiences.
One in particular got me to laughing so hard just thinking back to it!
When I was in 5th grade, a new boy came to school and his name was David. I thought he was beautiful!!! I was one of the tallest kids in the class, so the fact that David was taller than me put him high on the list! He also had blonde hair and blue eyes. Big plus number 2! And, finally, he was quiet and was nice to everybody! Well, that pretty much put his rating through the roof! I mean, seriously, a boy who was tall, cute, AND nice??? Too good to be true! lol
Anyway, I had the BIGGEST crush on him for FOUR YEARS!!! lol Funny, huh? (What makes the story even more interesting is the fact that, since his family moved at the end of 8th grade, our paths have crossed twice VERY unexpectedly! Once in college, and again about 5 years ago.)
Well, this particular story goes something like this...
My best friend at the time was a girl who was very insecure about herself and wasn't very popular. (I wasn't either, but I was very shy and could at least get along with everyone.) She knew that I had a crush on David. Best friends just know that stuff about one another, right?
Well, the next Friday was going to be our jr. high Halloween dance. She and I rode the same school bus to and from school...and so did David. Most of the time, I would sit and stare at him while she rambled on endlessly in my ear. lol Wow. That's funny just thinking about it!!! lol
Well, this particular day, Lisa was rambling on and on about the Halloween dance. She asked if I was going...what was I going as...blah blah blah... She never asked if I was going with anyone to ANY of the dances because she just KNEW that I wasn't. (This is where her insecurity shown through.) Out of nowhere, she said, "I think I'm going to ask David to the dance."
WHAT????
I was snapped out of my David-gazing and found myself staring at her with my eyes like saucers.
NOOOOOOO!
She smiled and nodded and said, "Yep. I think I'll call him tonight when I get home and ask him if he'll go with me."
I wanted to cry. How could my best friend be so mean???
I asked her why she wanted to ask him.
She said it was because he was really nice (and VERY cute) and would probably say yes.
I thought I was going to be sick. Seriously. My heart was racing and I know I just went as white as a ghost!!!
I didn't hear another word she said all the way home. When we got to David's stop, I watched in desperation as he got off the bus and walked to his house with his brother. I sat there in anguish as she prattled on and on and on about calling him when she got home.
By the time she got off the bus, I thought I was going to die. I could NOT get home quick enough!
And then, I did something I still to this day can NOT believe that I actually did.
(It might be important to note here how SHY I was. I mean, seriously, I-will-die-if-you-look-me-in-the-eyes SHY! Debilitatingly SHY! It was awful!!!)
I got in the house and went straight to my room. I don't remember my mom talking to me once I came in the house or anything. I was just in agony KNOWING that Lisa was talking to David about going to the dance.
And then, I did it.
From somewhere deep down inside of me, I got up the courage and I CALLED HIM.
I remember his mom answering the phone, "Hello?"
"Hi. Is David there?"
"Yes. Just a second." In the background, "David, you have a telephone call!"
David: "Hello?"
Me: (heart racing, head pounding, gasping for breath) "Hi. It's Jennifer."
David: "Hi. What's up?"
Me: (feeling like my tongue was made out of lead and my legs were made out of jello) "Um. Not much."
David: "Ok..."
Me: "Um. I have something to ask you."
David: "Ok..."
Me: (taking a HUGE breath and then just blurting it all out as fast as I could) "Lisa said she was going to call you and ask you to the Halloween dance, but I don't want you to go with her. Will you promise that you won't go to the dance with her if she asks you?"
David: (after a brief pause...he was probably wondering where all those words came from since he'd probably never heard me utter more than just 2 or 3 at any given time in school) "Ok."
Me: (panicked) "Did she call you yet?"
David: "No..."
Me: (HUGELY relieved...HUGE sigh of relief) "Ok. (pause) So you won't go with her?"
David: "Nope."
Me: "Ok." (then I just burst into this silly grin)
David: "Ok."
Me: "Ok....um...."
David: "Um. Did you need anything else?"
Me: "Oh. No. That's all."
David: "Ok. See you in school tomorrow."
Me: "Ok."
David: "Bye."
Me: "Bye."
I was in HEAVEN!!! I think I must've FLOATED to my room!!!
And then, it hit me. I could've asked him to the dance. I could've!!! I had been so relieved that he wasn't going with Lisa that it just didn't even occur to me to ask him myself!!!
But there wasn't enough money in the world to get me back on the phone...and NOTHING could've given me the courage to ask him to his face at school the next day!
But, oh well, at least he wasn't going with Lisa!!!
The next morning, when he got on the bus, he made eye contact with me and just smiled. I smiled back.
Floating again.... ;o)
And Lisa didn't say a word about calling him!!!
Moving up to present time, David is still one of the nicest men that I know. He has always been very considerate and friendly to everyone. Just five years ago when our paths crossed, I knew who he was immediately, but wasn't sure if he'd recognize me.
He did.
And he smiled from ear to ear and gave me a HUGE hug when he saw me. He was having lunch with his parents and his brother's family, so I didn't intrude on that, but after lunch was over, he and I talked for a few minutes. Later that afternoon, I was in the store and ran into him there...and we had much more time to visit. We hogged an aisle in W*Mart for over 2 hours! (It's a good thing his wife is as friendly and patient as he is!!! lol)
It's nice to know that friends you make when you're young are still friends now. I never told David about the whole crush thing...but I'm 99.9% positive that he knew I had a crush on him all four years we went to school together. lol
Well, after the highlights of what happened over the weekend, our conversation detoured...as it often does and we just started talking about totally unimportant, irrelevant things. lol But, since we were talking about jr. high and kind of that age group of kids, our conversation turned to telling stories about our own jr. high experiences.
One in particular got me to laughing so hard just thinking back to it!
When I was in 5th grade, a new boy came to school and his name was David. I thought he was beautiful!!! I was one of the tallest kids in the class, so the fact that David was taller than me put him high on the list! He also had blonde hair and blue eyes. Big plus number 2! And, finally, he was quiet and was nice to everybody! Well, that pretty much put his rating through the roof! I mean, seriously, a boy who was tall, cute, AND nice??? Too good to be true! lol
Anyway, I had the BIGGEST crush on him for FOUR YEARS!!! lol Funny, huh? (What makes the story even more interesting is the fact that, since his family moved at the end of 8th grade, our paths have crossed twice VERY unexpectedly! Once in college, and again about 5 years ago.)
Well, this particular story goes something like this...
My best friend at the time was a girl who was very insecure about herself and wasn't very popular. (I wasn't either, but I was very shy and could at least get along with everyone.) She knew that I had a crush on David. Best friends just know that stuff about one another, right?
Well, the next Friday was going to be our jr. high Halloween dance. She and I rode the same school bus to and from school...and so did David. Most of the time, I would sit and stare at him while she rambled on endlessly in my ear. lol Wow. That's funny just thinking about it!!! lol
Well, this particular day, Lisa was rambling on and on about the Halloween dance. She asked if I was going...what was I going as...blah blah blah... She never asked if I was going with anyone to ANY of the dances because she just KNEW that I wasn't. (This is where her insecurity shown through.) Out of nowhere, she said, "I think I'm going to ask David to the dance."
WHAT????
I was snapped out of my David-gazing and found myself staring at her with my eyes like saucers.
NOOOOOOO!
She smiled and nodded and said, "Yep. I think I'll call him tonight when I get home and ask him if he'll go with me."
I wanted to cry. How could my best friend be so mean???
I asked her why she wanted to ask him.
She said it was because he was really nice (and VERY cute) and would probably say yes.
I thought I was going to be sick. Seriously. My heart was racing and I know I just went as white as a ghost!!!
I didn't hear another word she said all the way home. When we got to David's stop, I watched in desperation as he got off the bus and walked to his house with his brother. I sat there in anguish as she prattled on and on and on about calling him when she got home.
By the time she got off the bus, I thought I was going to die. I could NOT get home quick enough!
And then, I did something I still to this day can NOT believe that I actually did.
(It might be important to note here how SHY I was. I mean, seriously, I-will-die-if-you-look-me-in-the-eyes SHY! Debilitatingly SHY! It was awful!!!)
I got in the house and went straight to my room. I don't remember my mom talking to me once I came in the house or anything. I was just in agony KNOWING that Lisa was talking to David about going to the dance.
And then, I did it.
From somewhere deep down inside of me, I got up the courage and I CALLED HIM.
I remember his mom answering the phone, "Hello?"
"Hi. Is David there?"
"Yes. Just a second." In the background, "David, you have a telephone call!"
David: "Hello?"
Me: (heart racing, head pounding, gasping for breath) "Hi. It's Jennifer."
David: "Hi. What's up?"
Me: (feeling like my tongue was made out of lead and my legs were made out of jello) "Um. Not much."
David: "Ok..."
Me: "Um. I have something to ask you."
David: "Ok..."
Me: (taking a HUGE breath and then just blurting it all out as fast as I could) "Lisa said she was going to call you and ask you to the Halloween dance, but I don't want you to go with her. Will you promise that you won't go to the dance with her if she asks you?"
David: (after a brief pause...he was probably wondering where all those words came from since he'd probably never heard me utter more than just 2 or 3 at any given time in school) "Ok."
Me: (panicked) "Did she call you yet?"
David: "No..."
Me: (HUGELY relieved...HUGE sigh of relief) "Ok. (pause) So you won't go with her?"
David: "Nope."
Me: "Ok." (then I just burst into this silly grin)
David: "Ok."
Me: "Ok....um...."
David: "Um. Did you need anything else?"
Me: "Oh. No. That's all."
David: "Ok. See you in school tomorrow."
Me: "Ok."
David: "Bye."
Me: "Bye."
I was in HEAVEN!!! I think I must've FLOATED to my room!!!
And then, it hit me. I could've asked him to the dance. I could've!!! I had been so relieved that he wasn't going with Lisa that it just didn't even occur to me to ask him myself!!!
But there wasn't enough money in the world to get me back on the phone...and NOTHING could've given me the courage to ask him to his face at school the next day!
But, oh well, at least he wasn't going with Lisa!!!
The next morning, when he got on the bus, he made eye contact with me and just smiled. I smiled back.
Floating again.... ;o)
And Lisa didn't say a word about calling him!!!
Moving up to present time, David is still one of the nicest men that I know. He has always been very considerate and friendly to everyone. Just five years ago when our paths crossed, I knew who he was immediately, but wasn't sure if he'd recognize me.
He did.
And he smiled from ear to ear and gave me a HUGE hug when he saw me. He was having lunch with his parents and his brother's family, so I didn't intrude on that, but after lunch was over, he and I talked for a few minutes. Later that afternoon, I was in the store and ran into him there...and we had much more time to visit. We hogged an aisle in W*Mart for over 2 hours! (It's a good thing his wife is as friendly and patient as he is!!! lol)
It's nice to know that friends you make when you're young are still friends now. I never told David about the whole crush thing...but I'm 99.9% positive that he knew I had a crush on him all four years we went to school together. lol
Friday, November 7, 2008
A Whole Lot of Nothing Specific
A lot has happened since Election Day...and most of it has nothing to do with voting at all! lol Just a lot of little things here and there that I've made mental notes about.
The first one being something that happened in the Physics class I'm auditing. I kind of have to build up to it for it to make any sense at all...and you have to understand that Physicists have very definite and interesting senses of humor. Meaning, dry.
Dr. Nichols was teaching Lea's Target Theory, concerning the probability that energy absorption events "hit a target". This is all concerning ionizing radiation. That's as much "gobblety gook" as I'll give you. Otherwise, your eyes might just start to glaze over. lol Anyway, to demonstrate the theory, he used the probability scenario of flipping a coin and getting heads or tails. The equation for finding the probability involves using factorials.
A factorial of a number is the product of all of the whole numbers equal to or less than that number, excluding zero. So, the factorial of 5 would be 5x4x3x2x1 or 120. Make sense?
Well, after working through the equation with us, he made a comment aboutthis . In 2003, the Omaha Chamber of Commerce came up with an advertising slogan for Omaha: O!. All over Omaha, you will see this slogan being used. You might turn a corner and there could be a big, red O! on the street corner. Interesting.
But what Dr. Nichols noted (remember what I said about Physicists' senses of humor...) was this: what is Omaha trying to tell Physicists? Is it trying to confuse them? Why put up these signs all over the city of the factorial of zero??? (0!) (Which is 1, by the way.)
He said, "What are they trying to say?" lol Anyway...moving on... I told you. Dry. lol
The second thing does have to do with the election. Nitro turned 18 on Sunday, so I had the privilege of taking him to the County Auditor's office to get registered to vote. While we were there, he also voted. (In IA, you can register all the way up until election day and you can also vote early. Awesome!) That was very cool! I gave him some basic instructions beforehand, though. If you don't know where a candidate stands, don't vote for them. He had also had a chance to go over a voter's guide that we had at home, but said he still only voted for the presidential candidate and the one candidate running for the House that he knew anything about. That's totally ok with me! I'm just proud that he voted! Kind of cool timing too, that he turned 18 two days before election day! lol
Another thing that happened...well, not really, happened so much as I decided. lol I'm going to get serious about looking for a moonlighting job closer to home and probably not in the restaurant industry. Rick's is really a seasonal restaurant. Things have been slow there lately. Example: I made only $40 in tips total the last 3 times I've gone in to work there. Not worth my time. I'm going to try to get out this weekend and put in some applications around here...probably at the mall, which is very close to our house. (I even considered applying at DQ and trying to get on the same shift as Aravis! lol But....ummm...NOT. lol)
Anyway, enough rambling for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm going to try to get some rest. I had a cold hit me full force yesterday and I'm not doing so great today either. AsBecca wrote, I feel like a shaken snowglobe. lol
The first one being something that happened in the Physics class I'm auditing. I kind of have to build up to it for it to make any sense at all...and you have to understand that Physicists have very definite and interesting senses of humor. Meaning, dry.
Dr. Nichols was teaching Lea's Target Theory, concerning the probability that energy absorption events "hit a target". This is all concerning ionizing radiation. That's as much "gobblety gook" as I'll give you. Otherwise, your eyes might just start to glaze over. lol Anyway, to demonstrate the theory, he used the probability scenario of flipping a coin and getting heads or tails. The equation for finding the probability involves using factorials.
A factorial of a number is the product of all of the whole numbers equal to or less than that number, excluding zero. So, the factorial of 5 would be 5x4x3x2x1 or 120. Make sense?
Well, after working through the equation with us, he made a comment about
But what Dr. Nichols noted (remember what I said about Physicists' senses of humor...) was this: what is Omaha trying to tell Physicists? Is it trying to confuse them? Why put up these signs all over the city of the factorial of zero??? (0!) (Which is 1, by the way.)
He said, "What are they trying to say?" lol Anyway...moving on... I told you. Dry. lol
The second thing does have to do with the election. Nitro turned 18 on Sunday, so I had the privilege of taking him to the County Auditor's office to get registered to vote. While we were there, he also voted. (In IA, you can register all the way up until election day and you can also vote early. Awesome!) That was very cool! I gave him some basic instructions beforehand, though. If you don't know where a candidate stands, don't vote for them. He had also had a chance to go over a voter's guide that we had at home, but said he still only voted for the presidential candidate and the one candidate running for the House that he knew anything about. That's totally ok with me! I'm just proud that he voted! Kind of cool timing too, that he turned 18 two days before election day! lol
Another thing that happened...well, not really, happened so much as I decided. lol I'm going to get serious about looking for a moonlighting job closer to home and probably not in the restaurant industry. Rick's is really a seasonal restaurant. Things have been slow there lately. Example: I made only $40 in tips total the last 3 times I've gone in to work there. Not worth my time. I'm going to try to get out this weekend and put in some applications around here...probably at the mall, which is very close to our house. (I even considered applying at DQ and trying to get on the same shift as Aravis! lol But....ummm...NOT. lol)
Anyway, enough rambling for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend! I'm going to try to get some rest. I had a cold hit me full force yesterday and I'm not doing so great today either. As
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Halloween Stuff
Wow! The last half of this week has had so much going on. Wed. night, we had our Harvest Festival at the church. Our Missionettes game was a ring toss...very simple, but popular. lol We were also selling caramel apples...which weren't as popular as I thought they would be, but I think that was mainly because of where we were stationed. Location location location! Because, you know, who DOESN'T like caramel apples? ;o)
Yesterday, at work, TR, our Public Safety buddy, stopped by our office. He stops by about once a week and just hangs out for a while telling stories and visiting. But, yesterday, he invited us to have lunch with him...at one of the student dining rooms. lol Those places are sooooooooo loud!!! But, the way it's set up, you pay a set amount and it's like a buffet. They have really good pizza, by the way...
Last night, Muftak ran to the store and picked up some candy. Last year, I think we were gone on Halloween night, so I had no idea how many kids would be out and about trick or treating. I think there were about 2 dozen or so and we got them all within about 20 minutes. lol At least it went quickly. lol And we had mostly football players and pirates...hmm...
Today is turning into a busy day. Tomorrow, Nitro turns 18. I am feeling soooooo old. Because of that, I have to straighten and clean the house, in addition to making his birthday cake and getting some other things ready.
Over the course of the last week, I have had some serious weepy moments...thinking about him turning 18. After tomorrow, he's officially an adult. He's able to vote now!!! Wow.
But his turning 18 has also brought to the forefront of my memory that he'll be leaving home in just a few short months. And, he won't be back. I keep thinking, "If I'm a mess NOW just THINKING about his leaving, how will I be when he actually DOES leave???" It's going to be rough. Really rough. I've contemplated taking a day or two off work after he leaves just to spend some time at home alone so that I can get some of the crying out of my system...because you KNOW I'll be doing alot of unprovoked crying!!!
It's just making me want to spend more time with him while he's still home. Thankfully, he's being very understanding about that...even if he DOES roll his eyes. lol I'm glad that we're close. I'm glad that he talks to me about things...both good AND bad. I'm glad that he's a gentleman.
It's turning into a real thought-provoking weekend for me! lol
Yesterday, at work, TR, our Public Safety buddy, stopped by our office. He stops by about once a week and just hangs out for a while telling stories and visiting. But, yesterday, he invited us to have lunch with him...at one of the student dining rooms. lol Those places are sooooooooo loud!!! But, the way it's set up, you pay a set amount and it's like a buffet. They have really good pizza, by the way...
Last night, Muftak ran to the store and picked up some candy. Last year, I think we were gone on Halloween night, so I had no idea how many kids would be out and about trick or treating. I think there were about 2 dozen or so and we got them all within about 20 minutes. lol At least it went quickly. lol And we had mostly football players and pirates...hmm...
Today is turning into a busy day. Tomorrow, Nitro turns 18. I am feeling soooooo old. Because of that, I have to straighten and clean the house, in addition to making his birthday cake and getting some other things ready.
Over the course of the last week, I have had some serious weepy moments...thinking about him turning 18. After tomorrow, he's officially an adult. He's able to vote now!!! Wow.
But his turning 18 has also brought to the forefront of my memory that he'll be leaving home in just a few short months. And, he won't be back. I keep thinking, "If I'm a mess NOW just THINKING about his leaving, how will I be when he actually DOES leave???" It's going to be rough. Really rough. I've contemplated taking a day or two off work after he leaves just to spend some time at home alone so that I can get some of the crying out of my system...because you KNOW I'll be doing alot of unprovoked crying!!!
It's just making me want to spend more time with him while he's still home. Thankfully, he's being very understanding about that...even if he DOES roll his eyes. lol I'm glad that we're close. I'm glad that he talks to me about things...both good AND bad. I'm glad that he's a gentleman.
It's turning into a real thought-provoking weekend for me! lol
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
