Mood:  don't ask

This morning I came into work and found a police officer standing at my cubicle. I was going to make a joke that he could smell the donuts I was carrying a mile away. But this time he looked very serious. He said they were out here last night looking for trespasser and said they encountered a guy in a black van. They asked him if he had seen anyone else in the area and the guy didn’t answer. The cop then shined his flashlight into the cab of the van and the guy went ballistic. They chased him for more than a mile and it took 3 people to tackle him. When inspecting the van they found rope, a machete, and a knife. They interviewed his family about his mental condition and they said they were worried about him that they thought he was the next Ted Bundy. He was arrested before for assaulting a security guard out at North Hills Mall. He is now in the Forensic Psych Ward being evaluated but the cop said that he felt the guy would be released soon and wanted us to be aware. What a perfect start to my day. I have never seen the guy they described and I don’t think I am in any harm but I do worry about our visitors. We can’t post this information because it isn’t a crime to be crazy. I just hope they get this guy off the streets somehow.

I meant to post the entry below on Monday but I have been having computer issues.

It was a quiet weekend mainly because it was too damn hot to do much of anything. I got up Saturday morning and clean the house and did some laundry then in the afternoon I worked with Potter on the clicker and station training. The clicker part went great. He LOVES the clicker but we both got extremely frustrated over the station training. We are still on step 1 of that skill when we should be a step 5. I hope he gets it by Wednesday’s class.

Saturday night I made crab imperial and sat down to watch the Belmont. Such a disappointment that Big Brown didn’t win. Especially since there really doesn’t seem to be a reason for it.

Sunday morning I got up at 7AM and headed out to mow my lawn. I know I probably angered my neighbors but I really didn’t care. I wanted to make sure it was all done before the temperatures rose. I have noticed that the crabgrass has taken off and I need to get something to kill it. I will also need to pick up some Bee-Freeze to kill the yellow jackets who are now building a hive on my front porch. With the heat lately they have become highly agitated.

Sunday afternoon I spent an hour working with Potter on his training. We still didn’t get anywhere. Then I headed over to check on Lennie’s house and then it was off to Maria and Todd’s house for a visit. I haven’t seen Maria since out dinner at the Melting Pot so there was much to catch up on. I am hoping we can find time this week to go see Prince Caspian.

Sunday also happened to be my best friend Justin’s Birthday so I spent all day sending emails and TM’s wishing him a happy one. It was also National Best Friend’s Day so we had plenty to celebrate. I only wish we could have celebrated together. Oh well I will see him in Sept. He sent me a TM in the afternoon to tell me that he got bit by a Mexican Beaded Lizard (relative of the Gila Monster). He apparently got bit on the index finger and he said he hurt like hell. I don’t know yet if he was given any anti venom. I hope he will be alright.

I have an hour left at work and I can barely keep my eyes open. I really should hit the gym tonight but the current heat just makes me want to go home and lay on the couch under the ceiling fan. I hope this heat breaks soon.

I know I told you all that Tanya would be posting on here today but she isn’t quite ready. So maybe tomorrow?

Mood:  chillin'

OMG IT’S HOT!!!! The temperature today is supposed to get over 100 with the humidity. Living in the south I am used to it being warm but he have had almost no time to adjust. In May we had pleasant temperatures and we quickly went to extreme heat. This is like August/September weather. The heat has kept me out of the gym and my long evening walks with Potter have been nonexistent. After being out in the heat all day all I want to do when I get home is lay on the couch with some ice water and a fan going. Which reminds me…I need to get a new filter for the AC unit.

It is a quiet day in the office. I have to run a few errands this morning then I hope I can relax at my desk in the nice cool building. After work I have to get my car inspected (7 days past due) and get my eyebrows done then I can go home and rest. I am so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. I have just been so exhausted lately.

It is the first weekend in awhile where I have absolutely nowhere I need to be. I haven’t figured out what I am going to do yet but it will probably involve working with Potter on the training homework I have. Maybe I will cook some hotdogs on the grill. I have been craving baked beans and potato salad. I am also hungry for crab meat so maybe some crab imperial as well.

It is my Mom’s birthday today. It is days like this I wish I lived closer to home so that I could help her celebrate. She will be coming down July 4^th weekend so we will celebrate then. I am really looking forward to her visit. I just hope that it isn’t too hot so we can get out and do things. I would really like to take her to the zoo.

Tanya informed me last night that she is working on an entry for my blog. Don’t know quite what is going on and why she wants to post it on my blog. We shall see. She said it should be ready Monday.

Well I better get to my errands before the heat get unbearable. I hope that everyone has a great weekend.

Oh….I haven’t heard back from Maria about whether or not she wants the flowers so if there is anyone out there that wants 3 white dragon flowers just let me know. They are dormant roots and can probably last in my fridge for a few more days.

Mood:  hungry

Today has been pretty uneventful which is good especially after yesterday. Everyone is in a good mood even though no one could get breakfast biscuits from Bojangles this morning because the place had been robbed. Our society is in a major mess if people are reduced to stealing biscuits.

Last night was our first Canine Good Citizen (CGC) class. It was an orientation class so we were instructed not to bring our dogs. We got our clickers and our aprons and got or first homework assignment. We have to do what is called “charging the clicker”. Which basically consists of clicking to get the dogs attention and then giving him a treat. This will get the dog excited about the clicker and will hopefully make training the skills a little easier.

I am anxious to meet all the other dogs next week. We went over what will be on the test and I think Potter will do great at all of them except the one where you pass another dog without your dog acknowledging the other dog. Potter loves to play with other dogs so this skill will be very tough.

I have gotten several emails from you all asking me what the hell is Canine Good Citizen Training and do you need it for your dog. CGC was developed by the AKC and is for all breeds. In recent years it has grown in popularity. I know two people who have taken it and I have seen the change in their dogs which has been amazing.  Many dog owners choose Canine Good Citizen training as the first step in training their dogs. The CGC Program lays the foundation for other activities such as obedience, agility, therapy, and performance events. There are many benefits to any time of training. Training will enhance the bond between you and your dog. Dogs who have a solid obedience education are a joy to live with-they respond well to household routines, have good manners in the presence of people and other dogs, and they fully enjoy the company of the owner who took the time to provide training, intellectual stimulation, and a high quality life. My ultimate goal for Potter is to make him a therapy dog and the CGC is a prerequisite to the therapy course. He gets a little excited sometimes and tends to jump on strangers and pull on his lead. This class should help him to focus and to greet strangers in a friendly polite manner.

Well I am off to get a BBQ sandwich. I am hoping the manager is there today because he always gives me a discount so my lunch only ends up being $2.23.

Nope don’t see Animal Mover listed anywhere in my current duties, Maybe it falls under “Other Duties as Assigned”

What a day it has been. This morning as I was driving to work, I spotted a pair of Canada geese standing in the median of a very busy road with 3 little chicks. They were desperately trying to cross but the cars were too numerous and fast for them to make a break for it. I slowed my car and put on my flashers, then came to a complete stop. Luckily there was a cop behind me that had the same idea. We manage to block traffic enough so that the parents and little chicks could cross safely. I was rather irritated by the drivers behind me that honked angrily and shouted obscenities because we were holding them up.

As I pulled into the park I was stopped by a couple who told me there was a black snake in the restroom. Luckily it was a black rat snake and I was able to pick it up and move it off into the woods without incident.

Walking across the bridge to tower I noticed how still the water was and then saw a great blue heron fly by with just the tips of his wings touching the water. It was so beautiful and peaceful that I couldn’t take my eyes off of it which is why I didn’t notice the black snake curled up by the control room door. This snake was a little more active that the one in the restroom and it took me a little bit to get his head out on its own to grab it. I managed to move him without getting bit.

As I walked back to my car I noticed that one of the piezometer caps looked odd. It looked like maybe it wasn’t fully attached. As I got closer and bent down to inspect the lid I saw the reason it looked odd. I large bee’s nest attached to the side with a bunch of really pissed off bees. I don’t know how I did it but I managed to get away before getting stung.

When I finally got back to the office and sat down at my computer I noticed something moving out of the corner of my eye. There was a five-lined skink (a small lizard) sitting in the middle of my cubicle. I tried to catch him but he ran under my filing cabinet. Now he just peeks out from time to time and sticks him tongue out at me as if mocking me or daring me to try to catch him.

The afternoon hasn’t been as eventful as the morning and for that I am grateful. I am however highly unmotivated to do any actual work. I am working on a spreadsheet that would normally take me 30 minutes to complete. But today it has taken me about 3 hours.

Tonight is the first night of Canine Good Citizen Class. It is orientation so we go without our dogs. I am excited and nervous. I want Potter to be a well behaved dog but also worried he will lack the focus he needs to pass the test. He is a sweet dog so I don’t’ have to ever worry about aggressive issues but when he gets excited he jumps on people and some people get a little fearful of him. They make you fill out a 2 page questionnaire and most of mind is blank because other than chewing and jumping he really doesn’t have any behavioral problems.

I finally received and finished planting my flowers last night. Now I just have to wait for them to grow. I ended up with an extra bag of snap dragons that I just didn’t have room for. I have offered them up to my friend Maria but if she doesn’t want them I will be offering them up to others. They are white and are known to attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Well I better get back to my spreadsheet.

What a fantastic weekend. I started off not having any plans so I thought I was in for a boring weekend but in end in it was just what I needed.

Saturday morning I got up and hit the ground running trying to get my house cleaned and laundry done. Just as I finished vacuuming the floor the doorbell rang. When I opened it I saw my friend Amber standing there. Last weekend when we went dancing I had let her borrow a shirt and she was returning it. Her kids were once again with their father and she had been shopping but didn’t really want to go back to an empty house. I told her I wasn’t really up for going out so we decided to hit Boston Market and came back to watch a movie. We had decided to watch “27 Dresses” which is a great film for those of us who have ever served as a bridesmaid. After the movie we sat around drinking wine and laughing about some of the dresses we have been forced to wear. And like the character in the movie, I too have had to ton a Southern Bell dress for a Civil War themed wedding. Luckily it was a rental and I wasn’t forced to buy it. We also got tickled at the line from the movie where the bride says. “And you can shorter the dress and wear it again.” To which the bridesmaid replies, “That is so totally true!” We all hear this when the bride shows us what horrid dress we will be forced to don. But the truth is…we will never wear it again no matter how short you make it. All of my old dress went to Goodwill. Hopefully someone was able to wear them for Halloween.

Amber decided after two bottles of wine that she wasn’t fit to drive home so she crashed in the spare bedroom. Sunday morning we got up and I made breakfast and we then decided to hit the Farmer’s Market.  It was a hot and humid day but some lemonade and some soft served ice cream made it bearable to be outside. I love the Farmer’s Market and I don’t know why I don’t go more often. I loaded up on fruit and fresh veggies. I must have made 5 trips back to the car with bags loaded with strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, corn, green beans, etc. I even bought a slab of country ham which I ate last night for dinner. Bad me! After the Market we headed over to Napper Tandy’s for some lunch and then Amber headed home to greet her kids. I went and did a little shopping then headed home to take Potter to the dog park. We didn’t stay long because it was just too hot for him. He kept trying to hide under one of the picnic tables.  That evening I cut up my fruit and made a kick ass fruit salad. The fruit was so sweet it didn’t need any additional sugar which was perfect for my diet. I cooked my ham, steamed some green beans. Piled a bowl high with fresh fruit and plopped down in front of the TV to watch a movie called, “In the Valley of Elah” which Bill had recommend. I don’t know what to say about this film.  It is definitely Oscar caliber but it left me angry and sad all at the same time. There is no happy ending here. It is not a feel good film so if you are not in the mood for an intense downer of a movie then I won’t recommend this for you. This movie was an eye opener for me. I truly think the last scene of the movie with the flag totally sums up the mess we are in as a country. We have all heard lately about PTSD and having a mother who works with veterans that have the disorder, I probably know more than most but I think as Americans we don’t really want to focus on what war does to soldiers. It’s depressing. One soldier even commented that it was hard for the soldiers when the came home to very little recognition of what they had been through. American’s just seemed to be going on with their lives. And it’s true. I think we often feel that if we fail to acknowledge something then it doesn’t really exist.

The film was based on true events that happened in 2003. Some of the actors in the movie are actual soldiers who have spent time in Iraq. If you rent the movie definitely take look at the extra features because they interview these guys as well as the real father and mother of the dead soldier.

Okay enough of the depressing stuff. Don’t know what I will get into this week but if it is anything exciting I will let you know.

Mood:  cheeky

Did that grab your attention? LOL  

I have a freakin’ song in my head today and it won’t leave. It actually isn’t a bad song. In fact it is kind of catchy but it is not appropriate for me to being singing it around the office. I am not a huge fan of Katy Perry but her new song. “I Kissed a Girl” was on the radio this morning and now it is jammed into my brain and as hard as I have tried I can’t seem to replace it with another song. This is not the Jill Sobule version of, “I Kissed a Girl” it is an all together different song.  You can taken a listen to song here…I Kissed a Girl. Turn up your volume… music plays in the background of the website.

It is a quiet day in the office today. Just me and our co-op student. I do have the Bayleaf Fire Department here this morning and they are always a pleasant site. LOL They come about twice a year to test their hoses and pumps and they are always a friendly, flirtatious group. I told them I would be in the office today if they needed to practice rescuing someone from a burning building. They told me they could guarantee that I would be the first one they saved. LOL Yea for Firemen Fridays!!!!

Yesterday we had a bit of drama so I am glad, at least for the moment, that things are quiet. I got a called about 2PM Thursday from the Superintendant of State Parks and he said there were reports of numerous dead catfish on the lake and they were washing up onto the shoreline. My boss started making phone calls and drove out to inspect. In the meantime I kept getting calls from fisherman reporting as many as 300 dead catfish. Don’t know exactly yet what is going on. Water samples were taken as well as a few fish to test to see what might be the cause. Some of the scientists suggested temperature aversion or algal bloom and if it had been another species of fish such as Shad I might tend to believe that but these were catfish which are hard to kill. My theory and this is just a theory I don’t have any proof yet to back it up….heavy metal poisoning. But I guess we will just have to wait to hear what the tests results are.

Some of you have asked me about Eaglet updates and I hadn’t really heard much until this morning. They young eaglet was taken from the nest last week and because the mass on its beak was larger than they had expected the decided to take it to a rehab facility instead of putting it back in the nest. They did a biopsy of the mass and sent it away to test for Avian Pox. They also did some X-rays and it showed the mass had entered into the nasal cavity and was deforming the beak and bones. Things were not looking too good for the little bird but it was still eating and seemed to be alert. Test results came back yesterday and they were positive for Avian Pox. I think the course of action right now will be antibiotics and surgery to try to remove the mass. It is still unclear if the bird will ever be returned to the wild. I don’t know how much more information I will get but if I hear anything else I will let you know. They have turned off the web cam because the adult eagles are no longer using the nest. Hopefully they will have better luck next year.

This weekend will be filled with cleaning. I haven’t  done any cleaning all week and last night I caught an episode of “How Clean is Your House” and so I feel like there is filth everyone and it must go so I plan to scrub and disinfect everything. Yeah we will see how it goes once I start. We are supposed to get bad thunderstorms tomorrow so at least I won’t have the temptation to go outside and play. Hopefully if I finish on Saturday, Sunday can be my day to play.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. I am going to go back to starting at the hunky firemen now.

My software at work has crashed so while our lovely IT department attempts to fix it I decided to give you all an update.

I just finished a nice 4 day weekend. I didn’t get much accomplished but that okay. I got plenty of relaxing in.

Friday morning I headed down to get my haircut at Primp Salon Bar and as I stated before I was REALLY nervous. I sat down in the chair and I could see the stylist was trying to find something nice to say about my hair. Since I moved here to the south I have tried to explain to stylists that my hair needs to be blunt cut then thinned but they have all ignored me and stacked it instead. Which causes the ends to flip up and frizz. As this new stylist played with my hair she said, “You know with hair like yours I really like to blunt cut it and then thin out the weight.” THANK YOU! Finally someone who understands. She could tell I was still nervous and comforted me by telling me I was in good hands. She washed it, dried it and then cut it because she said it would show her just how my hair behaved. She said it is really hard for her to tell with wet hair where my cow-licks are and if certain parts flip up or under. As she cut my hair she would come to a piece and say, “Why did she (my old stylist) cut this piece this way?” I would shrug and say, “Because I let her I guess. I just sit in her chair. We chat as she cuts then she tells me I owe her $55 and I leave. I never question her because it wouldn’t do any good. And quite frankly, stylists scare me. I don’t want to complain because they hold your looks in their hands and if I say something they don’t like then they can give me a bad cut.”  I got a little nervous as she was thinning because I saw huge pieces of hair falling out but when she finished and turned me around…it looks amazing and has never felt so soft. I find myself running my finger through it constantly. She even gave me a great product to combat humidity call Defrizz by Bumble and Bumble.

On my way home from the salon Tanya called to see if I was a “sexy momma”. Meaning was I hot enough to go out on the town. I told her I felt great although I should have dyed my hair. She said that she was in town and that she would stop at the store and pick up a box of my color. We decided to call two other girls and made it into a girl’s night. I made chocolate covered strawberries and bought some Asti and Tanya bought boxes of color. We colored our hair, did our nails, Amber did everyone’s make-up (she used to work for Mary Kay and still has all the crap) then when we were sure we looked like Divas we headed down to Ess Lounge for some dancing. We had a great time. I must have been looking good because two guys bought me drinks and didn’t even seemed to be concerned with the fact that I was married and that the night wouldn’t end up being anything more.

Saturday morning I got up and took Potter for a nice long hike up at Eno River. On the way back into town I stopped by the dog park and let him play for about 2 hours. There was another Golden that was just his size and just a tad bit older and they played till Potter finally collapsed. I thought I was going to have to carry him to the car. When we got home he passed out and I planted my flowers and mowed the grass.

Sunday morning I headed down to the pub for brunch and to see Annie. I hadn’t seen her since her son’s funeral. It was great catching up with everyone. Since Lennie has been gone I just don’t make it downtown much.  

In the afternoon I came home and grabbed Potter again and we headed back out to the dog park this time he had a play date with Dottie the Dalmatian. She and Potter don’t play together much but his mom and I enjoy visiting and laughing at all the dogs. In the evening I ordered a pizza and vegged out on the couch. I wanted to go out and see Narnia but decided there would be too many people

Monday I didn’t do much at all. I went and got my passport photos taken and then played with the puppy and cat for awhile then had a mini cook out for myself. Burgers, baked beans and macaroni salad, Yummm!  When I finished I sat out on the patio with a glass of wine and a book and enjoy the cool evening. I really hated the thought of having to go back to work.

This week is going to be stressful thanks in large part to my boss. He was given the task of completing what is called a ULO (Un-Liquidated Obligations) Report. He had been talking about it with dread for about a month. But I was just happy it wasn’t me that had to do it. Well on Thursday (May 22^nd) I got an email from him telling me that I needed to complete the ULO Report and it was due by the 30^th. I went into his office furious. He said that he had called another manager and they had farmed it off to their Admin person and that he was going to due the same. I told him that the report takes at least two weeks to do and that he got this at the end of April and he was just now giving it to me. I was FURIOUS!!! I told him that I have time that needs to get in, training plans to enter, accruals to do, and I have in-process our summer hire all by the 30^th. He said that he would help me by taking doing some of the report but guess who didn’t show up to work today. I love my boss I really do but I just honestly don’t think he realizes sometimes how much extra work he makes for me. I was moving right along on the report then the software crashed so that has just made me extra pissy. My only comfort is the knowledge that soon there will be a new admin person and I won’t have to do this crap anymore. That and the fact that there is a brand new bottle of wine in my fridge.

Today is the last day of my 10 days straight work schedule. I am so looking forward to being off for next 4 days. I don’t’ have major plans as of yet. I have made an appointment at Primp Salon Bar (yeah not only can you get your hair cut but you can get a martini as well.) to get my hair cut. I am a little nervous because there haven’t been a lot of reviews online but we shall see. I talked to the stylist a bit on the phone and she seems knowledgeable. I would like something different with my hair. I would like to have hair I could air dry and maybe play up the natural wave I have. For the last 10 years or so I have straighten my hair and I would really like something I didn’t have to fuss much with. Maybe if I end up looking good I might take myself out for the evening. Most everybody I know if either working this weekend or going to the beach so I will be on my own. I would also like to see Prince Caspian so hoping I can make and effort to get to the movies.

I also need to get my flowers in the ground. They arrived last week but I haven’t had time to plant them. It will take them awhile to bloom since most of them are dormant roots. I was a little disappointed because I thought they would arrive grown and ready to flower. Patience has never been strength of mine.

It has been a busy week for me. I have been helping Dana with water safety programs. We did two programs at Pope Elementary School. The directions said it was located on Ft. Bragg. We drove around the base for an hour and couldn’t find it. We finally stopped and called and learned that it was actually at Pope Air Force Base. So yeah we were a bit late but they are a very laid back school (all the teacher wore flip flops) and it turned out to be a great program. I was or course Buddy the Beaver (a puppet) and now my arm is sore from trying to hold my arm up in the air for 30 minutes. At one point it was shaking so bad I had to rest buddy on the edge of the puppet stage and one kid yelled out that Buddy had fallen asleep. LOL One the way back to the park we kept passing all these signs for Café Risqué. The signs really had me tickled. They were spaced about a ½ mile apart and in bright red and yellow letters read … Adult Toys, Topless Topless, 24/7 food and fun. One topless wasn’t enough they needed to advertise it twice and the fact that you could get adult toys, food and fun all in one place was AMAZING! I wish I could have been that that marketing meeting when they decided to come up with these signs. Do you think the guy who made them is proud of them? Do you think when his parents come to town that he drives by them with pride and points to them and say, “Yep I made that!” The place looked like it had been there forever and we feared that maybe the waitress had been there awhile as well so we opted for Cracker Barrel instead.

Onto a different subject….Many of you have asked me about the eaglet at Norfolk. Yes it does have a growth on its beak. I noticed it Saturday. They believe it has Avian Pox. Tree climbers went up this morning and got the little chick and they are going to biopsy it to see exactly what it is. They are hoping it can be treated with antibiotics. I haven’t heard yet whether they will place it back in the nest. Keeping my fingers crossed and will keep you all updated.

Well I hope everyone has a nice holiday weekend. Make sure you eat lots of hotdogs and hamburgers.

I logged on this morning to the Eagle Cam and couldn’t believe how big this little chick has gotten in just a few weeks. In the picture below the little one is 18 days old. In about a month from now he will be learning to fly.

After everything this eagle couple has been through this year it warms my heart to see they eaglet doing so well. If you haven’t been to the Cam before check it out. This is the best view you will get of a bald eagle outside a zoo. The nests that I monitor unfortunately don’t have cameras. I have to stand about 150 feet away and try to spot them through the foliage with a monoscope.

Norfolk Botanical Gardens Eagle Cam

I have been working this weekend all by myself. It hasn’t been as bad as I thought it was going to be. They were originally calling for a rain free, cool, sunny weekend so I figured everyone would be out and with the upcoming full moon I was sure I would have problems with all of them. But for the most part everyone has been well behaved. I did have to rescue 3 hikers from the trail Saturday. They called me on their cell phone and said they were lost. I told them that they weren’t lost. All they needed to do was turn around and hike the same trail back to the visitor center. The woman on the phone started to cry so I rode out and picked them all up. It amazes me sometimes how people make it out of their own houses.

I got an email from Lennie this morning confirming our flights to Scotland. Yea! I am so excited. I haven’t had a real vacation since my trip to Ireland in 2005. I am in desperate need of some time off and I really look forward to spending time with my husband.

Well I better get busy. My goal today is to try to move most of my desk to its new spot.

Mood:  hungry

Yesterday we did a prescribed burned. This burn was very small (only 2 acres) but it still took a lot out of me. Since I am still having issues with my back I opted not to run lines with the drip torch. Instead I walked the fire line to make sure the fire didn’t jump. The fire behaved very well except for moving too slowly through some spots but I would rather have that then it rushing towards me and me trying frantically to maintain the line while being scorched by severe heat.

The burn only last a couple of hours and then our Forester was kind enough to buy us all fried chicken and biscuits for lunch. YUMMM! My eating habits this week haven’t really been going along with my diet. Monday I went to the BBQ Lodge and had a huge plate of Caroline BBQ and some fried chicken (they have the best chicken). But I was good and didn’t order any banana pudding. Then Tuesday night Maria and I went to the Melting Pot. We had salad, cheese fondue, filet mignon, lobster tail, and Smores fondue complete with brownie bites, cheesecake, and graham cracker and Oreo cookie encrusted marshmallows. I was so stuffed I honestly thought I was going to have to be rolled out of the restaurant. It has been ages since I have been to the Melting Pot but I had a fantastic time and it is always nice to hang out with Maria. Last night I was too lazy to cook so I through a couple of hot dogs on the grill. So today I have decided to have a light lunch and a moderate dinner then hit the gym for an hour. I am hoping by back will cooperate.

Tomorrow I will be out checking lifejackets and getting things ready for the weekend. It is suppose to be really nice here Saturday and Sunday so I am sure this place will be wide open. Because I will be super busy I probably won’t have time to post. So I hope everyone has a great weekend.

My body hurts all over. I have been working out at the gym so I didn’t think I was out of shape. I guess I just over did it yesterday.

Monday was my first official day in my new position. The staff wasted no time in sticking me into the duty rotation. Since I will be working this weekend I had off Monday. I met up with a friend for and early breakfast at IHOP. I haven’t been there in YEARS. Then I came home and cleaned a bit before heading out to meet up with Co-workers and the Colonel for lunch. Our Colonel is leaving in July so I wanted to make sure I would have a chance to say goodbye.

After lunch I dropped Potter off at the groomers and headed over to Lowes to pick up supplies for my flower garden. I was going to put down landscaping timber but the guy said I would need to drill holes and pound in some rebar and I was going to have to cut some of the pieces to fit. I just decided it wasn’t worth it. So the guy showed me a product that he said was really easy to install (yeah right I have heard that before). It was a bunch of recycled plastic pieces, about 6 inches in length, with a scalloped top and sharp pointy bottom. He said the pieces connected and all you had to do was hammer then into the ground with a soft mallet. I got a few packs and headed over to get some compost. Not wanting my yard to smell like cow poo I opted for the mushroom compost which just happened to be up on a high shelf. I didn’t want to bother anyone so I decided to just get it down myself. I started pulling on one bag and as soon as I had it to the edge the bag ripped sending compost cascading down all over me. Why can’t my trips to Lowes ever be without incident? A young store associate came over to help me get the dirt off of me (he was of course trying not to laugh) and asked me why I didn’t’ ask for help and I told him it was because I was too independent for my own good. He laughed and ran over to get the fork lift. On my way up to pay I spotted a tool I was sure I was going to need…a hand aerator. It has a T-post handle with these sharp claws on the end and it said it was easy to use and cut through tough soil with ease (it obviously wasn’t tested on my soil). I decided to give it a try. At the very least I could use it to the compost in with the soil.

When I got home I dug up all the flower that had survived the drought. It was only my Easter Lily, some Verbena, and a few patches of Monkey Grass. I set them to the side and went to work on all the weeds that had taken over. Three hours later I had finished weeding. I had so much crabgrass that it had completely taken over and their roots ran on for miles. I decided to expand my garden a little which meant I was going to have to tear up the soil outside where the old bed had been. This is where the aerator came in. for the most part it was pretty easy to use. You just stuck it on the ground and turned clockwise. I was also lucky that the ground was still wet from the rain. I was going along at a good pace until the aerator hit a root. I went to twist with all my might and stopped suddenly which threw out my back. GREAT! I laid down on the ground in pain waiting for the throbbing in my back to stop. Most people would have called it a night at that point but I had pulled up all my flowers and really needed to get them back in the ground so I popped a few Advil and went back to work.

Once the ground had been aerated I started to install the plastic border I had gotten. It was just as the guy described…very easy to install. At about 9:30 PM I had finished the garden complete with adding the compost and it was time to finish up with putting in the flowers. After I had replanted the first plant the sky opened up and it started to pour. Put I was determined to finish so I sat out in the rain until all my little plants were secure.

As I stood up to walk inside I realized I was going to be sore in the morning. I just didn’t realize how sore. My alarm went off and I attempted to roll out of bed.  My body felt like it had been hit by a truck. Every inch of me hurt. I hobbled into the shower thinking the hot water might help…it didn’t. I even had trouble drying my hair because I could barely lift my arms. So here I sit completely loaded up in Advil and muscle relaxers. I am hoping no one asks me to do anything strenuous today.

I had called my friend Maria on Sunday and left a message to see if she wanted to go to The Melting Pot for Dinner tonight (we have been dying to go). I hadn’t heard back from her so I figured she was busy and I could go home and nurse my wounds. She sent me a text message this morning telling me she would love to go. Although I really should go home and relax, the thought of the fact that I will be eating fondue tonight has me all giddy and will surely help me get through the day. This will also give me a chance to celebrate my promotion.  

Mood:  celebratory

Apparently I get this new job and the power just runs to my head. What on Earth was I thinking trying to be helpful.

I didn’t get any sleep last night because I was furious with and incident that happened yesterday. I know it seems lately like I have done a lot of bitching on here. Sorry about that but sometimes it helps me calm down if I write out my concerns.

If you read Monday’s post you read that we had a change in regulations and that no one had bothered to tall any of us. I spent most of the morning on the phone with finance just furious that we were blindsided by this. The finance department in TN said that the information was sent to the Districts to hand out to the staff. Armed with that knowledge I called around our District Office to see who was responsible for getting this information out. I wanted to get them to alert the rest of the staff. No one seemed to have a clue who was supposed to get the word out so I decided I would be nice and share the info I learned with everyone in the District.

I wrote a lengthy email and attached the page from the manual with the new regulations. When I was done I hit distribution D which sends it out to EVERYONE in the District. I felt a sense of accomplishment and felt good that I may have helped save someone the headache of having to redo their work to follow the new regs. The feeling was short lived.

My boss called me into his office yesterday and said that he was instructed to have a talk with me about proper channels of communication. WHAT!?! Apparently when the email hit, the head of finance in our District ran down the hall to my boss’s boss’s boss (we will call him Mr. S) and asked him who authorized a lowly park ranger to disseminate policy. That in fact no one had the right to disseminate this information except for him and that Mr. S needed to have a talk with his employees about the ramifications of going outside your job. He then stated that it makes his department look bad.  Luckily Mr. S came to my defense and said that he has known me for awhile and is positive I sent the email out just to be helpful. That in fact if finance had done their job I wouldn’t have had to send out an email (I am sure Mr. S said it with much more finesse). But he said he would make sure that in fur future I only send out those notices to just the Operations Department. So hence the talk I had yesterday with my boss.

Although I am not in trouble with my boss or Mr. S I am still upset. I feel it all just makes me look bad. I am angry that I was trying to do the right things and I get scolded for it by the man who should have gotten me the information in the first place. The new regs came out in Jan and here it is May and we still got nothing from him. So I spent an hour on the phone scolding this poor woman when we in fact had the info. It just makes me look bad and that is not something I tolerate well. I pride myself on having high standards of work and there is nothing I hate more than to have to take time out of my day to go back and correct something.

So what has this incident taught me? Only look out for yourself. In the future if I discover any information I am going to keep it to myself. Screw everyone else. I can be just as petty as they can be. I hate being like that but I won’t risk getting others and myself into trouble.

Mood:  bright

That's my new title.  

It is now official. I am now a Natural Resource Specialist. It has been a long time coming.

Most of you who read my blog regularly have heard me mention sometime back that I applied for a new position with the Corps. I am currently what is called an Admin Ranger, meaning that not only do I do normal ranger activities but I also handle all the office admin stuff like time keeping and purchasing. Lately I have grown tired of my job. It has become more Admin related than I was comfortable with. Back in September they gave me the budget to manage and I hated it. So when this new job opened I put it for it and was interviewed in February along with 2 others. After the interview the talk of the job had grown quiet. Normally once they select a person it takes about 2 wks to do all the background and reference checks before the job is offered. I waited 2 wks but still heard nothing. Every time I tried to talk about it to my boss I always got the same answer…”I would love to be able to talk about it but I can’t. We should hear something soon.”

There were some rumors last month that I had been selected but once again I never heard anything official. Then a few weeks ago I got a call from personnel asking me for my driver’s license and a copy of my transcripts. They then called to ask me to sign a mobility agreement. But still nothing official had ever been offered.

Last week two managers for other projects congratulated me on getting the new job. I looked at them puzzled and said I haven't gotten the job...yet. They both got red in the face and totally had that "Whoops we shouldn't have said anything" look.

This morning I sat down with my boss and stated that we need a schedule for the month of May. No one has a clue when they are suppose to work. He stated that he was working on that. After lunch he called me into his office and closed the door. He asked me how I was doing and said, "If this is another drug test I am going to walk out right now." He laughed and said no that he in fact wanted to offer me the job. Of course I said yes...after about a minute or two of looking completely confused. He then stated that because of the multitude of critical tasks that I do in my current position, transitioning me completely out of those responsibilities immediately is not feasible. So I will remain where I am until they can find a suitable replacement. I am anxious to take over my new duties so I have asked to see if they can offer my old job as a temporary assignment to someone.

My new job will consists of tasks that I have been helping with for the last year since we lost our co-op position. But instead of just doing them once every other month I will be doing them full time which means I will be out of the office more. This improves my moral greatly. I have asked to take over the Bald Eagle program as well as our Hydrilla and Zebra Mussel surveys. I will also be doing some hydrology work, checking and reading dam instrumentation, and my favorite…controlled burns. I will also get to use the boat more (which I can really use the practice) and I will hopefully get my own patrol vehicle.

Now I just need to start packing up my desk and move it all to my new cubicle

It has been a bad start to the week and only promises to get worse. My phone has been ringing off the hook since I got in this morning. It started with the fact that no one had done the morning report. Well that’s because we don’t have a schedule so no one knows when the hell they are suppose to work. The reason we don’t have a schedule is because the ranger who creates the schedule was waiting to see who was hired for the new job. We still don’t know who got the job (although I am assuming it is me) so I informed my boss and the ranger to put out a schedule with a 4 person rotation to exclude me for now. Even if I get the job I can’t start that job until they get someone to replace me in the one I am currently doing.

The second incident this morning involved a change in a regulation that apparently no one bothered to tell those of us in the field. So I spent most of the morning yelling a people on the phone. I don’t like to be nasty with people but if you want me to play the game you have to let me know the rules. It just makes me look bad when I am not informed of changes in the regs and looking bad in front of my peers is not something I will except. Especially if it was not my fault.

I have about a million and 1 things to do this week one of which is to get our Environmental Stewardship Budget for 2010 entered into the system. Yeah I know it is only 2008 but we work way into the future. None of the numbers I enter will be even remotely close to what we end up getting but it is still a requirement that we enter something. I also need to pay bills, reconcile my credit card and enter training plans for all employees for 2009. With everything that I have been scolded for not signing up to help with Waterfest. I CAN’T DO EVERYTHING!!!!!

I wish I could have more days like Friday. I attended a Bird ID workshop in the morning which was awesome except for the fact that I came back covered in ticks. They were deer ticks too so I am watching the sites on my skin to make sure I don’t get Lyme Disease. Then after the workshop Dana met up with me and we drove to a little farm outside. Silver City to pick up some snake replicas that we had made. While we waited for them to load up the snakes we got to play with horses, goats, and puppies. I hated to come back to the office.

I can’t wait to go to Scotland. I need a vacation.

I think I am putting my phone on Do Not Disturb for the rest of the day.

Mood:  mischievious

I know you all are socked. Two post in on day but I read this article and it made me laugh. It is no wonder the rest of the world thinks we are odd. Why woudl anyone drive around with testicles on their vehicles? Is this replacing fuzzy dice?

Florida Lawmakers Consider Bill Banning Ornamental Testicles

Posted: Apr. 26, 2008

Mood:  bright

It was a fairly relaxing weekend although I should have spent time finishing my spring cleaning; I decided I would do it next weekend instead.

Saturday morning I got up and the weather was just perfect. It was cool and the air smelled fresh. I decided to grab my coffee and my book and sit out on the patio reading and listening to my fountain. It was so relaxing and it felt good to be able to spend some time outside. My friend Maria came over about 11:30 and we headed to the fairgrounds for the Southern Women’s Show. It didn’t realize how big it was going to be. It was almost overwhelming. We quickly created a plan of attack and were off. We looked at purses and jewelry and even got a makeover at Clinique. The makeover was okay but since wearing mineral makeup I HATE liquid foundation so all I really wanted to do was run home and wash it off. She put brown blush on me which I also hated because it makes it look like I had dirt on my face. The eyes looked good but I am also not used to wearing mascara so it felt a little odd I did like the cleansing system and the lip liner so I bought those. The price for the cleansing system was $50 which at first I thought was too steep but then she told me the supply should last 8 months which when I totaled  what I spent on skin care products for the year s it was well over $50. Maria wanted to get her teeth whitened (yeah they did that at the expo as well as hair removal) but the cost was $125.

When we finished with the first building we headed to the second one. This building was mostly food and wine. By this point I was starving so it was great to hit the booths and get some free food. We stopped at this one stand that had cheese ball and dip mixes which we sampled all of them. They were all very good. I ended up leaving with a chocolate Chip Cheese ball kit and a White Chocolate and Cranberry kit as well as their original veggie dip kit. I can’t wait to make them. All in all it was a great show. They had some strange booths that just didn’t really fit in like companies that make gutters and a nudist colony booth, which Maria hurried me past. LOL

After the show we headed over to Ruby Tuesdays for a light lunch then we headed home. The rest of the day I spent sitting out on the deck with my book which I was finally able to finish. It is a booked called “The Lightening Thief” by Rick Riordan which is sort of like Harry Potter meets the Greek Gods.  It is about the young boy named Percy Jackson who finds out that he is the son of Poseidon and it sent on a quest with two friends from camp half-blood Annabeth daughter of Athena and Grover a Satyr who was sent to protect Percy. They must find Zeus’ missing lightening bolt before the summer solstice or a war will break up between the Gods and destroy the world as we know it.  It was a good book, a bit slow in spots, but a good quick read. I found out that they are making a movie base on the book which should be released next year. I think it is being produced by Disney which I am sure they are trying to catch up to Warner Brothers who has had a huge success with Harry Potter. This book is the first in a series I think there are four in all. I have started the second book called, “The Sea of Monsters.” I have gotten a huge stack of books to read from family and friends and I am trying hard to make a dent in them.

Sunday I got up and took Potter to the lake to swim. We met up with a guy and his black lab Shadow. Potter and Shadow played and played until Potter finally collapsed and I knew it was time to go home. They were fun to watch though. Shadow’s owner and I laughed so hard a times. He would throw a stick in the water and Potter would swim out to get it. Shadow would stay close to shore and wait till Potter came back with the stick and she would grab it from and run off. Potter didn’t mind, he enjoyed chasing her down to get his stick back. At one point the stick was too far out in the water and Potter wasn’t comfortable swimming that far so he came back without it. Shadow was so distraught that she didn’t have a stick that she swam over to a sick sticking out of the water and tried to grab it not realizing it was attached to the ground. Too cute! I hope we run into them again because the pups seemed to pay so well together.

We came home and Potter immediately fell asleep. I changed clothes (mine were all wet) and headed over to Lennie’s house to get Eric’s key and to collect the money for the bills that he was refusing to pay. I am so relieved to finally be done with him. I will have to find out what Lennie said to Eric to get him to agree to pay what he owed because Eric didn’t like having to deal with me. I think he feels I am too far below him to deal with. I mean after all I am just a woman and in the Mormon world I don’t hold any authority.  He wonders why bad things keep happening to him. It is called Karma my friend and maybe if you tried to treat others with respect then maybe Karma might smile kindly on you.

I stopped by the store on my way home from Lennie’s to get a few things. I have some bananas that are starting to turn brown so I figured I would make some banana bread. When I got home we had a terrible storm which kept knocking out the power so I decided I would make the bread tonight. Hopefully the weather will clear out and I can do some work in my flower beds. My Easter lily is growing and I haven’t decided what I am going to do with it when I construct the new beds. I am afraid to dig it up for fear it might stress it out and not bloom. I also have some verbena and some monkey grass the drought didn’t kill that I will need to replant as well.

Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Most of you know them as IT but we refer to them in the Corps as IM (Information Management) 

I have been trying to finish up getting my name changes. You never realize how many things you need to change when you get married. The last thing I needed to do was to get my name changed with the Corps. It sounded simple at first but has turned into a nightmare.

First I needed to do what is called and RPA (Request for Personnel Action). So I did that and sent along a copy of my new license and a certified copy of my marriage license. Once that was complete and they gave me my SF 50 I was suppose then notify our IM department so they could make the changed in the email system.

Over a month ago I called IM to let them know that everything with personnel had gone through and I needed IM to do their magic. They informed me that I needed to get a new CAC card first. Unlike the district folks we here in the field need to go to the National Guard Depot to get new cards. We have to make appointments which is always a pain because usually only has slots open two weeks after you need them. Every time I have been there, there has never  been anyone else waiting.  So I made an appointment and drove over to the National Guard Unit to get my card. When I got there I was about 20 minutes early and the guy made me wait in the hall while he read the newspaper until they clock struck 11. Then he called me in and told me that the machine was broken. What you couldn’t tell me that when I walked in? So he sent me away and told me to come back in two days which I did. This time apparently I needed to have a form signed by my supervisor so they sent me away again. I was getting very aggrevated by this point. Then I found out that our security office was going to be making a trip up here with there CAC machine and that they would take care of me then. So I emailed IM to let them know what was going on.

So that brings us to today. I came in this morning and was first in line to get my new card. It went smoothly except for the fact that they kept wanting to put a “p” in my last name. With my new card in hand I called IM to tell them that I have my new card. This is our conversation.

IM: IM Help Desk This is Barry

ME: Hey Barry its Rebecca…I have my new card.

IM: (sounding a little confused) Okay?

ME: Barry you told me to call you when I got my new card with my name change on it.

IM: (still confused) UmmmOkaaaay?

ME: I emailed you like a month ago about the fact that I got married and needed to get my name changed. You told me to call you when I had my new card.

IM: Is this your first card?

ME: Barry I have worked for the Corps for 4 years now.

IM: So this isn’t your first?

ME: (sigh) No this is not my first card.

IM: Well what is it you want us to do?

ME: Change my name in they system.

IM: Well you need to send me an email with the information.

ME: I sent you an email over a month ago.

IM: Who did you send it to.

ME: I sent it through Ann and she sent it to you.

IM: Well you need to send it to me. Ann has been out of the office all week.

ME: No I sent it a month ago.

IM: Okay? Well I will let them know but you will need to send me an email.

ME: Barry I can’t send it again because I can’t log onto my computer. I have a new card and need you to change the name in the system so when I log on the names will match.

IM: Oh that’s right. Okay hold on.

ME: (I wait as he types some things on the computer.)

IM: Okay you should be able to log in. What is your new name?

ME: Thomson without a “P”

Barry: No “P”

ME: Yeah it is T-H-O-M-S-O-N

IM: T-H-O-M-P

ME: No there no P

IM: Gotcha! We’ll take care of it.

So I hung up the phone and waited about an hour or so then logged into Outlook to see if the name change had been done. What did I see?

Rebecca G. Thompson

SCREAMMMMM!!!!!

I called IM Back.

IM: IM Help Desk. This is Barry.

ME: Yes Barry it Rebecca again

IM: Uh huh What can I do now?

ME: You spelled my name wrong

IM: Let me see (pulls it up on his screen) Rebecca Thompson. Is there two “b’s” in Rebecca?

ME: No the first name is right. You put a “p” in my last name

IM: There is no “P” in Thompson.

ME: No it should be T-H-O-M-S-O-N. It should read Rebecca G. Thomson SAW

IM: Okay I will fix it.

So I hung up and waited about an hour and re-checked. This time the first and last name is right but they forgot my middle initial and my District code. So I call IM back.

IM: IM Hel…

ME: (interrupted) Barry it Rebecca. It still isn’t right. You forgot my middle initial and the district code. (See without the District code I get lost in the global address book and district notices won’t show up in my box).

IM: Huh? Oh yeah I see now. (He tries some things) Yeah I am going to have to work in it.

He then hangs up the phone. While at lunch I get a call from him stating that someone is working on it and it will be fixed tomorrow. Tomorrow? So what am I suppose to do till then? I called him back and discussed some option and asked him about forwarding my mail which I know can be done because they did it for people who move to other districts. He wasn’t sure how to set that up. So now I have to wait till tomorrow to have email access. I have already been yelled at about not responding to 3 urgent emails this morning.

Our IM department was taken over by contractors (Lockeed Martin) about a year ago and we were promised that things will be much better. They have actually gotten worse. I don’t’ know where they find these IT people. I have gotten so mad at 2 of them that I went off and made one of them cry. They now refuse to talk to me. We have 3 computers that need to be fixed and have been after them to come and fix them. They called me two weeks ago and asked if someone could load them up and bring them to Wilmington on their next trip. First of all…it isn’t my job to disconnect and haul computers. Secondly…Wilmington is 2.5 hours away and we don’t have anyone going down there for awhile. They said they don’t have a budge to travel. They are contractors…they don’t need a budge to travel. They do the work and charge the Corps. I am just so frustrated I could spit.

I am not a computer expert but I could do their job better than they do. There have been a few times when I have fixed some computers here in the office because the staff hasn’t gotten any help from the District. Next time I fix something I need to ask for a charge number so I can get paid for my time.

Tanya….Steve Jones just walked into the office.

Mood:  hungry

I got a lot accomplished this weekend but still have tons to do. I managed to clean the house and did accomplish to do a bit of spring cleaning. Still need to do the windows. I started to get the outside cleaned up. I cleared everything off the patio and hosed it all down to try to get the pollen off. There is still a tinge of yellow here and there but at least I am able to sit outside without being grossed out.

While outside I devised a plan to redo my flower garden. Last year Lennie and I Put in a plastic border which the directions said would be easy to install. The ground was so hard that we weren’t able to install it the way I wanted to. I was very unhappy with the final product. So this year I plan to rip it out and place landscaping timbers down instead. It won’t have the way pattern I had hoped for but I think in the end it will look great. It is going to take some hard work and some measuring which you all know is not something I do well. By using the timbers it will hopefully create sort of a raised bed which should help with some erosion issues I have.

Now for the flowers. Spring Hills Nursery (and online establishment) sent me a catalog and a 50% off each item coupon. How could I pass up not using it? So I order what would have been over $250 worth of flowers but with the coupon it was only around $123.00, SWEET! I paid more than that last year at Lowes and didn’t get as many flowers as I got with this deal. I order three complete garden packs which equals about 66 plants. One pack that I am excited about is the butterfly/hummingbird garden which is what I wanted last year but I had waited too long in the season and Lowes wanted a ton of money for a full grown butterfly bush. The plants should arrive in May so I have to get cracking on building the beds.

I also went out to Mulch Masters on Saturday to talk to them about getting 2 to 3 cubic yards of mulch delivered. It turns out to be way cheaper that buying bagged mulch at Lowes. Yes I know I can get mulch really cheap from the city but I don’t have Lennie’s truck to pick it up. The guys at MM were very nice and got a big kick out of me. When they asked me how much mulch I needed I shrugged and then proceeded to show them on the floor of the store just how big my flower beds would be. Yeah I know I am such a girl.  I will also need to mulch the front yard so I am hoping the extra I order will help with that.

I had hoped to go to the Wine Festival in Cary this weekend but by the time I finished my chores it started to rain. So I stayed in curled up on the couch and watch two really good movies…Water Horse and Greenfingers. If you haven’t seen either I highly recommend them. The Water Horse is a cute movie about the Loch Ness Monster and Greenfingers is about a Prison Gang in England that takes up gardening.

Well I should get some work done I hope everyone had a nice weekend. I don’t know how much posting I will do this week. I am working on a training program to train my staff to do their own travel vouchers which will probably consume my time.

Mood:  bright

I was mowing my lawn Wednesday night and I can to some wood debris that I had left over from my patio. I went to move it out of the way so that I could mow but when I flipped it over I had a surprise waiting for me…a huge female black widow spider. YUK!!!! Now my friend Bryan would be totally stoked and would be collected it to show his school kids (he is a science teacher) but what did I do…knocked her off the board…stepped on her…and then ran her over with my mower. Yeah I know the mower part was a bit over kill but just wanted to make sure she was dead. 

I don’t really know why I have this fear when it comes to spiders. Reading about them and seeing pictures of them I am actually rather fascinated by them. But when I see them in person, the way they scamper, for some reason really freaks me out and the fear part of my brain kicks in and tells me to KILL IT!!!! I get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about it.

Today I haven’t been able to get much work done. It seems that my official duties today consist of being a snake wrangler. We have had a black racer sunning itself on the patio. I have moved it twice (I am one of the only ones in the office that isn’t afraid to touch them) but it keeps coming back. I don’t want to move it too far because I am pretty sure its home is in a crevice in the stone wall. If I could just get it away from the top of the steps. My fear is that someone will walk up the steps and see it there and fall backwards. They pose no harm to humans but Black Racers are a tad bit different than your ordinary Black Rat Snake. First off they are more streamlined so then tend to be very quick (hence the name racer). Secondly they tend to have a pissy attitude. Most black rat snakes will hiss if disturbed but seldom every bite but racers have no problem giving you a strike or two. Luckily they don’t have any venom to back it up but it still hurts like hell. This snake appeared not to mind human interaction that much. It may have just enjoyed the fact that my hands were warm. So since my desk I located close to the patio I am instructed to keep an eye out for our little friend and move him out of the way of visitors.

On a very bright note…I saw 3 loons today. I was getting the morning report when I saw what at first I thought were mallard ducks. When I looked closer I saw they had a more streamlined structure and a bright white patch on the front then I observed them dive under the water. When the male surfaced, he called out and it filled my morning with such joy. I have never seen a loon in the wild and they make the more beautiful sound. I would have gotten pictures but didn’t want to spoke them off. Chances are I won’t see them again seeing as May will soon be here and they will move further out to the coast but it was definitely a highlight to my week.

I don’t’ have a big weekend planned. I do need to clean the house and get some laundry done. It is supposed to rain Saturday and Sunday so I will more than likely be confined inside.

Hope every has a great weekend!!!

Mood:  hungry

It has been a fairly quiet week although I am still swamped at work. Most everyone is on travel this week so there are only two of us in the office. I have restarted my gym routine which makes me feel so much better. I had taken a week off to pack up Lennie’s things so that I could move them out of the house. During my break from the gym, my trainer Olo got hired on by a new gym. This really sucks because we had really gotten a good routine down. He was a tough trainer but also knew how to keep me motivated. He usually let me work out on my own because he knew with Lennie being in Iraq I couldn’t afford to pay his trainer fees. So from time to time he would take my work out sheet and change it up a bit and if he noticed me struggling he would yell to me from across the room that I could do it and don’t give up. I will miss him. One of the other trainers confronted me about signing up with him but I think for now I will just work out on my own. I think I have enough notes form Olo that I will be just fine. I also had a workout partner but she has had to change her workout days and times so I am truly on my own now.

I didn’t get much rest this past weekend. Saturday we had our 1^st annual Falls Lake Festival and I agreed to help out. I don’t know why I feel the need to always volunteer. I guess I know that if I don’t then Dana would probably have to do it all herself. It was suppose to run from 11 to 4 but most of the people showed up at 10. We had a great turn out until the rain started at 1:30. The event was such a huge success that we plan to do it again next year.

Sunday I was up at 6AM to go back over to Lennie’s and finish up some packing. I had tried to do it Friday but ran out of packing tape and then Saturday I had the rain to deal with. I didn’t have much left to do. I just needed to get his storage shed cleaned out and pack up his tools. The Navy folks showed up at 10 and we started loading stuff up. I got a little aggravated because every time I would lift something one of them would come over and take it from my hand saying not to worry with this stuff…they would do it. We were all packed up and on our way to the storage unit within an hour. Unloading went just a quick and I think they were a little upset that it didn’t take longer because it meant they had to go back to the base. LOL Everything except the furniture is safe and secure and I now have to get the alarm system installed and the house cleaned. Eric left it in such a mess.

I got some news from my sister Monday night. It appears that I was right…she is having a girl…Naomi Gayle. There were apparently several people who thought it was going to be a boy but I just knew that she was carrying a girl. See when Anne first told me that she was pregnant, I had a dream that she and Jimmy came to visit and Anne was holding a little girl. Now I am not saying I have prophetic dreams but I just think my mind knew or hoped that it was a girl.

In closing….This morning I got an email from a friend who knows how much I love the movie Labyrinth.  We have always talked about dressing up for Halloween as characters from the movie. While scanning EBay for Labyrinth costumes he came across this doll of Hoggle. I would LOVE to have that doll. He looks so real. Too Cute.

Hope everyone has a good week.