Mood:  caffeinated

Frustration and grumbling tummies.

I got back last night from my 3 days of Federal Appropriation Law Training in Wilmington. Appropriation Law…sounds exciting doesn’t it? I think I would have rather had bamboo shoots shoved under my finger nails. The instructor was FANTASTIC but the material she was teaching was very boring. I had to drink tons of coffee and eat two bags of lemon heads just to stay awake.

The first two days of class we had the dredge guys (ships that maintain the intercoastal waterways) with us. They were a riot and kept me laughing a good bit. I was the only one there from my project so I hung out with the folks from Jordan Lake. We stayed at the Wingate Inn which is my favorite hotel in Wilmington. They have fresh baked cookies at the counter when you check in and feather comforters on the beds. Each night I would meet up with the two people from Jordan Lake so we could eat dinner together. It was always a big deal when deciding where to eat because no one wanted to be the one to make the decision. I selected Elijah’s the first night so I tried to leave it up to the other two on the other nights. Well Wednesday night, John from Jordan decided to ditch us and went to Quizno’s so that left Carmen and I to try to pick a place to eat. We decided to drive to Wrightsville Beach to see what was there. I knew of two places to eat there, the Oceanic and the Dockside. So I decided to head to the first one. Well there were people lined all the way out the door so we deduced the wait would be too long. So we headed to the Dockside and after driving around to find a place to park we glanced at the menu and decided it just wasn’t appealing. We stopped at two other places but the food was too expensive. So we drove back to Wilmington and ate at the Outback behind the hotel. LOL I try to avoid chain places when on travel because there are always tons of great local places to eat but I was tried to driving around and trying to get Carmen to make a decision.

The drive back last yesterday was long. Distance wise it is only a two hours drive but when you a by yourself and it is pouring down rain it feels like you are on the road for an eternity. I got back to the office at 5:30 and grabbed my vehicle and drove over to pick up Potter at the doggie hotel. He was so happy to see me but I could tell he was exhausted. As soon as we got in the door he walked back the hallway to the bedroom and curled up on his bed. He didn’t move from that spot all night. He didn’t even try to just up in the bed with me. We talk our CCC test next Wednesday at 8:15. Keeping my fingers crossed that he passes.

I am off for the next 3 days as I get ready to start my 10 day straight duty shift. So I better get going and try to get some of this work done that has piled up on my desk while I was away. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Mood:  caffeinated

What a great weekend. Mom showed up Thursday night and we went out for hot wings. I haven’t had hot wings in so long. Boy were they good! We came back to the house and chatted a bit before heading to bed.

We got up Friday morning and just hung out. I knew that Lennie would probably call which he did so we talked to him and then his mom. About noon we decided to head out and do some shopping. We wanted to go to Crate and Barrel to pick up a wedding gift for my cousin Blair. The only C&B here in Raleigh is all they way out at Crabtree Valley Mall which I hate. It is the worst mall to get in and out of. We got over there about 1 and we shopped a few stores before heading down to C&B. The lights were off and there was a sign on the door that read closed for the 4^th of July. It was the ONLY store closed. Since we were majorly disappointed, we decided to go to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch. We order the soup, salad, and mojiotos. Yumm! After the mall we headed to Target because mom had left her makeup at home. We then went back to my house and threw some Salmon on the grill and had some of my famous pie. We watch Death at a Funeral which was pretty funny then it was off to bed.

Saturday morning we got up and went out to do more shopping. This time it was the World Market and Stein Mart. Then we met up with Maria at the movies to see WALL- E which was so cute. I should have warned Maria that Mom and I cry at everything. She looked over at the end of the movie and saw that I was crying and she laughed that I got all emotional over a robot. LOL  After the movie we headed over to Firebirds for dinner. It was just nice to hang out and chat.

Sunday morning we got up and went down to the pub for brunch then it was off to the Farmer’s Market. Mom bought so much stuff that we had to make several trips to the car. I tried not to buy much since I knew I would be gone for a few days. After the market we went over to Crate and Barrel…this time it was open. Then we hit the pet store and came back home to rest. For dinner we went and got burgers at Red Robin. I love their freckled lemonade. Then we came back home, finished laundry and we both packed.

I have to go to Wilmington for the next three days so it took me awhile this morning to get myself packed and to get Potter ready for the doggie hotel. About 9AM mom and I both headed out. I dropped Potter off and he wasn’t happy that I was leaving him. Poor baby. I hate leaving my animals because I know that no one takes care of them like I do. L I know he will have a good time playing with all the other dogs but I still miss him.

I am not looking forward to this training at all. The only high point will be getting to eat at Elijah’s but three whole days of Fiscal Law….ugh I dread it. I will have to make sure I supply myself with plenty of coffee and sour patch kids so I can stay awake.

Well I better get going. The boss is taking us out for BBQ sandwiches. YUMMM!

Mood:  a-ok

I am not going to let Tom and Dana go anywhere together. They went out this morning and came back with a rabbit. They said they were driving on the dam and saw this rabbit off in the grass and this isn’t your ordinary wild rabbit. This is a domesticated rabbit…apparently a calico rex? I don’t know my rabbits. It is small and its teeth are in bad shape and it is VERY hungry. You can feel its ribs and backbone. But considering all that it is a very sweet bunny. It is very content to just sit in my lap and be petted. We gave it some bread and some small bits of apple which it devoured.

I called several rabbit rescues but they are not able to take the bunny at this time so now I wait for an animal control officer to come and pick it up. I know its fate is certain death but no one I know needs or wants a rabbit. Poor bunny.

Mood:  hungry

What a morning it has been. I got here this morning to find our internet and phone lines down. They were able to fix our internet but the phones are still a no go which is actually okay with me. I could function without the internet but I can live happily without a phone.

Since I couldn’t so anything online I was sent down to check our chainsaws. Our co-op student had a tree down this past weekend after the storms and ended up having to cut it down with an axe because he couldn’t get the saws started. So my boss told me to check them out. We have 4 STIHL chainsaws and 1 Husqvarna (Husky for short). All throughout college I primarily used a Husky so I am not that familiar with the STIHL. I got the Husky started without issue but the STIHL just puttered then stopped and refused to start again. There must be something I missed like a hidden choke or something. I am determined to figure it out. Thank goodness the internet is back up so I can research.

The weekend was pretty good. I had 3 days off which I desperately needed. Friday I took Potter to the vet to get him updated on his vaccines. They have a new vet there named Dr. Church and he was so nice and of course loved Potter. Everything checked out okay except for the fecal. They discovered he has hook worm. So he is on wormer and then they will recheck in a month. I am now going to have to switch to a more expensive heartworm medication that covers hook and round worm.

Friday afternoon I waited for these 4 Hispanic kids to come mow my lawn. They had come by Wednesday night and said they are raising money for a church trip. I didn’t have cash on me so I told them to come back Friday. They were a little late but did a great job except for missing a small patch in the back. I gave them $32 so hopefully that will help them out a little bit.

Saturday was spent cleaning the house, doing laundry and hitting a few stores at the mall. I am not much of a shopper and long lines and pushy people irritate me so I decided to head home. That night I met up with Amber and her friend Shelly for Martinis and Pedicures. Was great fun.

Sunday I ran a few more errands and tried to finish cleaning the house. In the evening I met up with Maria, Todd, and Maria’s Parents down at the pub for the Irish music jam session. There was s guy there buying everyone rounds of whiskey shots and I managed to do one but I am paying the price for it today. LOL Whiskey just makes my stomach burn. I headed home about 8:30 and took Potter for a nice long walk before the rain hit.

This will be a busy week for me. We have Corps Day on Wednesday so I need to find time Tuesday night to make my famous pie and some Watergate salad. Then my Mom is supposed to come this weekend…if she gets her car fixed. Apparently on Saturday night during a storm a branch came down and landed on her car smashing her windshield. Still don’t have a clue what we will do but I do want to go see WALLE and I want to have a girl’s evening with Maria. My Mom met Maria at my housewarming party and absolutely adored her and since then every time Mom has come to town Maria has been gone so this time they will both be in the same city so I hope we can find something fun to do. Maybe dinner and a movie. Or Dinner, mini golf, and cocktails. Mom also wanted to have a cookout but since I have a picnic on Wednesday I think instead I might make Cedar Plank Salmon with a Dijon Dill Sauce, Steamed Red Potatoes, Steamed Veggies, and my Red, White and Blueberry Pie.

Well now that the internet is up I should get some work done. Till next time….

Mood:  hungry

It’s my last day of this extremely long duty shift. Working ten days straight takes a lot out of a person. I am off Friday and it is already starting to fill up with errands. I have to get Potter to the vet to get his bordetella shot and then find someplace to board him while I am gone to Wilmington in a couple of weeks. I also need to call the petsitter to see if she can come and take care of Merlin and Fenwick. Then it is off to the mall to do a bit of shopping. Then if I have time left I am going to clean my house. My mother is coming next weekend so want to make sure everything is in order. I also need to see if Bryan’s mom would like to meet for lunch. Saturday and Sunday are still wide open but I do hope the weather is nice because I would like to take Potter for a swim at the lake.

Potter had his class last night and we hadn’t practiced as much as we should have. His stomach was upset over the weekend and I didn’t want to push it with a lot of treats. He was actually very well behaved and did great at all the exercises accept one. At the beginning of class the instructor approaches the dog and we have them sit. Then the instructor shakes our hands and then asks if she can pet the dog. The dog is to remain seated until touched and the instructor brushes them and plays with their feet. Potter had been doing very well with this but last night he decided to jump and then roll around on the floor. The one lesson I thought Potter would have problems with was walking by another dog and not pulling me over so he could play with the other dog. We were to walk by the other dog, have our dog sit, shake hands with the other owner, then keep walking. I was sure Potter wasn’t going to sit still long enough for me to shake hands with the other owner but he surprised me and sat with his attention on me the whole time. Good Boy! Everyone is amazed how far along he is and so am I. He has really taken to the training and views it as a fun game. I just really need to work on the jumping thing. Maybe I can get Mom to help when she comes to visit. We are suppose to get someone to help us practice but everyone I know if busy with their own lives and don’t really want to spend an evening trying not to get Potter to jump on them.  

My Mom, sister and bother-in-law are at the beach in Delaware this week. I had been invited to go but I was duty this week and couldn’t switch and I am trying to save leave or my trip to Scotland. I got to talk to them the other night and they said they were going to make a special trip to Rehoboth to pick me up some Dolle’s fudge. The BEST fudge in the world. My mouth waters just thinking about it. It is my one true weakness. When we used to go to the beach every summer I would buy pounds of the stuff.

I am still trying to get together an itinerary for Mom’s visit next weekend. There isn’t any rain forecasted but it will be hot with temp above 95. I know I want to go see the movie WALL-E at some point and I know she wants to hit Crate and Barrel. I wanted to take her to the zoo but I fear it will just be too hot for her.

Well I should get some work done so I hope everyone has a nice weekend.  

Mood:  lazy

I meant to post yesterday but I was swamped with work. Today isn’t much better but I took a break to drink some coffee and to catch you up on what has been going on.

My stomach is finally back to normal (I hope). I stayed close to home all weekend except for a trip to the fabric store with Amber and a trip to the dog park to get rid of some of Potter’s energy. Amber and I did attempt to go to dinner Saturday night and then out for a drink or two but I just wasn’t feeling well enough to make it through the night. Sorry Amber! I really did try.

For some reason this weekend was a bit rough for me and it wasn’t just because of my stomach. I was really missing Lennie and with PMS hormones running amuck, caused me to break down in tears off and on. I got to speak to Lennie on Sunday as well as his mom so that made things a little better. There are just some days when things don’t go to plan and I just long to curl up in the chair with Lennie and have him hold me they way he does with my head on his chest listening to his heart beat and smelling his cologne. I know that everyone tells me he will be home soon but when I am missing him this much no of that consoles me.

This weekend was also Father’s Day which was hard for me as well. My Father and I don’t really get along and never have really. Being out and seeing all the Fathers with their children makes me a little jealous and a little sad because I never had that. Except for a once in a blue moon fishing trip, I never spent any time with my Father. I don’t think he ever forgave me for not being a boy. He and my sister were close (until their falling out) because she enjoy many of the same things that he did. Because I wasn’t interested in football and hunting we just didn’t have much in common and he never took the time to find out what really interested me. He didn’t even go with us to Disney World. I feel sorry for him because I see what he is missing out on.

Today the weather is gorgeous and I really wish we could close down and spend the day on the lake. But alas I have a pile of paperwork in my desk that needs to be done .I hope everyone is having a great week. I have just started my 10 day straight duty shift so I won’t bee seeing a day off in awhile.

The easterly winds have brought in the smoke from the huge wildfire burning in the eastern part of the state. Normally this kind of smoke doesn’t bother me too much but I today I have been hacking and coughing and felt like I can’t breathe. It is even coming into the building via the AC unit.

After Wednesday’s incident with creepy van guy I was forced to attend an Alcohol and Substance Abuse Training. First a drug test and now ASAT. Maybe they are trying to tell me something.

This training was mandated by our HQ Office and no one had a clue what we were supposed to get out of it…including the instructor. It ended up being the weirdness, most pointless training I have ever attended. The instructor was a drug counselor and I am sure is very good at his job but he didn’t have a clue how to teach this subject. We all thought we were going to learn how to identify if you or a love one has a problem and what options you had to get better. Instead the class was filled with pointless stories such as this one that he told about an ex-employee at the center where he worked.

Instructor: Do you all want to hear a story

Group: Sure

Instructor: Okay well one evening while I was working they brought in a guy who worked at the center. He had been arrested for drug use and was brought in for processing. At one point he asks the police officer if he could go to the bath room and instead of going to the restroom he just walked out the back door and we haven’t seen him since.

Group: * crickets chirping in the background * 

The whole class was filled with stories like that. Then when the class was almost over he passed out a sheet that talked about proper eating habits. Worshipping God, and getting your colon cleansed. And then before he released us for the day he pulled out an old cigar box and proceeded to show us his prison shank collection. I am still trying to figure out how that one fit into the subject.

I talked to the training coordinator who laughed and said she had already heard from several people and fortunately this guy was only teaching this one class. Which is a shame because everyone should have a chance to see the prison shank collection.

After lunch yesterday I headed out to help our co-op student install a traffic counter. When we got to the site I immediately got a bad pain in my stomach and ran off into the woods to get sick. I felt a little better afterwards and was able to get the counter installed. As we headed back to the office I once again felt ill and as soon as we pulled into the parking lot I got in my car and headed home were I got sick two more times. I then proceeded to crash for the rest of the evening. I feel much better today except for the constant burping. I haven’t eaten anything yet today so we will see how it goes at lunch. I don’t know why I got sick all the sudden. It could have been all the sugar I had at lunch. I had sweet tea and 2 cookies then went to work in the heat and smoke. It might have just been too much.

I am off for the next three days and haven’t figured out what I am going to due yet. I hope that I can get Potter to the dog park and perhaps work on our training. I was supposed to go see Prince Caspian tonight with Maria but her parents are coming tomorrow and she has lots to do to get ready so the movie was cancelled. Which is probably a good thing seeing as my stomach is 100%. I think I will stop by the store and get some pasta or something not too spicy for dinner and just relax. I have a few movies to watch and if the air quality isn’t too bad I hope I can get Potter out for a nice long walk. I have been trying to walk at least two miles every night but with the heat and now the smoke, we haven’t been doing so well with that. I have also gone back to doing my Pilates and yoga and I have already noticed a difference. Hopefully by the time my husband comes home I will be one hot momma. I am still going to the gym but need to vary that a little because it is starting to get boring.

I hope everyone has a great weekend. See you all Tuesday!

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.