Applehead

I am officially an Apple head. Russel surprised me with an iPad for Christmas with a pretty green cover. I still haven't given him enough kisses to thank him. I also got 2 Keurig coffee makers. One from my dad and Lupe and one from Russel's sister Lisa. Now I don't have to pack it when I go to Russel's I can have one in each location. I can't wait to get more k-cups. I am definitely not happy with the blogger interface on the iPad and the blogger app is even worse because it is more for an iPod or iPhone. I can't make the text any bigger or use a different font. Christmas was pretty good this year. I am completely spoiled with the gifts from everyone. I appreciate them all very much. Sometimes it is so overwhelming I have to fight back the tears. As always, I missed my mom horribly like I do every year. I was thinking about what she would think about the iPads. She was a gadget girl before there was such a thing. She bought one of the first VCRs when they first came out and were very expensive. She bought one of the first laptop computers before I even knew what it was. I have no doubt she would have owned an iPad. I wish I could have shared this awesome gift with her. Thank you everyone for working with my crazy schedule and my grinch personality. I love y'all very much. I am blessed. My cup runneth over.

My Point Exactly

LOL Sorry for the harsh words...but I am going to wear this as a sign around my neck!

The long month of December

I have said how difficult it is for me to work long stretches at work or more than my usual 8 hour shift. I have to complain a little because my December is going to be the l-o-n-g-e-s-t month ever.

I am on a 10 day stretch now. Later this month I have an 8 day stretch. I am housesitting in Elgin which seems a bazillion miles away from Lago, Leander, and Georgetown. These are the places I want to be over Christmas. I somehow managed to say yes for two different times in December.

My dad is having knee surgery this month. I love my dad but he is a man. Men act like they feel pain magnified 100 times worse than it really is. I want him to feel better and skip the pain.

I volunteered to work all of the holidays this year to build up my vacation time. I did this because I would automatically be off on New Year's Eve and New Year's day because those would be my regular days off. We lost another dispatcher at work. Well, we didn't lose them, we know exactly where they aren't. So the rotation goes back to the old way. Work 2 months of weekends and you get rewarded by having 1 month of weekends off.

I shouldn't have gotten myself into half of this mess. Housesitting helps with the cost of Christmas. I need more vacation in case I get some money put away to go somewhere. Or, here is an idea take off for absolutely no reason other than to seclude myself in my house and watch the entire 4th season of Heroes.

There are days my job is extremely stressful. There are days when it's more stressful than that. There are days when you can literally stare into space for an hour or two before anything happens. Actually I haven't seen one of those days in a long time.

So here is how December would go down if I was rich and didn't have to work.

1. My nephew would have gotten the iPad he wanted for his birthday.
2. I wouldn't have to work to pay the bills, I would work because I wanted to work. Trust me there is a difference.
3. I would be able to buy gifts for my entire family....cousins and all. Plus all of Russel's family not just the one who's name I drew.
4. I would be celebrating Christmas Eve with my Dad, Lupe and Russel.
5. I would be celebrating Christmas Day with Russel's family
6. I would be celebrating New Year's Eve by staying up past 8pm with Russel and Dinah.
7. I would definately buy Dinah more nip toys. I would take Bella and Ranger to Petsmart for new toys.
8. I would be off on weekends and only have to work 5 days in a row.
9. I would definately volunteer at the animal shelter.
10. I wouldn't be so damn grumpy, moody, pissy, and having a pity party.

I know this IS a pity party for 1. I write to vent, not really to solicit help. It's ok for me to work hard. I know some of you are thinking that I should be thankful for what I do have. I am. I completely am thankful. I thank God every night before I go to sleep. Things could definately be worse. Stress is relative. I could probably find stress in cleaning a toilet if that was the only thing I did all day.

The point of this story...if I am a little edgy, short-fused, or just need quiet time cut me a little slack this month ok? I promise it won't last forever.

What? I can't hear you.

Here is one of my all time worst pet peeves. I am on my lunch break at work. I am walking down the hall with my earbuds in and I am listening to something on my iPod. One of my co-workers who hasn't bothered to say a word to me in about 3 months suddenly feels the need to communicate with me. I see their lips moving but I can't hear them. I am thinking to myself, "This is my private time. Do I really want to explain that I am listening to music and can't hear them or do I pull the earbud out and ask them to repeat what they just said?" I do the nice thing and pull out my earbud and tell them I didn't hear what they said.

If you see me with my iPod and I have my earbuds in please understand, it's not personal. I am having my time and I am in another world. I generally don't want to talk at that very moment. Give me about 30 minutes and I'll be happy to chat.

Hawks and Rain

The rain is a welcome sight. It is also making me very sleepy. Tomorrow the air condition repair guys are coming to install a new air conditioner. Hopefully it will be more energy efficient.

Yesterday my co-worker Bill Pieper spotted my hawk girl on campus. She picked up a live squirrel about 10 yards from him. He saw her later perched with her kill. I love squirrels but this hawk has stolen my heart. I am left in complete awe when I see her hunting. I can't even explain it. I hope she comes back to this side of campus soon as I am not able to leave the building most of the time. I wanted to share the awesome pictures my co-worker took. He is a truly great photographer and I wish I had his skill. Special Thanks to William R. Pieper for sharing his awesome photos with me.



Photo courtesy of William R. Pieper



Photo courtesy of William R. Pieper




Photo courtesy of William R. Pieper




Photo courtesy of William R. Pieper




Photo courtesy of William R. Pieper



Happy Veteran's Day Dad!

USS Lipan

I wanted to do something special for my dad today because it's Veteran's Day. I am not sure that he reads my blog even though I have sent him the link several times.

As some of you know, my dad is a Vietnam Veteran and served in the Navy for 3 years. I can't imagine how my mother must have felt during that time. My sister was born when he was away at war. I still have the message that was sent to my dad's ship announcing her birth and that she and my mom were ok. My mom told me that while she was pregnant my dad mysteriously had morning sickness and he was a million miles away. I am sure she was very happy to have him home safe and sound when he was discharged.

A few years ago I was working night shift and surfing the "internets" and I was curious if there was anything about his ship online. I was very surprised that there was a website just for his ship which was set up by one of his Navy friends Rich Tetrault. I was so excited when I e-mailed my dad to tell him I FOUND YOUR SHIP!!!!!!! I found people who served with you! I found friends you haven't talked to in years! I could barely wait for him to contact them and catch up. I have no idea why this hit me this way. If anything my sister would have more ties to that time period. It must have been because I read all of the letters my dad wrote my mom while he was away. She kept them all neatly tied with ribbon in the cedar chest. Wow, it makes me tear up even now.

1968

Dad is on the right laying in the bunk




 
So, my dad made contact with his Navy buddies and started going to Navy reunions. He just came back from the reunion they had in  Hawaii where he was stationed during the war. I even got a chance to meet his friend Rich who started the website for his ship. http://usslipan.com/ Very nice man. I thanked him for his service and thanked him for being a part of getting my dad home safely.



Rich and Dad



Navy guys nowadays



I can't imagine being in the military, even for a short amount of time. I am proud to have a father who served unselfishly, courageously, and proudly. Thanks to everyone who served our country and especially you Dad. I love you.

Halloween

So, I didn't get a chance to talk about Halloween. I had an absolutely wonderful time. That day I went to see if there was anything on the rack at Goodwill for costumes. I was surprised that they weren't cleaned out. I found one for myself and Russel even though I wasn't 100% sure he would wear it. After a quick run for extra candy for the gobblins Russel and I put on our costumes. I still can't stop smiling thinking of the both of us, grown up and old dressing up just to hand out candy. I loved every second of it. It was probably one of the best Halloweens I can remember. I loved getting out of my normal routine of just taking the day off to watch scary movies. I still love to do that but this was great. I enjoyed hearing all of Russel's devilish plans for next year to scare the kiddos. So, I have to say thanks again to Russel for indulging me and dressing up and having fun with me. I love you!

Midnight fairy type person

Midnight stalker type guy

Two Books

I just finished reading two books. I loved The Help. It definately made me laugh and made me sad at the same time. I hope the movie is a good representation of the book. I felt as though I was actually sitting in front of Aibileen, Minny and Skeeter in the middle of the south during the 1960's. I would have liked it if the author somehow managed to follow through with the inclusion of the book that the character Skeeter wrote, even as an epilogue.

The second book, A Stolen Life was just heart wrenching. The story about a woman who was kidnapped by a sex offender and his wife when she was 11 years old and help captive for 18 years in his back yard. She had two children, the first when she was only 14 years old. She managed to educate herself and her children while enduring life as a prisoner. I could not believe what this woman went through at such a young age. I felt very guilty because law enforcement failed her in so many ways. I hope that she is able to heal in some way and enjoy her freedom.

I recommend both books to everyone. They are relatively short reads and both worth the time.


The Help by Kathryn Stockett
  

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

Back from vacation

Unfortunately all fun and exciting things must come to an end and my vacation is over. I had such a good time with Russel and his parents.

We did a lot of walking at the State Fair and then went to a lot of museums.



I rode the Ferris Wheel



Big Tex and Russel not smiling



Fried Bubble Gum



Fried Twinkie and a Big Red :-)





Book Depository

I was disappointed that the Book Depository Museum in Dallas wouldn't allow anyone to take pictures. I guess they are still trying to hide something. Ha.
The Dallas World Aquarium was really neat to look at. I got some close up pics of the Three Toed Sloth. He was very cute.


Russel talking to the shark



The cutest Three Toed Sloth ever



Awesome Jellyfish pic



Emmit making new friends



Since they didn't have a stuffed Three Toed Sloth in the gift shop Russel bought me an Otter. I named him Emmit...Emmit Otter. Emmit went with us everywhere after that. I got his picture with new friends and experiencing new places.



Emmit...Emmit Otter.



At least it makes vacation pictures more fun.

We visited the Holocaust Museum, The Dr. Pepper Museum and the Texas Ranger Museum.



Dr. Pepper Museum



Mr. & Mrs. Schultz holding hands. So sweet.



Ok my Flickr has been updated and is at it's maximum. I tried to fit the good ones in. My Flickr Account

Halloween for the kittehs and goggies

 Here are some of my favorite doggie costumes. They are such good goggies sitting there posing.

I think if I had to dress Bella and Ranger up these are what they would be:



Ranger is a STINKER



Bella would look great as Snow White



Now I have a hard time deciding what Dinah should be. Of course Russel would have final say. I would never dress her as a suicide bomber but I had to include the costume on here because it's really poor taste and well, you know me.



Hello Kitteh



RUN!!!!!!!!!



Princess Kitteh fits well into her tiara.


 





Might be a little frilly