Ack!

Kind of how I feel right now.  I've got like three more projects to do at home, stuff to do at work, a hair-cut tonight, and I'm just getting over a cold.  Which would all be fine and dandy but I'm leaving for the Trip of the Century in about 27 hours.  Ok, maybe it's only the Trip of the Decade, or even Trip of the Year.  Or maybe just the 2012 Christmas Trip.  I'm going to Utah to spend Christmas with my sister and her family, then I'm going with her and her girls to my brother's house in St George, and then the next day my brother's family is going down to California to see my Dad (and maybe Disneyland), and there's a baby shower for my great-nevvy Grayson (who's still in the hospital, poor guy), and then some time spent with my oldest brother and his family, and then going to the Tournement of Roses Parade in Pasadena on New Year's Day.  Then flying back the following day and taking the third day off just because I get in really late the night before.  I might go to work on Friday, I'll let you know.  If I remember.

I did go see The Hobbit, midnight showing, with my friend Kellie.  It was way fun.  We had dinner with our other friend Jann first, which was also great.  I loved the movie, I thought it was great.  I totally need to go see it again.  I'd write a revew but my blog is giving me fits right now.

Work is going well, the little Van Allen Probes are gathering so much data the scientists are just falling over in excitement.  And we're losing some data, but that's only because they're taking way more than they said they would (and it's only one instrumnet of the five).

Drama Club is also going well.  We had a read-through/recording of the play last night with everyone--ok, most everyone.  They all have their scripts and are now going to learn all their lines before rehearsals start on January 15th.  which reminds me, I need to get the locations of the rehearsal's out...

Christmas prep is... well.... going...   I did get all the presents mailed.  I decided to skip decorating since I'm going to be gone for so long, but since I keep my Hummel Nativity up all year round, that kind of counts.  I still want to do Christmas Cards, but they may be mailed from Utah.  And I have a few more things I need to make or aquire for my sister's family (I know, I know, I don't have to, but it's fun!).  And I have absolutely no time.  Except for maybe on the plane.  Or as I wait for the plane.  Sounds like a plan, yes?

Oh, and last Saturday went to the Walter's Museum in Baltimore with Shannon and Clare.  We saw an exhibit on Africans in Rennaissance Art.  It was really interesting.  I quite enjoyed it.  Then we had to go look at all the Samauri swords and artifacts (Shannon likes sharp pointy things).  Afterwards we had dinner at Cafe Hon, and it was delicious.  Gordon Ramsay did a good job cleaning it up and making the food wonderful.  I love little places like that.

Lots and Lots of Haps

So.  Busy girl, right here.  Let's see if I can document all that's been going on (or at least a significant portion)

• Commissioning the RBSP spacecraft has SUCCESSFULLY concluded.  YAY!!!  And I'm getting lots of kudos for all the time I spent on the timeline.  Ok, Madeline helped, but I still did the majority of the work.  And it's over!  which means a return to a normal schedule!  Ah sleep, how I have missed you!
• Normal Operations has begun for RBSP.  We're still 'shadowing' the contacts, but trying to let the spacecraft and ground software take care of things by themselves.  Now if only the scheduling software would behave...
• Taking a Leadership Training course at work this week and next (four-day course, two each week).  Learning a lot about management styles and behavioral styles and all sorts of things.  One of the things I like about learning this kind of stuff is how it really can apply to everyone I deal with, at work, at church, or (especially) the drama club.
• Hurricane Sandy came and went.  I put out constant facebook posts to let my family know I was doing ok, and I really did.  Didn't lose power once.  Worked some, cooked some more, and generally hung out with the kitties.  Kitty liked that.
• Halloween was fun--I pulled out my Hobbit costume this year.  Very fun.  Though I was saddened by all the kids who didn't know what a hobbit was.  Well, the movie comes out in December.
• There have been several Fairy Tales performances lately, and more coming up.  libraries, a hospital, and APL, both the Harvest Festival (used to be the Halloween festival) and the Winter Festival (was the Christmas party).  They've been very well recieved
• Began my new responsibilities as one of the two Production Managers for the Drama Club.  discovered some unpleasant things about the guy who is the President for his second year.  Took me a  long time and some Leadership Training to figure out how I'm going to deal appropriately with this guy for the next year.  Then next year I'll just apply for the President's job and he can go jump off a cliff.  Fortunatley I'm not alone in this--my fellow Production Manager and I get along great, and generally have the same opinions and attitudes about things.  We communicate very well.
• Held a read-through and some lunchtime meetings for our new play that we'll be performing in April.  "Enchanted April", directed by Karen.  If el Presidente doesn't manage to offend her too much.
• Had a whole day to myself last weekend.  Managed to get a few things done, but my house is still a major disaster area.  Not sure how I'm going to get it all straightened out.  Little by little doesn't seem to be making much progress.  Especially in the kitchen.  I may have to stop using dishes that need to be cleaned.
• Went to visit my sister and her family in October.  We had so much fun.  My nevvie Collin--or as he likes to be called now, Roy got baptized.  I love going to visit family.  I've got to find a cheaper way to do so, though.
• Ani is getting bolder.  He loves to be petted, and he loves to come upstairs and freak Kitty out.  I've managed to get him to let me pet him upstairs once or twice, but he's usually too distracted to do so.
• Kitty is being ornery.  She drew blood a couple times last week.  We seem to be getting back to normal, though.
• RBSP is getting renamed today.  Officially the Radiation Belt Storm Probes are becoming the Van Allen Probes, for James Van Allen, who passed away a couple years ago.  He's the guy who first discovered that there are radiation belts surrounding the earth, and spent much of his career working on them.  It's significant to me that one of the instruments on the probes is from Iowa, where Dr Van Allen spent the last years of his professional life--down the hall from me, when I was at the University of Iowa.  Very cool, huh?  Dr Van Allen also worked at APL, that's where he was when he discovered the radiation belts.  His daughter will be accepting the award for him today.

That's all I can think of right now.  Between Drama Club and work, I'm still far too busy and not getting enough sleep.  But I am all caught up on my tv shows.  Helps that I couldn't go anywhere during the hurricane, or that wouldn't be true either.  No, cleaning house during a hurricane isn't possible.  I promise.  Particularly when They expect you to work from home.

Happy November everyone!

The End in Sight

So I was able to go see my sister and her family last weekend.  That was great.  I mostly slept for the first couple days, though. Then I decided I didn't want to spend the whole time sleeping, and I managed to stay awake during reasonable hours for the next two days.  It was really fun to be there, though.  My nephew Collin--excuse me, ROY got baptized.  He decided to start using his first name instead of his middle name.  I didn't remember to ask him why.

Bonnie and Malena carved pumpkins, both rather scarey in their own way.  Yes, there are pictures, they're on facebook.  If we're not facebook friends, you simply must friend me ;)  Jack was his normal pill of a self.  And then there's Sophie.  See for yourself what Sophie was up to.

Otherwise I've just been working, sleeping, and participating in Drama Club activities.  We've been doing performances of Fairy Tales again.  I get to be Mama Pig, even though my character wants to be Baby Pig.  I am getting a little tired of it, though.  I might have to pull out next year, or (gasp) write a short skit myself.

However, the end is in sight.  Commissioning of both spacecraft has gone extremely well.  There are only two instruments left to commission, one is almost finished, the other is taking a little break (they saw something they didn't like and are trying to decide what to do about it).  One more maneuver and we're done.  Yay!  I'm technically back on a regular schedule starting next week, though.  Just because I'm a planner.  Then we really get back to regular--or more regular--schedules the following week.  I'm so ready for that!

Some Randomness

All I've really been doing these days is work and sleep.  I've managed to lose the pound I gained over launch week, and once I'm back on a regular schedule I'm going to work on those transitions--going from work to home needs a little more of a transition than the 15 minute ride home.  Maybe I need to play with my kitties when I get home instead of trying to force myself to have dinner and then eating for the next 3-4 hours.  Well, again, once I'm off this crazy schedule we can try that again.  Putting in 12 hours days or working nights really cuts into my 'me' time :)

So, the title of this post is randomness. I have some things I've been thinking about that I would like to throw out to the world.  First up, politics.

I have several, if not many, politically minded friends on Facebook.  On both sides.  So I see lots of posts putting down the other guy, or building up the favorite guy.  This has given me a lot to think about.  I tend not to post my opinions because I find most people are not interested in my opinion, they'd much rather just point out how wrong I am and then try to convince me of their right-ness.  Very annoying.  This is actually why I tend not to say much in any situation, I've been programed to think that no one is very interested in what I have to say, so I keep quiet.  But I digress.

I am a Democrat.  I don't like the idea of an all-pervasive central government trying to regulate my life.  I feel that the middle-class needs to be shored up and that 'trickle-down' economics doesn't work.  Mostly because those in charge of doing the 'trickling' decide to plug any leaks and keep it all for themselves.  We've seen a lot of that over the last several years.  That being said, I'm seriously tempted to vote for Mitt Romney in this upcoming election.  Why? you may well ask?

• I see Obama as a weak president who is unable to affect change in the country
• Obama's policies seem to be pushing us toward socialism, and I prefer democracy
• Mitt Romney is a Mormon.  This is not a valid point to many people, but to me it is.  I know what he believes in, as I believe it myself.  I know what his values are, which I also value.  Plus as a Mormon he believes as I do that the Constitution of the United States is a sacred document that needs to be protected.  Like I just said, I prefer democracy
• The country is about to tank no matter who is in charge, again largely due to Obama's policies.  Let's get him out of office before he does any more damage.  True, Romney will probably take the blame if he gets elected, but only if he doesn't manage to pull us out of it.  Reagan did it, Romney may be able to as well.

Ok, I feel better about that now.

My second random thought has to do with mid-life crisis'.  I'm thinking I'm probably old enough to have one now, but then I remembered that I kind of already did.  To me, a mid-life crisis is what happens when one realizes that their life isn't exactly what they had planned.  Then they freak out and try to fix it.  I had this realization some time ago, and while I didn't freak out I certainly got depressed.  I'm doing much better now.  And I take a lot of trips to see my family.  And even took a trip to Europe.  Gotta repeat that one!

I ought to include at least one more random thought before I close.  My spacecraft are doing great!  What little troopers they are!  We're almost 2/3ds of the way through commissioning, and so far everyone is thrilled.  Except for the planning software, which still needs a lot of work.  I've been on night shift the last couple weeks, and let me tell you, I think my body thinks it's back on California time.  Sleep in late every day, take naps, and then up all night.  Or mostly all night, anyway.  My poor kitties are so messed up.  I'm there during the day but gone at night.  Ani doesn't really like that I've messed with his routine this way.  Kitty is just mad that I spend all my time at home sleeping.  But it is helping with the weight loss, I must say.  I'm usually too tired to overeat when I get home, so I just stare at the tv until I can convince myself to go to bed.

All right, enough for now.  Have a nice day!  And remember, comments are love! :D

Day 13

Thirteen days since we launched.  (Cue music from Moulin Rouge) Everything's going so well!!!  Actually, not to jinx us or anything, but the spacecraft, A and B, both checked out just fine.  We've been turning on instruments in their allotted time and they've been checking out just fine as well. We actually only have one left to turn on, and they want to wait at least 30 days or more.  The Instrument Teams are very pleased.  Last week the Sun spit a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) towards us, and those instruments that were on even recorded some interesting things.  Of course, the science mission won't begin for another, oh, 47 days, but we're well on our way.  Our next major activity will be extending the spin-plane and axial booms out from the spacecraft.  The spin-plane booms will be extending slowly, 5 meters at a time, until they reach 50 meters.  It was going to be two of them at 40 and two at 50, but a week before launch they decided to change it so that they're even.  Long, long discussion of reason why, and Adam from Drama Club and Guidance and Control team was Not Pleased, but it's a done deal now.  Well, sort of.  The plan is done.  The actual thing begins on Thursday.

We have had some problems, mostly in the planning area as our planning software never had the chance to be challenged this thoroughly prior to launch, but we're slowly learning how to deal with it, and the guy who wrote the software is being kept plenty busy getting it to work correctly.  A couple of the instruments do have some yellow limits on their thermostats, but apparently they're ok with that.  For now, anyway.

After a grueling 8 days (two prior to launch), I and my fellow planner got to take 5 days off, and boy was that fun!  I slept and ditched the meetings I had on Wednesday, Thursday I had a dentist appt and quite frankly didn't feel like doing anything else that day (hey, my jaw hurt!).  Friday I helped with Inventory for the Drama club (which reminds me I have a file I need to send to someone), and then Saturday I went to the RenFest with Lauren.

The RenFest was fun, I always enjoy it, though I did find myself getting tired around 2:30 or so.  Had to stay for Fight School, but then a storm came in just as Fight School was supposed to start.  Lauren and I headed for the shops, and ended up making it to the Greentree Weaving shop where I was able to get a couple more blouses and a beautiful black skirt.  It may have an elastic band, but I think even Stacy and Clinton would approve.  And it has pockets!! :D

Sunday was, of course, time to go to church.  In the afternoon my home teachers came over and put the feet on my couch--after giving me the lesson, of course.  Then Kitty and I kind of laid on the couch and watched Veronica Mars.  Soapnet has been showing the old episodes of VM, and gave me a desire to watch it again, and since I have all three seasons on DVD, not a problem, eh?  That Veronica, she really jerks poor Logan around.  And he has such big brown eyes!  Ok, sometimes he really deserves it, but not after they get together.  Oh, and I actually did some cooking.  I picked up a book at my WW group "I love Leftovers!".  All about making large amounts of food and storing it, and sometimes even turning it into something else before eating it again.  I need that, I can tell you.  I really can't even think when I get home after a 12-hour day.

And Monday time to go back to work, this time as a Spacecraft Analyst.  Someone else gets to do the planning (and field all the scheduling calls) for a while.  I'll be back to doing it in a month, but until then I get to figure out how to fly these spacecraft!  And empty out my email box.  Still at over 500 emails, most from pre-launch.

And we have LIFTOFF!!

On it's way to the Assembly Building two weeks ago

 So here's a few more pictures.  To the left we have the fairing, with RBSP inside, making its way to the Vehicle Integration Facility

Below we have the Rocket on the pad last night at sunset, August 29, 2012.  Beautiful, huh?

Sunset at the Cape

And here we have the best part.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On time and everything!  4:05 AM I was sitting at my dining room table, watching the picture on my laptop (www.spaceflightnow.com if you want to see the replay).  My cat was outside.  I was so excited when we actually launched on time!!!!!  Now, of course, it's time for the real work to begin :)

 

 

Liftoff!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trying it again

Nice picture, huh?  Well, the rocket's back out on the pad, Hurricane Issac decided to visit Louisiana (sorry Louisianans!), and so far we have a 60% weather possibility that we'll launch tomorrow morning (4:05 am Eastern).

Meanwhile, I spent the last week doing more food prep--two more meal types in the freezer, more of the fresh stuff cut up and frozen.  I'm thinking I'm REALLY not going to want to cook after a 12-hour shift, and I really need to stop doing the fast food thing (curse you, Chick-Fil-A for being so yummy and so close to work!).  I mean, I have a hard enough time after a regular days' work without having to deal with a 12-hour shift.  Actually, since I want to keep my meal-times somewhat normal, I'll probably be bringing in breakfast, lunch and dinner so I can eat at 8:00am, 12:00 noon, and 5:30pm.  My shifts will be 7:00am - 7:00pm, so packing the meal bag the night before might be important.  And frozen works really well for keeping everything nice and cold until time to reheat.

I also managed to do some cleaning while I was at it.  Ani's room has been in dire need of cleaning for a while, and it finally worked its way to the top of the list (the bathrooms were first).  So I cleaned and reorganized and now he has a great big play space.  He was so fun last night, while I was giving him skritches.  Have I mentioned that he would rather have skritches than eat his treats?  He was wrapping his paws around my hand to make sure I kept giving him skritches.  What a cutie.  Sorry he's sideways-- I can't figure out how to rotate it, and it looks fine from where I added it from.

Can't leave Kitty out, though.

I caught her making out with the (as yet unwashed) costumes from Play On. She really liked the ones Lady Margaret had been wearing.  Kitty's actually been very good lately.  She's not all that happy when I try to go to bed around 9:00pm and won't let her outside, but she loves when I sit and watch tv (on my new couch--did I mention I have a new couch???).  She climbs up next to me, puts her paws on my thigh, and watches with me.  She really likes the "My Cat from H---" from Animal Planet.  I think she's trying to show me that she's much better than those cats.  She still scratches my legs when she's unhappy with me, though.  And I still can't leave her and Ani alone unsupervised.  He likes to run at her, which freaks her out (understandably).  I can't figure out how to block off sections of my main floor so they can see each other but not interact.  Then I can put down food by the partition and Kitty can begin to realize that the other cat isn't so bad.

And yes, I have a new couch.  I needed some shopping therapy last month, and Roomstore is going out of business (sad for them, but the prices are really good).  So I finally bought the sectional with chaise that I've wanted for a long time.  I can't have large pieces of furniture in my tiny house, but this one fits (I measured it first to be certain).  Still needs to have the feet put on, but my home teacher will help with that when he gets a chance--and our schedules match up.  That's going to be interesting over the next couple of months.

Here's hoping we launch tomorrow!!

Holding pattern

Ok, so the first delay was actually last weekend when they--the builders of the rocket--found a problem with a different but similar rocket at their facility in GA.  That slipped us a day.  Then this morning we all got up and got prepared for launch, and there was a problem down at the Range--a homing beacon was acting up.  Since it's kind of important to know when and where the rocket remains will be dropping from the sky, they kind of need that beacon to function.  So we slipped to tomorrow.

I'm at work, having finished the preliminary scheduling, and now just waiting to hear back from the schedulers for the SN so we can finish that particular schedule.  then I can go home.  And sleep.  man, I'm tired!!!  Here's hoping we launch for real tomorrow morning!!!

Pretty, huh?  This is from when the fairing was being shipped to the rocket.  Our little spacecraft are in the fairing.

One week to Launch!!!

So exciting!!!!!  Getting busier and busier, but at the same time, all the testing is winding down--after all, there's only so much testing we can do--we either have tested it or we don't have time.    One week from today it all begins!

So of course, I had to get a new haircut.  A lot of people I know have been getting new hair cuts in the last month or so.  I had a hair appointment on Thursday, and really just thought it was time.  I'd been growing it out so I could braid it or do other fun things with it, but I've been so busy the last month all I would do is put it in a ponytail or a clippy and then go to work or church or rehearsal.  I talked it over with Michael, my hair stylist, and decided I wanted it up off my neck in the back but still longish in the front so I could still pull it back if I wanted to.  And this is the result.  Cute, huh? 

I did mention rehersal, too, didn't I?  I just did costumes for the Drama Club production this summer, but that was stressful enough.  It turned out really well, though.  If I get a picture I'll post it, but in the meantime...

It's really funny.  The first two acts set up the third act, and I just laugh the whole way through.  Two more performances if you happen to be in the area! :D

So time for another meeting.  Just wanted to check in since it's been a while.  I'm getting really excited!!!

Two great men and a baby

I kept waiting to have my pictures before I posted this, but I can't find them.  They're probably on my hard drive at home.

It's been kind of a hard month. 

Uncle Bill
My most favoritest uncle passed away 2 weeks ago.  Uncle Bill was just the BEST. He came to every holiday, not just Christmas and Easter, but Labor Day and Independance Day and lots of other ones in between.  He was at every family event he could possibly make.  We always got cards at Christmas--$10 while we were little, more (sometimes considerably more) when we became adults.  But more than that, we knew he loved us.  I have two stories that he loved to tell about me.

Favorite Nieces
Uncle Bill always told me that I was one of his favorite nieces.  When I was about 5 years old, just after he'd told me that, I turned to him and said, "Uncle Bill, we're all your favorite nieces!"  He was so proud.  He loved telling that story.  The last time I came to visit, he'd had his stroke and couldn't talk very well, so I told it for him.

"I Love my Uncle Bill"
When I was about 7 or so, I went up to Uncle Bill and told him that I had a song for him.  He said he'd like to hear it.  So I started to sing:


I love my Uncle Bill
I love my Uncle Bill
I love my Uncle Bill
I love my Uncle Bill!


Needless to say, he was thrilled.

He was quite ill there at the end.  We thought for sure he'd be leaving us last year, but he rallied and I got to see him several more times.  I was unable to make it to the funeral or burial, since they were in California and  Nevada and I'm in Maryland, but he's been on my mind a lot the last couple of weeks.  Mostly I keep thinking about all the people he knew, all the family relationships that he knew--and he knew just about everyone in the family.  What a reunion in heaven he must be having now!  I love you, Uncle Bill.  I can't wait to see you again.  Maybe you can teach me tennis :)

My Home Teacher

Brother Chuck Barron was my home teacher for many years, partnered with Charlie Miller.  Both were great friends.  About a year ago, they were moved to different routes, and I was given a new Home Teacher (who is wonderful, but this post is not about him).  Brother Barron was another one who had been ill for a long time, but we were unaware that he was declining again--and he always rallied before.  He passed away last week.  The funeral is tomorrow, and I get to lead the music.  A last service for a great man.

He would always greet me with a hug, and when asked how he was doing, he always said, "If I felt half as good as you look, I'd be terrific!!"  One time, in Stake Conference, I think, I sat behind him.  He told me afterwards that usually he can't hear anything but the melody, but with me behind him he could hear the beautiful harmony as well.  He was called to be a greeter at church--greeting everyone who came into Sacrament Meeting.  He just loved everyone.  And all the little kids--especially little girls--loved him so much.  They would always sit with him in church, showering him with hugs and kisses and being so much more reverent beside him.


Both these men would probably be somewhat embarrassed if I said this to them, but I consider both of them to be truly great.  Always faithful, always doing whatever was asked, and never complaining (that I heard, anyway--although Bro Barron would always say that getting old was the hardest thing he'd ever done).  I will miss them both.

But I promised a baby too, right?  This is Baby Grayson, my great-nephew.  He's about 2 months old now.

He kind of has my brother's hairline ;)
He was 3 1/2 months early, and it's been kind of touch and go for a while, but he seems to be doing ok now.  He'll probably be in the hospital until his original due date, but he's doing so well.  My heart goes out to my niece, his Mama, and her husband, my nevvy-in-law.  I wish there was more I could do for them.  Prayers seem to be doing a pretty good job, though.

I look forward to meeting Baby Grayson

Launch approaches

So a couple months ago I did an interview with NPR:

http://www.npr.org/2012/06/25/155719933/twin-probes-to-investigate-mysteries-of-space-weather

So they only used about two of my lines, but still, it's kind of cool.  Reminds me of when FUSE was getting ready to launch and there were a lot of opportunities for interviews and things.  Yesterday we practiced doing the launch as we will be doing on Launch Day, and you know, I'm getting really excited for launch.  Yesterday may have been pretend, but it felt like I was doing the work I actually signed up to do.  Like my friend and co-worker Tim says, our first real day of work is right after the spacecraft are put into orbit.  So fun.

A new calling

I suppose it's time for a new calling.  I've been in Nursery for over 3 years.  I love being with those little kids, and playing with them.  I love having a 5 minute lesson and snack time.   But I guess it's time for me to move on.  Because last Sunday I was released from being  Nursery worker.  I suppose I should feel sad, and maybe it hasn't hit me just yet, but I've been feeling for the last few months that I've lost my 'touch' with the little ones, and had an increased desire to just sit and hold babies.  And there are a lot of babies that need to be held!

So the Bishop emailed me Saturday night asking to meet on Sunday and I tried not to be fearful (our Primary President is moving in a month or so, not that I thought I'd be asked to do that, but you know what kind of vacuums that kind of thing creates).  With all that's going on at work, I really just wanted to be released so I could focus on my job responsibilities without having to worry about subs or lessons or anything like that.  But the Lord had a better plan for me.  I was called to be a Library Assistant, with special emphasis on working with the Relief Society.  So, no lessons to prepare, have to be there but there was a suggestion that me and the Ward Librarian should take turns in the library, and a good chance that I'll be in RS almost if not every week (that's where the babies are).  As I told the Bishop, I can do that.  Plus I'll have to make sure I come to all the Thursday night RS meetings, but that's fine.  I should be going to those anyway, and they're only once a month.

Today I'm kind of cheating--I'm sitting in a review, having already given my presentation, and mostly listening as my boss presents his stuff to the review board.  So far we haven't got too far behind, lunch is over, and no one's asking questions that can't be answered.  Will be here a while longer, since it's scheduled to go to 6:30 pm tonight (we started at 8:00am).  RS is tonight, so hopefully I can go.  I don't have my keys yet so it's not like I'll be much help that way, but I should get used to going in any case.

Kitty was on a tear last night.  I had brought some work home with me, and she really doesn't like when I break with routine (i.e. sit on the couch for hours so she can snuggle with me).  Ani was a little sad that I didn't stay very long downstairs as well.  I will try to make that up to him tonight.  And Kitty too.

Sigh...

This week is the reason why I decided to not audition for the summer play.  Four days spent working on a spreadsheet, due yesterday but after 12 hours of trying to work on it, play my part in the Mission Simulation, and going to an hour and a half meeting, I finally gave up, went home, spent some time with my cats, and went to sleep.  Today was a get-up-early-and-get-it-finished day, along with two telcons this morning (and two more this afternoon) after which my slides for our review next week are due.  And the two documents that need to go with it.  Ok, only one document needs to go with it, the other one is for my other project, and my task leader wants me to make THAT my priority.  Because it's due too.  Gonna be another rough night.

In the meantime...  My niece got married!  Natalie, in Utah.  (no, I couldn't go, stupid work/review dry-run/airplane prices).  I understand it was wonderful.  In the pictures she is so beautiful.

AND... my other niece had her baby!!!  Of course, the baby was 3 1/2 months early, but little Baby Grayson is doing well, holding his own.  And has gained about 5 oz so he's now 2 lbs.  Yeah, tiny, but doing so well for 3 weeks old!  Although, since he was a premie, does that mean he's really -11 weeks old?  I've been asking a lot of mothers of premie babies about their experiences.  It's heartening.  Although I haven't run into anyone with a baby that early yet.  That may just be because the technology just wasn't there a few years ago.  What an amazing time we live in, huh?

Ok, so cute cat story.  Last night I was in the kitchen putting Ani's dinner together (Kitty already had hers) when I heard this little mewling sound.  Ani was asking for his dinner.  So I went and gave it to him.  He was out from under the couch when I came downstairs--he shouldn't have been starving, I wasn't THAT late, but he was brave enough to watch me put out his treats.  Mostly.  He still runs if it looks like I might be getting close to him.  It's been almost 2 years since I got that little boy.  It's been a difficult road, and definitely life-changing.  If only a) he would stop running at Kitty like a little black train and b) Kitty would accept him as a friend, things would be great in my household.  She could play with him, he would play with her, and I might be able to sleep through the night.  It could happen, don't laugh!

A Beautiful June Day

Greetings , followers! Yes, I know it's been over a month. I think I told you the play ended--everything went very well. I decided not to audition for the next one, though I will be helping with costumes. In the meantime I managed a trip to Abuquerque, NM to see a friend of mine. We had a fun time tripping to all the museums in the area. We even went up to Santa Fe for a day-- they have a lot of museums too. Very artsy, both places. The best was just hanging out and renewing the friendship, though. Work has been busy, and will continue to get even more busy as we prepare for launch. It's almost like it's really going to happen! We had a launch rehearsal the other day, and boy did we learn a lot! Meanwhile my cats are up to their usual shenanigans. Kitty has been spearing my feet with her claws at night, trying to get me out of bed to escort her downstairs. Ani has been getting increasingly bolder, coming within arms reach, but only at a run, and only if he sees that Kitty has followed me downstairs. So that's the update, been to several movies, see the sidebar for my updates on those, though. Not a lot of tv to watch during the summer, so I may be getting full use of my blockbusteronline membership. Have a great day! PS this is my first attempt blogging from the iPad. I think the formatting got lost somewhere. So just imagine that there are separate paragraphs and I'll try to fix it next time I'm on my computer. Anyone have a good blogging app they want to recommend?

whew!!!

Ok, so whirlwind trip out west to see my oldest nephew get married (yay!!), then over to see my sister and her family (yay again!).  Very fun (see facebook for the play-by-play).

Speaking of plays, the play is over. Good, because now I have my evenings back to with as I wish, bad because I really did enjoy it.  But the hectic pace of the last two weeks left everyone exhausted.  And they're already starting up on the next one tonight!!  I can't be in it, but I'll still be doing costumes.  Sewing is a stress reliever for me.  And helps me feel closer to my mom.

Work is picking up--we're currently slated to launch August 30, so for two months before and after I ain't goin' anywhere.  But before that I am going to Albuquerque to see my friend Lori.  Because I feel like it!!

Sorry for being so sparse lately, not a lot of time to even think.  If you're on facebook and we're not friends, please, I'd be happy to friend you!

Light at the end of the tunnel?

Just spent 10 days in Mission Simulation 3 at work--ten days of test-as-you-fly, with contacts needing to be staffed and people needing replans and a couple of actual problems inserted to make sure we can handle them on-orbit.  Whew!  Maybe things can slow down a bit now?

Well, maybe not.

"The Curious Savage" by the APL Drama Department will be performed on April 13-15 at the APL Kossiakof Center.  Which means this week we're starting run-throughs of the different acts, next week we start run-throughs of the whole show, and the week after that is TECH WEEK (aka the week from you-know-where (where are we going, and why are we in this handbasket?).  Actually, Tech Week was split up into two weeks, because we couldn't get a single solid week for that.  which is fine.  We can do costumes and stuff like that with the real set and run through the whole thing twice in a row (the third day I don't believe we have the K-center), and then finish up the next week with the A/V guys (the ones we have to actually pay).

Of course, in the middle of this, my oldest (eldest?) nephew is getting MARRIED!!!!  I'm so thrilled for him.  So glad he can get out of the SA program while he's still young enough not to get jaded (yes, that would be me).  His bride-to-be is really sweet, too.  Ok, so I haven't met her, but I did Facebook her, and she not only accepted my friend request but was really helpful when I was looking for which hotel to be in.  I just know they're going to be happy together.  Portland here I come!

My niece that was going to get married decided to delay until June.  Should have listened to my sister who lives in the same valley as her, not her mother, but I didn't so I'm going to SLC after Portland for a few days.  So I get to play with my sister and her kids, and maybe my niece will come over for Easter Dinner.  I am a little bummed to be missing church on Easter, though.  I didn't mind when I had a wedding to look forward to, but now I find I really do mind.  I'll just have to make sure General Conference is downloaded to my iPad before I leave so I can read through that and my scriptures on the plane.

But in other news, I get to go see the Hunger Games TONIGHT!!! with friends.  Really looking forward to that.  Almost had S convinced to come with me, but then this opportunity came up, and I wasn't sure I should be schlepping down to VA when I have so much sewing still to do for the play.  I'll be going the following week to see The Wrath of the Titans anyway, and two weekends in a row just seemed like a lot.

Weight loss news--yes the goal was one lb per week, but I have managed to lose 4 lbs in the last 10 weeks.  It's been a struggle.  I'm using my FB friends as my support group, and this week I asked them to click 'like' if they supported me in my goal.  I'm pretty sure that everyone who saw my post clicked 'like', and now I have a post I can go back to every time I feel discouraged.  And I can probably pull that trick again next time I feel like I'm not making progress.  But I have noticed that my clothing is all fitting differently.  Things that were too tight are now comfortable, things that were comfortable are now loose.  So progress is being made, and really, isn't that what it's all about?

Happy Spring everyone!

Is it spring yet?

Why, yes it is!!! Just ask my Daffodils!

I was actually a little excited the other day--it rained, and I got to wear my new rainboots (from zulilly, thanks to my sister for inviting me :) ). 

Life has been entirely too busy lately.  Here's what I've been doing:

• Work: just finished a 10-day dry run of the 10-day test we're going to be starting in about a week and a half.  Shift work, scheduling work, trying to make all my meetings and still get some things done kept me a busy little bee.
• Work: starting a new project at about 30 hours per month, but of course this is the week they really need me to focus.  Same week that my first project really needed my time too.  Cuz that's just how life works
• Play: directing the play is a lot of fun.  Rehearsals are twice a week, and we've managed to do quite a bit.  We finally got the whole thing blocked last night, so now we can just work on refining.
• Play: set design.  Since I'm the director, I get to do the set design.  Which would be fine if I was actually any good at this.  But that's where my sister Beckie comes in.  She's amazing, and very good at this house stuff (even when it's a pretend house).
• Classes: Just started a drawing class with my friend Helen.  Discovered I like drawing with Charcoal, and I'm really not half bad.  Not as good as Annie, but then, who is?
• Church: actually was sick enough to skip church the past couple of weekends.  Not really happy about that, but didn't want to get the kids in Nursery sick either.  Choir is starting up again, though.  Haven't told my choir director that I won't be there on Easter Sunday.  Not looking forward to that reaction!
• Family:  2--yes, TWO of my siblings children are getting married in April, 3 days and 3 states apart.  Yup, Easter weekend.  Nephew David (the oldest nephew) found a wonderful girl and will be getting married in Portland.  Niece Natalie (don't ask me her number, but she is my sister Debi's oldest girl) is getting married in Salt Lake City.  Not sure which temple, though.  Three days later.  That will be a fun trip, and I'll get to see my sister Beckie and her family again too.
• Friends: the friend with the heart condition had a procedure that allowed the doctors to determine whether or not she needed surgery and how soon.  Verdict: she's in no present danger, so no need for surgery.  YAY!!  also managed to patch up the relationship with the third of this particular group, although it is going to cost me a spa day.  Not really a bad thing.
• Friends: discovered I was neglecting another friend.  She lives far away, and I do want to visit her this year, so with work and weddings looks like it will have to be end of April/start of May.  Convenient that The Avengers should be out around then too.
• Play: need to help make props and costumes.  Since I'm the major costumer for the club, this is being difficult.  But I do enjoy making them.  And the toys.  Which I'm planning on keeping after the play is over.
• Classes: just signed up for Spanish classes again, Advanced Beginner.  They don't start until mid-March, though, so that should be ok.  Unless it impacts the afore-mentioned  10-day test.
• Work: oh yeah, we're launching this year.  Which means it just gets busier and more involved as time goes by.  Until next year, when things will calm WAAAAAYYYYYYYY down.  Gotta love Unattended Operations.
• Cats: took Kitty to the vet, she got a clean bill of health.  Wasn't able to take Ani, so took some of his, uh, 'present's instead.  He had a parasite.  I needed to give him medicine (which he wouldn't take) and then take another sample back in.  I am having some success in getting him into his carrier as long as I don't startle him (I leave treats inside).  I may get him to the vet yet.

Ok, time for me to go now.  Enjoy!

My first plateau

I've only been losing about .4 lbs a week for the last couple of weeks.  Between my monthly womanly issues and a cold that's hung on for over a week, I think I'm actually doing ok when it comes to weight loss.  I don't want to eat anything, but then I get hungry so I eat, but then my tummy gets upset that there's something in it.  I can't win this battle. 

The big news, though, is that I'm officially diabetic.  I go to the nutritionist this Friday and the clinician, to get all trained up in how to eat and care for myself so I don't start losing body parts or kidneys.  Or eyes.  Yeah, fun stuff, huh?  The good news is, if I eat properly and exercise I should be ok.  Since this is exactly what I've been trying to do for the last 3 years (yes, I've been doing Weight Watchers that long), maybe it won't be a great change to my lifestyle.  I've already been making changes.  After my diagnosis I did the dutiful thing and informed my family (so they could be watchful of this), and that's when I found out two of my grandparents also had diabetes--one on each side.  So I feel a little better about developing it now.  It's not totally my fault for being overweight.  It probably would have happened eventually anyway.

Drama Club has picked up--we're into rehearsals for the next play, and they're going really well.  I've been thinking a lot about the different types of friendships that I have, and in the Drama Club it seems that when I show up they're all really glad to see me.  Occasionally I even get a "Julia's here!"  For someone who's used to being in the shadows and has the ability to slip out of social events without anyone noticing, that's kind of a big deal.  Almost as big as when my nieces get all excited because I've come to visit them.  Makes me all warm and fuzzy inside.

So the big family news is this: Danja's pregnant (the niece that got married last June), her older brother David is getting married in April, and my niece Natalie from a different sibling is getting married 3 days later.  Since David is getting married in Portland, OR, and Natalie is getting married in SLC, that's going to be quite a trip. At least it occurs before the play performances!  Although it didn't completely miss the Tech Week rehearsals.  I'll have to get someone to cover me for that, but that's ok. It's only one rehearsal.

Just wanted to put in an update since there's been kind of a lot going on and it's all been pretty involved.

3 down, 49 to go...

No, that's not a football score. I've determined to lose one pound per week for a year. That's 52 pounds by next January. Technically I decided to do this on January 9th, 2012, starting with the Believe Weight Watchers program that Jennifer Hudson has been telling us about on the commercials. Then I found out Jennifer is a whopping size 6. Yeah, I said it, she's a size 6. I got to thinking, if she can do it, I can do it too! But that's next year. This year is one pound a week. Which is a good, sustainable rate of weight loss. I'm doing Weight Watchers, and every Monday I enlist all my Facebook friends to support me in my goal by posting how I did. And how am I doing? This is the fourth week, and I've lost three pounds. So I think that's pretty good. There will be weeks I don't lose, there will be weeks I lose a lot, but as long as the average stays good, I can keep it up. And I have this odd desire to start my running program again.

In other news, Shannon and I took a tour of DC on a Segway on Saturday. Segways are very fun. Zooming down the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue (cuz that's where the bike lanes are) was also extremely fun. Freezing my hands and toesies off, not so much, but that's ok. Once in a while is not bad. The weather was supposed to be a lot warmer, and later that afternoon it rained, but we missed the rain and the pictures I took turned out great.

Getting ready to start out

In front of the Capitol Building, East Side

In front of the White House
(South Side--the North Side had protesters)

Totally doing this again--they have a monument tour in the summertime where they go around to all the monuments. And hey, if I ever get a niece, nephew, sibling, friend, etc come to see me again, we're totally doing this!

Update on life

I somehow missed in my last post that I had a growth on my right thumb. Sorry, no pictures of that. Two days after that post I had surgery to remove it. Turns out it was a Giant Cell Tumor (completely benign, apparently they just happen sometimes). The bump on my thumb was about the size of a grape (imagine cutting a grape in half lengthwise and sticking it on your thumb, that's what it looked like). I'm sure the actual tumor was only about the size of a pea. The doctor told me it looked really cool; I took his word for it. So typing hasn't been that fun for the past couple of weeks. That's my excuse for not blogging, and I'm sticking to it! You never really realize how much you use something like a thumb until you can't. It's healing nicely, though. Even my chiropractor was impressed.

My sister asked about my car. That's kind of a story too. I took it in on Wednesday, and explained what I knew of the problem, and they had never heard anything like that before. After some investigation they discovered that there was a known problem with Saturn Ion ignitions where the code from the ignition switch got lost to the car's computer. If I'd mentioned the problem a couple years ago I wouldn't have had to pay for it to be fixed. ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!! Ok, different dealership where I take my car now, and the guys took good care of me and my car. except that they couldn't get to it on Wednesday. So they got me a rental car. It was a tank. A Chevy Pilot (or whatever their biggest SUV is). I did ask for something smaller, but they didn't have anything. Driving that thing brought back memories of driving the van my family had when I was learning to drive. But this one was bigger. And way tricked out. While it was kind of nice to be The Biggest Car on the Road, it was also not so nice that it took the seat 30 seconds to move (automatically) to where my feet could reach the pedals. Yeah, not a car for me, methinks.

So Thursday was the day I was having hand surgery. My very good friend drove me (and even took me to my morning appt at the podiatrist since getting up to Bal'more for the surgery would have been a timing issue otherwise). It was a local anesthetic, but they put a covering over my head so I couldn't see what they were doing (thank goodness!). Anyways, my friend drove me back to my house, to the pharmacy at the grocery store to get my prescription pain killers, and then even helped me return the Beast and pick up my car from the dealership. Her other car is an SUV so it wasn't as big a deal for her. And it turned out we only used one gallon of gas, so that's all I paid for :) So the car is fixed. No more worrying about whether or not it will start in the morning.

So since then I've basically just been hanging out reading (check my goodreads.com list for the books I've read over the last two weeks), watching tv, and sleeping. Ok, so I did go back to work the following Monday, but again, very limited when you can't type properly. Left early several days that week, the prescription they gave me wiped me out. Kitty was very happy, though. Ani not so much. I'd leave the door to the basement open so he could come upstairs, then lay on the couch reading, and sure enough he'd come up, but then see that I was there and get this, "Oh crap! The human is home!" look on his face. Then try to chase Kitty. I also got a U-shaped body-pillow, and man it was so comfy! Or maybe that was the drugs too... Still have it, still use it. Last night was the first full-night's sleep I had in a while. Even Kitty didn't wake me up (she usually does around 4 in the morning).

I think that's it for now. Bye!

Happy New Year!!

Yes, I know, the title is so popular almost everyone is using it :)

had a great Christmas with my sister and her family--very low key, the way I like it. got back and put in some time for work (this borrowing vacation time from the future is very exhausting! This should be my last year of doing that, though). New Years Eve went to a movie and lunch with my friend, then developed a severe headache and cancelled my NYE plans with a different friend. I really just wanted to stay home and watch movies with my kitties anyway.

Kitty wasn't too thrilled about me being gone, but loved having me home for last weekend. I would lay on the couch and she would curl up by my face--not on my face, you understand, I could still breathe without getting fur up my nose, and see the tv if necessary. We played with her stick&string toy, and she got to go in and out as much as she wanted to. Which wasn't a whole lot, since it was pretty cold outside.

Ani... well, he didn't seem to notice that I'd been gone, but he did make a few forays upstairs not knowing I was home yesterday. He managed to corner Kitty in the kitchen at one point, but I stopped that. I wish my kitties would get along. :(

Monday I had all these plans for shopping and stuff, but Sunday I did my finances and realized that shopping was probably not a good option. I have just enough for the bills I have left to pay and maybe some milk at the store, and that's about it until payday.

This morning was weird. When I got up, the sky was overcast. When I went downstairs after getting ready for work, the sky was clear. When I put the recycling out, I saw storm clouds moving in from the northwest, and the light was a yellowish color. Plus a few snowflakes. Snowflakes??? Yup. Let Kitty out for her morning constitutional, and about 5 minutes later she was desperately trying to get back in--it was definitely snowing. Light, powdery stuff. Too late for TPTB to cancel school, and it stopped before I went outside to start my car for work. Weird, weird weather this morning.

And my car started!!!! Why is this a big deal? I'm sure I've posted before about this, but for those of you who haven't heard, my car has a really funky ignition. It's a Saturn ION, and for some reason in this model they use some sort of fluid to carry the spark from the place where you turn the key to the thing that starts the engine. (yeah, ok, my brother owns a car repair shop and I don't even know the parts to the engine thingy). so back to my story. When it gets cold, the fluid won't carry the spark, and the car won't start. Up until this year this happened maybe 2-3 times a winter. A little more during Snowmageddon, a little less on milder years. This year, however, it's been 2-3 times per week. This is not acceptable. Takes me 1o-15 minutes to get my car started. How do I get it started? By warming up the key, sticking it in the ignition, and repeat. I have a lighter in my car now for this purpose. Better than running from the stove in my house to the car in the parking lot. Oh how I wish for a garage sometimes! I'm taking it to be serviced tomorrow (Wednesday), and I've told them about the problem, so hopefully they can think of something. Other than "Just buy a new car, silly girl!" I really don't want a car payment until at least after the family reunion next year. I don't want to tie up my funds that way.

Ok, enough of that. Here's hoping this year is a good one, for one and all!