Um, you’re supposed to be working. . .

I will, I will. . . after this.

Why are you working so much?

That’s kinda the breaks with a new job.  I’m ridiculously behind on things and keep having more added to my plate, BUT I enjoy a lot of what I’m doing. . . and enjoy the people I work with.  It’s a good thing.

Seriously?  Tell us how you really feel. . . do you love your co-workers?

YES.  :)  What I love now. . . Is that oddly enough, I am making fun of my Operations co-workers a lot.  It’s a strange turn-about.  I’ve often asked people at my old company what they will do without me to make fun of. . . It’s weird to be delivering the jokes for a change.  Fear not, I will give them plenty of material soon enough.

How is life?

It’s kinda spiraling out of control right now on the home and work fronts.  My hotel is so embarrassing that I will not let the cleaning people in.  My hotel room looks like a hoarder moved in.

Why don’t you clean this weekend?

I will!  I don’t have plans this weekend, and I’m going to try to get my life back in order.

What’s the thing that’s been perplexing you the most lately?

No one seems to be dying in my community back home.  I am okay with this, but it doesn’t seem possible.  There have been LONG stretches of time as of late with no obits. . . Is this really true???  (Yes, I check the obits back home every day.)

What shows are you liking now?

Um, I don’t have any major shows other than my usual. . . but tonight, since I am procrastinating, I watched “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”  I have watched this before and like it. . . but I never watch it because. . . I just don’t watch much T.V.  It was hilarious tonight.  I really love how JLD is very Bridget Jonesish.  I can appreciate any character like this because. . . I specialize in awkward.  I also watched “Modern Family” tonight.  I really haven’t thought it was that funny when I’ve watched it before, but tonight was really funny. . . The little boy was brilliant.

What is something interesting you’ve learned on Twitter?

Well, Conan doesn’t follow anyone on Twitter, but he picked a girl at random to follow.  She only had ~3 followers before. . . and now she has 22,660 followers.  When he followed her, he said “Your life is about to change.”. . . Yep, he was right.  She’s turning into an internet sensation and a TV star.  She’s raising money for Susan G. Komen through Twitter.  Pretty cool.

What about appliances?  Have you settled on those yet?

I think so.  I am so lucky to have a co-worker in my plant who used to work for an appliance company and has really good advice.  Okay, so I’m used to craptastic appliances so I should have low standards. . . BUT I must have good stuff in my beautiful kitchen.  The laundry room was a quandary though.  I was shocked and awed by all the new technology (my washer/dryer for the past three years was a stackable from circa 1988).  I am intrigued by front load H-E. stuff. . . HOWEVER. . . the thing that makes me angry is the pedestal drawer thingees. . . they are $263/piece. . . so this would be 1/3 the price of the washer and 1/3 the price of the dryer. . . DUMB!  My co-worker recommended a cheaper top load H-E option.  I would also save ~$526 in stupid drawers!!!  I have also decided that I think I’m going for this refrigerator.  It will be like a dream, I think.

http://www.whirlpool.com/catalog/product.jsp?src=REFRIGERATORS&cat=96&prod=1516

Wow, this was truly a bucket o’ random. . . Um, work, where we at?

I haven’t started yet.  HAVE to start NOW!

You know, people in the comments section of this article actually rip this football player for donating $40,000 to New Orleans and Haiti efforts before leaving town.  That infuriates me!  At least he donated something!. . . and $40,000 is nothing to sneeze at.  Geesh.  Anyways. . . I thought this was a nice article.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/Scott-Fujita-knows-the-right-way-to-leave-a-city?urn=nfl,226444

Yes people. . . I started training again tonight.  My next 5k is May 1.  I’m doing the Robert Ullrey’s podcasts again.

I have not ran since. . . I ran on the treadmill for 15 minutes ~2 months ago.  Before that, it had been ~six months.  Yes, I said, “SIX”. . .

I so badly wanted a nap. . . but I ran.  Kind of impressed.  I ran OUTSIDE, which rocks.  I was only able to do this because it was not freezing. . . and I got home exceptionally early from a work trip so it was still light out.

Here are the pros about running in WI as opposed to the bayou in TX:

• It doesn’t smell gross.
• There are no homeless people sightings.
• I didn’t have to cross major roadways to get on my route.
• The houses were all circa 1960 and 1970, and clearly had old people living in them with creative decor to entertain me.
• No humidity!

Here are the cons about running in WI as opposed to the bayou in TX:

• I ran in random crappy neighborhood instead of along a bayou.  (I am going to start running in my neighborhood, which has a trail, in the future.)
• There was a random creepy guy.
• There were no hot guys.
• I had to drive to the area where I ran. . . b/c I’m not going to run near my hotel along the highway.

Let’s see how I keep this up. . . It’s going to be really difficult with working soooo much, moving, and living in a disaster area.  It’s just really hard to justify spending the time to run.

P.S.–My mom is running the 5k, too!  She’s never run before, and she’s already on week 5 or 6 of C25k.  How cool is she???

What would a decent-sized Midwestern town be without a farm store???

Well, here in Wisconsin, it’s Mills Fleet Flarm.

Yes, I was there this weekend to purchase a tape measure.

Hmmm. . . WHAT?  Sounds like Blain’s Farm and Fleet from back home, no?

So there is a tale that Mills and Blain had a falling out. . . and split off and have their own stores.  Dad told me this when we were in Wisconsin after Christmas, and I thought he was kidding. . . but this really is the rumor going around. . . BUT. . .

Wikipedia comes to the rescue and says that this is FALSE through a link.

See the third question down. . .

It’s nice to know that similarish farm stores can thrive together in harmony. . . and that there are no feuding brothers named Mills and Blain.

Yes people. . . we have some brick!

Work in progress

Closer shot. . . I think it looks nice. Hopefully I'm not the only one! It's so difficult to visualize this stuff when you're picking it out. I wish my house was a smidgen more green and less beigy. . . but what are you gonna do?

Further away. . .

I already tweeted this, but I’m kinda over twitter already.  It just isn’t doing anything for me.  Yeah, I only follow like 7 people. . . but seriously, people don’t tweet that much (except for Rob). . . it’s kinda boring. . . and I don’t really care about celebrities so I don’t really wanna follow them.  Meh.  I’ll stay on because the few celebrities I do like, I will follow.

Life has been very good lately.  Never a dull moment.  I so wish I could blog about my adventures at work.  Holy goodness, you would not believe the stuff I encounter.  Nothing that new as compared to my old experiences. . . just very similar, crazy experiences.

People say “Holy buckets!” in Wisconsin.  I have never heard this before I moved here.  My realtor said it, and my manager says it.

I don’t like animals, but my friend told me about this tonight, and I must admit that it’s pretty cute. . .

They are tearing out an overpass by me.  I wish I could have taken a picture of it tonight, but it wouldn’t have turned out in the dark.  Luckily, the loudest of the work is over. . . but there is still occasionally a crash that makes me jump out of my skin!  Nice little wake-up calls throughout the night.

There is MAJOR construction on the interstate, and it’s major annoying.  When I move, I will be able to take a back road to work and won’t have to deal with it.  *sigh*. . . soon, very soon.

My stomach is growling right now, but a) I don’t know what to eat and b) it’s not a good time to eat.

I love Thursday night happy hours. . . but I HATE missing my shows.  Can’t wait to watch hulu tomorrow night.

Have I mentioned that I love my coworkers?  Just wondering.

The first two weekends I’m in my house, I already have visitors booked.  Get your reservations while I still have vacancy!  :)

I have not checked my mail in a week.  I hate going to the post office.  I just realized that I will probably have to buy a flipping mailbox for my house.  The drawback to buying a brand new house is that you have to buy EVERYTHING.

Ummm. . . I am 22 levels beyond tired.

Holy COW. . . A lot of work has happened on my house since Sunday!!!

Garage doors! Outdoor lights!

Cabinets! Ceramic tile!

Light fixtures! (This picture sucks, but the chandelier really looks great in real life!)

Aaaah, so much storage in the kitchen. . .

Light above my front door. . . the pictures of lights kinda suck because the lights are too bright. Oh well.

I like my light/fan in the living room a lot. I splurged here.

Doors and trim. . . waiting in the queue!

Really hard to tell this looks good with the angle, lighting, and dirtiness. . . but it does. . . Master bath!

Lights in master bath! Love!

Guest bath. . . Love this combo!

Tile for the little square in front of the front door. LOVE the diamond. . . The diamond matches the tile around the fireplace in the room. The other tile matches the kitchen tile. Very cool.

Tile in front of the fireplace!

Basement floor is poured, but it's difficult to tell. . . but I didn't want to go down there. The steps are not 100% finished, and I didn't feel like wiping out into wet cement tonight!

Okay so seriously.  I was so excited that I can’t even explain.  What a great day.

My friend Joanna and her sister had a competition for making up a group and seeing who could get more members.  I thought that was a fun idea.  I like perusing groups occasionally. . .  and I thought I’d share some of my favorites. (I stole most of these from teenagers and have not joined any of these groups.  They just make me smile.)  Any you love that I missed???

• When i get a new calendar, i always check what picture is on my birthday
• I stand in the shower aimlessly for ages just because its warm
• When I sit on the ground I automatically pull out the grass
• I change into sweatpants as soon as I get home.
• Yes I’m from Illinois, and no, my town is not a suburb of Chicago
• Changing a word because you can’t spell the word you wanted to use!
• I’m still waitin 4 the day my shampoo & conditioner run out @ the same time
• i’m not creepy, i just have really good memory
• When im Home Alone and I Hear a Noise, I Freeze and Listen for Ages.
• When I was your age, Pluto was a planet.
• The “s” in Illinois is SILENT Stupid!
• I can’t clean my room because I get distracted by the cool stuff I find.
• Third grade lied, i never use cursive.
• B**** Please, I’m from Illinois
• I stay up late every night, and realize it’s a bad idea every morning.

On that note. . . time for BED!

A) The whole concept doesn’t work for me.

B)  I despise evil girls.  This show is always chock full of them.

C)  I despise fake people.

D)  I despise drama.

E)  The guys are often douchebags.

HOWEVER. . . I brought work home and was in a MAJOR procrastination mode so I watched five minutes of the show (all I could stomach–even when DESPERATE to do something other than work).  Here’s the conversation.

Douchebag:  Blah, blah, blah about chemistry.

Chick:  You don’t feel like we have it?

Douchebag:  Yes, but it’s slow-building.

Chick:  Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?

YES, CHICK, THAT’S WHY THIS SHOW IS THE STUPIDIST SHOW EVER.  A guy flirts, makes out with, and does God knows what with all these girls at one time for a short period of time while being followed by cameras. . . and picks a WIFE?  I don’t get who signs up for this as a girl?  Seriously, do you want to be messing around with someone who is messing around with all these other girls at the same time?  I guess it’s a small price for 15 minutes of fame and the chance to become engaged to a stranger.

And YES, I know that it worked once on this show and they are married, blah, blah, blah. . . but sometimes mail order brides and arranged marriages work, too.  There are *some* odds to everything so I’m not giving this too much credit.

Living Room

Kitchen (The open space on the front left is MORE storage. I am going to be in storage Heaven!)

Master Bedroom

My manager's house is the last roof you can see farthest to the right. . . once the dirt mound is gone, we'll see each other better! Must keep the shenanigans to a minimum!

My basement still looks like a barn. . . weird.

Um, yeah. . . this is after I actually cleaned off my shoe a bit. My stripper galoshes are now my muddy house shoes.

I am going to try to make a major change to something tomorrow. . . but it may be too late!  I’ll keep you posted.  Nothing like being inspired at the last minute!