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!

Cat antics

I really need to get some more pictures of my cats. They are so funny these days!

Last week Kitty wanted outside, so I let her, but when it was time for her to come inside (so I could go upstairs and go to bed), she didn't come! I called and called, and finally went to bed anyway. I had a really restful night's sleep. Hmmm. She was ready to come in in the morning, though.

Ani has been getting braver. When I go downstairs to feed him I sit and read for a while, and he's been slowly getting closer to where I sit. Someday I hope he'll be brave enough to come close enough for me to have him smell my hand. Maybe even let me pet him. I have been leaving the door open between the basement and the rest of the house whenever I'm home, and I think this has been helping. I find him in the mornings on the main floor curled up in Kitty's place. Well, she doesn't actually sit there anymore ;) One morning I didn't see him--until he leaped up from the couch where he'd been sitting and ran for the basement! Yup, he still runs from me :(

Sunday mornings are way more fun. I lay on the couch reading quietly, Kitty sitting somewhere near by--on the rocking chair, or the floor, or even up on the window sill (just not where That Boy has been sitting). Ani will slink upstairs, making little mewing noises to Kitty, calling to her. Kitty will growl. Ani will edge closer and mew. Kitty will growl. this continues until Ani gets inside Kitty's personal space, and she hisses (it's about 3 feet from wherever she is). One morning Ani lay down and presented his cute white belly to her. "See," he seemed to say, "I'm not a threat. I just want to play with you." "Go away," she growled. "I don't like other cats!"

Ah Kitty. I hope she will accept him someday. I hope Ani will accept me someday. I hope Kitty will stop attacking me because she has an appropriate play friend (who can defend himself if necessary). I think I'm in an odd sort of relationship triangle with my cats...

My week has been crazy. I'm trying to fit in some extra hours at work so I can take off next week and not have to dip into next year's vacation (yup, I'm almost out). Then, of course, things keep coming up in the evenings so I have to leave, and then after I get home I stay up too late so it's hard to get up the next day (for example, last night I was getting things ready for tonight's Ward Halloween Party). Exercise has gone out the window, and actually so has tracking, though i was very good on Monday and Tuesday. Today not so much. Tomorrow should be better. I was going to help with the Stake Service day, but one of the events was canceled, so I think they're all going to descend upon the Stake Center where I was going and as much as I love hanging out with these people, large crowds make me anxious. Kind of like Ani, only the size of crowd he can handle is, well, one. Sometimes. Anyway. But in the afternoon I'm going to see Disney on Ice with a friend and her daughter, so that will be very fun (and keep me out of the kitchen). Then in the evening I have a fun thing planned, but don't want to say anything until I do it. I promise, you'll be among the first to know.

And then next week I have Mon, Tues, and Wed and then I go to CALIFORNIA!!! :D Definitely will post about that then too :)

In other news...

I love having Home Teachers. Last night my HT came over with his little sons and he replaced my smoke alarms. No more going off because of the humidity!! I think I mentioned that I like to have my windows open, but then when it's humid outside the humidity comes in and that set off the old smoke alarms which I'm sure were indigenous to the house (installed when the house was built). But now I have nice new ones, and I'll have to remember to change the batteries and everything, but they also came with a mute button just in case they decide to go off for random things.

Another performance of our Fairy Tale Theater tomorrow, in Columbia this time. If someone records it I'll be sure to post the link again. Hopefully some people from my ward will come, it would be nice to have more friends in the audience.

I upgraded my iPhone with the new OS 5. I can now access iCloud. Not that I have any other Macs at home or whatever, but still. I feel so... so... 'NOW'. Just wait until I get my iPad! I'm thinking probably sometime before my trip in November. I'm going to put my movies on it so I can watch them on the plane. Yay!

And basically keeping up with my TV shows. A couple new ones start this week: Once Upon a Time, and Grimm. Chuck finally starts back this week too. And I may be adding the one about the police detective that remembers everything. I watched it last week and it was intriguing. I like cop shows. Can you guess? No, please don't suggest CSI or L&O. Been there, done that, got really, really paranoid. I prefer the unrealistic ones.

Taking a break

I'm taking a break from tracking this week. Tracking every little thing I eat. I haven't been good at it for months now, and it shows in my lack of progress in the weight-loss arena (no, I don't get to be Glinda this year for Halloween, I'll just pull out my purple witches cloak and go from there). So I thought I would give myself a break. After about two days of not tracking. So I really just made it official. I can maintain this weight fairly easily without even trying. So why am I paying Weight Watchers to maintain my weight? We're coming up on a new session starting Monday, so this really is the time to give this some thought.

Pros of keeping with Weight Watchers

• Support Group. these people are amazing. Like J who came in starting at the middle of last year and has lost ove 150 lbs. B who has lost over 60 lbs--she started when I did three years ago, and while she hasn't made goal yet, if I'd followed her example I'd have lost 60 lbs by now too. Diana, our leader, is inspirational and motivating, and sends out a weekly email as well as keeping a blog (Thin Thinking, she's on my list).
• materials. I love stuff. They have trackers and books and snacks and worksheets and booklets and recipe books and all kinds of stuff. All designed to help you keep focused.
• eTools. They have an app for that. I can track on my iPhone, look up recipes, make meals, check out nutritional information at restaurants, just about anything.
• I did actually lose 15 lbs. When I followed the program. And I have kept it off for about three years.
• I do actually have better eating habits than I did, and I know what foods I really just need to not buy (potato chips--actually, just about anything with potatoes--bread, crackers--sensing a theme here?)
• My activity level is actually higher than it was three years ago.
  

Cons of staying with Weight Watchers

• Price. It does cost. It's about 80% cheaper than any other diet you can try (mostly because you eat all your own food, not theirs--they want you to eat normal food so it's easier to maintain once you reach goal). Once I reach goal and become a lifetime member, I won't have to pay anymore, but it has been three years of virtually no progress.
• I don't follow the program. I don't track, or rather, I track until I get home from work and then I eat constantly until bedtime. If I want something and I'm out of points for the day, and out of weekly points for the week, I just eat it anyway. This is the behavior I really need to change.
  
• No Mexican Mondays. My friends at work go to El Azteca for lunch on Mondays. My meeting is on Monday at lunchtime. Conflict!

Desire: I really do want to lose weight. Reasons for doing so (and yes, I do believe these ar ein order:

• Health reasons. I need to lose weight in order to be healthy and live well. Still not convinced I want to live to be 100, but living to 80 to be with my nieces and nephews and their children would be really nice. Plus that whole, "Run and not be weary, walk and not faint" thing is quite attractive.
  
• Clothes. I can never find cute clothes in my size, and when I do, I have to alter them because I'm 5'1" and the world isn't made for short fat people. Even petite sizes, while better, don't often come in big enough sizes.
• Sisters. Oh yes, really want to lose weight so they will tell me I look great. Is that sad or what?

So it seems fairly obvious what I need to do. Stick it out, track religiously, and maybe by Christmas there will be noticeable improvement. but meanwhile I have the weekend. I think I'm going to make cupcakes. With all the little lower-fat tricks, of course, but still!

Pictures!!

My sister is putting me to shame on the pictures! So here are some from the Maryland Rennaissance Festival. I've been twice this year, once with my real camera, once with my iPhone (well, it was there both times, but when you have a real camera, you use it). So obviously I only have the pictures from the day I took them with my iPhone. I went on Sept 17, by my lonesome, but was far from it. Puss in Boots was there!! I even got a poster, and I'm so going to see that movie when it comes out!My friend from the APL Drama Club was there, performing with her madrigal group (Camerata Musica). They even did a song I remember doing in high school!

This is Lynn. She's fabulous.

While wandering about I heard screaming, and the next thing I know this crazy woman all dressed in purple was hugging me!!! Lady Ravenwolves, my good friend, who actually just retired from the Navy the day before and was there celebrating with her family.

Later that day her daughter Armanda did the exact same thing. Didn't get a picture with her, though. Or Goldilocks, a woman from VA who stayed with me several years ago when she was working at the RenFest and needed a place to stay. Ran into her too. Didn't get a picture of her either. Drat!

Did all my shopping that day, picking up my favorite honey (Killer Bee), a new dress from Wolfstone Kilt company. No picture, but I will be taking it with me in November to my nieces' wedding. I'm sure there will be pictures from that.

It was a fun day. I may go again this year, if I can find some friends to go with. It's always better with friends.

Queen of the Castle

She sits on my Jewelry box, surveying the scene
To all in my house, she is the queen.

She sits there in the mornings sometimes as I get ready for work. Those who follow me on Facebook know that she scratched me in the face last Friday, and smacked me again on Monday. But now I use my pillows as shields and she doesn't like that too much. She's gone back to attacking my ankles.

In other news, I'm FINALLY released from Ward Chorister. I still have two other callings, plus Visiting Teaching, never fear, but it will be nice to not always be 'on' when I'm at church. And sit in the congregation. And sing whatever part I feel like when singing hymns. Including descants.

I'm taking Spanish lessons now--second one was this week. I'm bad at practicing when I'm at home, though. You queiro espanol, pero no quiero a trabajar. I want to learn Spanish, but I don't want to put in the work. Same with my piano lessons. Yes, taking piano lessons from a woman in my ward. It's really fun. She encourages me to practice but is so completely understanding when I don't. She give me a lot of leeway too, since I do actually know how to play, I just need the encouragement and discipline of taking lessons. She's great (yes, it's Ashley, for those who know her).

I went to a play called 'Or', put on at the Howard County Community College, with a couple friends from the drama club. It was... performed very well. Set in the 16th century a woman has affairs with the King, an actress, and her former lover, a spy. She was a spy before too, but now is trying to be a playwrite. There were elements of humor, but a lot of bad language and even more innuendo, and lots of kissing. Everyone kissed this woman. Yes, I mean everyone. Can't really recommend it to my LDS friends, but those who are not might like it. My friends enjoyed it quite a bit. And like I said, it was performed very well.

Not much else going on. Going to the RenFest tomorrow, provided I can get my driver's license renewed in a reasonable amount of time. If not, I guess the yard is finally going to get worked on :)

Things that come in threes...

Who knew disasters also follow the 'rule of three'? We had an earthquake, a hurricane, and now flooding. Lots and lots of flooding. Not where I live--I'm on the top of a little hill, so my house doesn't get flooded and the nearest stream is at the bottom of the street about 1/4 of a mile away. I haven't lost power, and I haven't had any other major issues either, so I'm quite blessed. The roads I take to work are high and, well, mostly dry. Just rained on, not covered like my friends' roads. My cats have been particularly ornery this week, but that could be put down to the weather too, right? After all the thunder and lightening, I'd be a wreck too if I was small and completely dependent on my human.

Speaking of cats, my orange kitty is bucking to get herself made into chili. Yeah, you heard me. Cat chili. She's been attacking me regularly this week, so last night I clipped her claws. How did she get me back? She clawed me in the face. Only one scratch drew blood, I suppose I should be grateful for that, the little brat. One of my home teachers keeps referring to her as Chili, because he says he'd be happy to put her in a pot. She keeps this up and I just might take him up on it. She wouldn't be adoptable since she scratches people, so I can't take her to a shelter, and a rescue, well, she'd just be placed somewhere with other cats, whom she HATES. So I'm thinking the chili pot is the place for her. Ok, I'm only kidding. Mostly. Stupid cat anyway.

Speaking of ornery cats, Ani has been regressing. He was coming out for a bit, but now he just hides. He comes out to eat, but last night with all the thunder and lightening he hid in the laundry room. I tried to get him to sniff my hand, but he just hissed at me. Maybe I should give him back to his rescue. At least there he'd have other cats to play with. Or maybe I should bring a little friend home with me tomorrow from the cat show...

Yes, going to the cat show tomorrow with a few friends. That should be a lot of fun.

Last weekend went to the Renaissance Festival with friends. That was a lot of fun. I also went to the Maroon 5/Train concert with a friend. That was a lot of fun too. I do have pictures, but they're still in my camera. This has been a busy summer. And every weekend for the next month or so is busy too.

Not just busy, FREAKING busy

I have been so freaking busy. Can I just tell you?

• Wicked at the Kennedy Center: went with friends from the Drama Club. It was so much fun. It was interesting to see a different interpretation, from a different director. Not sure I agreed with the choices that were made, but it could be that I just prefer the Broadway production. It was so fun to go with friends tho.


• "Ghost Story", the next in the Dresden Files series: Finally got it. Stupid Amazon didn't send it to me until TWO WEEKS after it was released. So all, and I mean ALL of my friends that are reading the series have finished it and I've barely started it. Because, of course, it showed up the one week when I had absolutely no time to read.
  


• Tech Week: Dress Rehearsals for Rumors. Plus two performances last week, and two more this weekend. If I didn't invite you, it's probably because there's some--ok, some significant--bad language in it. I got to edit my part so I don't say anything I'm uncomfortable with, but if it were a movie it would be rated R for language (yes, that kind of language, even though its not used in context). I'm only doing this because they needed help, and you know me, I'm a sucker for helping out when I can. I'm also doing the costumes, and those lame people. Everyone else involved in the props, sets, and production crew got a stupid thank-you note or flowers or something. I got a flower for being in the cast, but do they remember that I'm in charge of costumes and might like a thank-you card for that? All the nights I spent making dresses, trips to VA to find tuxedos? No, they don't. Stupid 20-year-old dumb girl-director anyway, and her stupid warm-up exercises. [addendum: the girl doing the posters/programs didn't get a thank-you card either. Maybe we should stage a revolt]



• American Idol Concert: went with Tess to B'more to see this. It was a great show. So much fun. I love James!! Truly, the others are all really talented, but James is the only one who knows instinctually how to work a crowd. I hope he goes far, I just love him. I love Haley and Pia and even Casey too (as evidenced by the autographed pictures I now have of all four), but after the concert James is my favorite.



• Performances of Rumors: Both went really well last weekend. There's something really energizing about having an audience in the theater. Katie, who plays Chris, is so funny. Jeff, who plays Lenny, is really hilarious as well. It's really funny. We've gotten so many compliments; everyone did a simply amazing job. Now it's up to us to do it again this weekend.



• Film Festival: two of my Drama Club friends were in a short film, the screening of which was last night. So we went into Eastern Baltimore (just before the neighborhood turns bad) and watched 11 short films (4-9 minutes long). My friends' film was the last one. It will be up on YouTube later today. Dating Advice in the Apocolypse. Zombies, no women, one guy who just wants a girlfriend, and another guy who gives him advice. It was great. My favorite was probably the one that was a Firefly fan-film. Zoe and Mal and how they first met. Several of the other films dealt with death and odd aspects of death, but probably the other favorite was Corporate Stiffs--a training film all about how to include 'Revenent Americans' in the workforce (aka zombies) As a clue, you are no longer allowed to say, "pick your brain" :) Here's the link to the film my friend is in: Dating Advice

Other than that, work's been pretty slow for me. I have some superviser stuff I need to do as performance reviews are coming up, but it shouldn't be too bad. I have no problem children in my section. Church has been, well, just kinda there. I've been promised a release from one of my callings (I have three, remember, plus Visiting Teaching, and my companion just moved so I've no help there either), and they have someone approved, but that person has to come back from vacation first.

I've been feeling a lot out of sorts lately, probably due to lack of sleep and constantly running my lines in my head. Jeff will steal them if I'm not fast enough. Tuesday I couldn't find my key and badge for work, so had a big LOSER badge on all day long. Turns out it was in my car, between the pasenger seat and the door, where I can't see it from the driver's seat. Should'a just stayed home that day, I think. All I really want to do is go home and read my book, but I'm doing gifts for our wonderful director and production staff (the 'wonderful' is only sarcastic for the director), and then it's time to do costumes for the next project, which we're dry-running next week. Yay. No sleep for Julia. Remember, I had no intention of being in Rumors, just doing costumes. And when the production assistant was unavailable to help the production manager I stepped in to help her. I have got to stop volunteering for stuff. It's making me crazy. But I do feel better now that I've vented a little.

So weird

There are like three or four blogs that I can no longer comment on. For some reason, Blogger doesn't recognize me on those blogs and won't allow me to log in (even though I tried three times!). I put in the stupid word verification and everything, but no. No comments allowed. I know it's just me, though, because other people comment on these particular blogs. Now I have friends out there who think I don't care about them because I can't comment :( This makes me sad.

In other news, my cold is finally (almost) gone. Lots of going home early to sleep. Ani has been getting his supper at 8:00pm instead of 10:00pm, which allows me plenty of time to read without thinking, "I have to go to bed sometime tonight, you know." He's been coming out a little farther, but the whole being sick thing set him back, I think. I worry about him not getting enough exercise (he doesn't seem to like things that move unexpectedly, so that's an issue). I did make a treat bottle for him--soda bottle with holes cut in it so I can fill it with treats and they come out when he moves it. I don't think he really plays with it, though. I did order a couple treat-dispensing balls, though. I'm going to put his regular food in one and see if he manages to keep from starving to death. Which he won't since I bring him canned food each evening, but hopefully he'll get the idea and start playing. I want him to be happy.

Padme Kitty is being her usually cranky self. She loved having me home for four days to open doors for her and lay on when she wanted to nap (I actually really like it when she does that). She's been attacking me at night again, though. I try to play with her--her new favorite toy is a stick with a string on it (used to have a toy, but Ani ate part of the string the last time he came upstairs and Kitty decided she likes it that way). Sometimes she just sits and looks at my feeble attempts to flick the string until I get tired. She will stand at the door and meow until I come over, but she doesn't want out, she wants something else, but what she does is walk into the kitchen and eat. I think she's a bad influence.

Went to a show Saturday night, my first venture after starting to feel better. It was with the Drama Club, and since I'd already paid for it and felt much better, I decided I would still go. It was "Anything Goes" at Toby's Dinner theater (http://www.tobysdinnertheatre.com/). It was very good. it was dinner and the show, and dinner was good too. I didn't over eat the meal, but then Chris egged me into ice cream and a slice of cheesecake. He's definitely a bad influence--one of those guys who can eat anything and never gains a pound, then feels guilty when he's the only one eating so he tries to get other people to continue eating. I really need to not sit near him for meals. Sunday I made it to church, which was good since the other guy who helps run Nursery was sick this week. Only 12 kids, only one crier--she's still fairly new, although her older brother is in the class and has stopped crying. There should have been another crier, but I just couldn't handle two of them and no one else had shown up to help yet, so the dad just took her with him. He won't be able to do that much longer, though. Good thing I'm over my cold, right?

No major plans this week or weekend, just working on the costumes for the play I'm in. Here's the flyer, made by one of our drama people. She's very talented.

I will be going to some concerts in August, though. Let you know about that then :)

Hello Again

Been a busy couple of months. Danja's Wedding went very well (pictures are on facebook, friend me if you're not a friend already). I managed to spend a lot more time with my brother B and his wife than with their kids this time, and I actually slept quite a bit. It was really nice. Family reunion squeezed into the wedding time, well, ok, right after we finished decorating the cultural hall at the local stake center we--Dad, me, my brothers and sisters and interested spouses--sat in a circle and conducted family business. The most important part, to me, is that the reunion in 2013 will be in Maryland!!! YAY!!! It will be so fun for me to have my family come!

Meanwhile, at work we've held a Mission Simulation, simulating Commissioning activities for the instrument teams. It went very well. Enough problems so that we were sure we were on the right track, but nothing major or show-stopping. Plus we got lunch brought in for three days, which is always fun (if not so good for my diet).

Church, well, is what it is. Summertime in Nursery with people taking vacations, you'd think there'd be less kids, but no, it's the adults we're short of this year.

Rehearsals for Rumors are going well. We all need to work on our lines more, but I suppose that's natural. Performances are August 12, 13, and 20 at 8:00pm (I think that's the right time), and 21st at 2:00pm (yes, I'll have to miss church again that day, but I can go to the earlier ward so that works out ok). Oh, and this one is not for kids. It's adult humor, and there's some language in it. For those in the area who might want to come :) I'll send out an email with the flyer when it's ready.

Other than that, I have been SICK. head cold, mostly, moving south into my lungs. Was doing better but last night two coughing fits and a cat that couldn't sleep makes today a lot harder. Sigh.

But at least now I'm caught up, right? So here's a parting thought: Focus on the positive. This brings better results than focusing on the negative, or even not focusing at all (according to a study published in the NY Times--still looking for the link for that, though). I will be better soon. And I did loose 2 lbs this week :)

More success and a Happy Easter

Well, my sister (from the last post) replied that I'd given her a lot to think about, so I think we're not actually fighting. So that's good. And I lost 2.2 lbs!! I weighed in today, after being gone last week (more on that later), and I'd lost 2.2 lbs in 2 weeks!! So even after visiting my sister and then coming home with strep throat and being home for 4 days straight (almost), eating ice cream, pasta with cheesy sauces, and drinking lots of juice, I still lost 2.2 pounds. Yay me!!!

OK, so last weekend I went to Utah to visit my sister B and her family for Easter. We were hopeful that she'd be at least moving into her new house, but that didn't happen, so we just hung out in Logan. I got to play with the kids, and B and I went out for lunch on Saturday (and more Aggie Ice Cream--yum! It will be a while before Ben and Jerry's tempts me again).

I also got to spend time with my newests nice, Sophia (shown here with older sister Malena). She's so cute, if a bit on the crabby side ;) She finally decided to eat solid foods while I was there--we think she didn't like the cereals because they were so bland. She loves carrots and sweet potatoes--and chocolate ice cream (of course!).

Bonnie, the oldest, had a project on Friday involving a beehive that she'd made herself out of yellow cake using Peeps to make bees. It was very cute.

And then, of course, we went to church on Sunday.

We then went down to Ogden for the Easter Egg hunt with the Hales cousins, which went very well. The weather was really nice that day too. The whole time it was fairly cold--highs in the 40's, sometimes making it up to the 50's. Then when I came back to Maryland I walked out of the airport into 80 degree weather (at night!). Man, from the freezer into the fire! It's a little better now, having cooled way back down again. This spring has been so crazy, two really nice days, some storms, then several really cold days again. Slowly it's been getting warmer, but Winter doesn't seem to want to let go.

Speaking of letting go, today is a day of bittersweet celebration. Osama bin Lauden, architect of the 9-11 World Trade Center plane-crashing Pentagon smashing horrific beginning to a war on terror that has been going on since 2001 is dead. Killed last night in a shoot-out by Navy Seals. I don't think anyone on Earth is capable of judging him fairly, so it's just as well that he resisted (apparently trying to use one of his wives as a sheild) and got himself shot in the head. Only God--Allah, Yaweh, Heavenly Father, whatever you believe in (or not) is capable of judging him. It's best left in His hands. Now I just want our troops to come home. May they be able to come home soon.

Ratinos, trips, and plays

Ratinos

Got this as the word verification for my niece's blog just now. I can't decide if it's a kind of Latino rat or maybe something crunchy to eat. Thoughts?

Trips

I went to CA last weekend to see my Uncle Bill. Uncle Bill is getting old. He's probably around 90 or so. He's been in and out of the hospital since November, but in February decided he really had to move to an assisted living place. So that's where he is now. Since then he's had a stroke, and for a while there my Dad thought he'd be planning a funeral. I made the plans for the trip about two weeks before going, and after hearing about the stroke I was glad. I went thinking I was going to say good-bye. Imagine our surprise when we walked into his room that first day (Friday) and he was awake, aware, and happy to see us. About ready to cry from joy, but also from frustration as the stroke left him without the ability to speak properly. That trip Dad took me down and my brother Blaine and his wife Yoli met us there. It was a good visit. Uncle Bill's cable had been hooked up, and he was watching a basketball game. The facility he's in is very nice (Silverado retirement homes, in Tustin, CA), and one of his "adopted daughters" works there. Uncle Bill has never married, never had children of his own, but has gone out and "adopted" several other families, as well as making each of his nieces and nephews know how much he loved each of us. He is my example.

Saturday my brother David drove me down, and we watched part of our church's Annual General Conference with Uncle Bill. Again he was wide awake, happy to see us. He'd eaten all his breakfast that morning, too. We visited a little more, and talked about how to help with his communication problem a little. Then we returned back to my Dad's house (where we watched the afternoon session).

Spent Thursday and Friday afternoons with my brother David's kids--very fun, Wii, movies, and How I Met Your Mother, not to mention In-N-Out for dinner on Friday. Saturday my niece Leslie picked me up and we went to a movie then dinner at the Rainforest Cafe at Ontario Mills Mall. That was so fun. I love hanging out with my nieces and nephews.

Sunday morning I watched conference with my Dad and Nancy, then Blaine and Yoli and Leslie picked me up to go watch the afternoon session with Uncle Bill. My sister Dustie joined us there, which was great. Uncle Bill was so happy to see her too. He was a little more tired on Sunday. They'd taken him to go do his exercises that morning and tuckered him out. He was still awake, though, and got a little irritated at us for talking when we should be listening :) We brought him a little white board for him to write on, but it will take some practice as he was right-handed and that hand is now useless to him.

All in all, the trip was so much better than I expected. I'd expected to just be sitting by his bedside as he slept. I expected one trip down (it's about an hour from where my Dad and brothers live), hoped for two, and ended up with three. It was wonderful. I'm so glad I went. And here's hoping he sticks around until June, the next time I go out (when my niece gets married!!)

Plays

I'm in a play. I'm sure I've mentioned this. This week is Tech Week (aka dress rehearsals). As well as having several small parts, I'm also in charge of costumes. So I'm really busy. My cat thought when I got home from my trip I'd be HOME. But no. I'm gone every night until 10 or 10:30, then I work on costumes because they're not *quite* done, then sleep for a few hours before getting back up to go to work. Fortunately today is Friday, and I can rest a little tomorrow. Our first performance is tomorrow evening, at 7:30pm, the second one is on Sunday, at 2:00pm. Yes, I know, this means I'm missing church. I can go to a different ward in the morning, and maybe once a year or more it's ok. It's not like anyone's getting paid. Except the AV guys.

I thought it would be fun. I'm sure when I look back on it, it will have been fun. I am getting to know more people, and they are really fun people. But right now I'm just too tired to really care. And all my TV shows are piling up. Although I have been keeping up on my two reality shows (DwtS and AI(my first time watching that one)). I like to have something on while I sew, and they don't require a lot of attention. No plot twists. Although I have to say, Pia was ROBBED!!! Dang Casey for taking the save a couple weeks ago!! (although I was happy for that at the time) I hope someone picks her up, I would love to go see her, and love to have her music. Which I will have some of it, since it's available on iTunes, but I hope she gets to do much, much more.

Ok, back to the play. The Mouse that Roared. Very funny. If you're in the area, please come! Call me for directions (the play is free). And kid-friendly.

Ok, done babbling for now.

Restlessness

What's the song that goes "you calm my restlessness"? i think it's from Icehouse, late '80's. Anyway, it's been popping into my head. I've been feeling restless. Like I want a change. I'm not sure where to make the change. Usually when I get like this I start thinking about dropping out of church. It's not that I don't have a testimony, it's just that I'm tired. I'd like to just stay home all day on Sunday and play with my cats. Or watch tv. Or just not have to deal with anyone else (can you tell I'm an introvert?). Sometimes the whole not having a family thing just gets to me, and I lose the point of doing these same things over and over and over. And over and over. Everything the same. Always. Sundays always the same. Mondays through Fridays always the same, get up and go to work. Sit at my desk all day long. Pretend I care about things. Go home and try to keep from eating everything I can find (not very successfully, usually). Watch tv with the cat. Feed and attempt to play with the other cat. Always the same. Even with the play I'm in, the rehearsals have settled into a routine. Saturdays there are some variations, but usually I can't even force myself up off the couch unless I have plans with someone. And even then, I've been known to cancel at the last minute.

Am I bored? Am I tired of the routine? Am I exhibiting signs of depression? (yes, that's an issue for me, controlled with medication and an herbal remedy). Or maybe I just want it to be spring.

But it would be nice to do something different at Church. Much as I love Nursery, it's just not challenging anymore. And I really dislike being SM music conductor at the moment. Sometimes when I've had this calling I absolutely loved it. Now it's just another ordeal I have to get through every Sunday. But one doesn't ask to be released, do they? And I've made it so clear that I love Nursery, I don't think they'd even consider releasing me. Particularly since people who love Nursery are so hard to find.

So here I am, restless. Wanting a change. Or maybe a vacation. I miss having family close enough to drive to. Definitely would have gone down there a couple weekends ago. My next trip is the end of April, and it seems so far away.

I did it!!

I finished my second climb of the Empire State Building today! Yay!! It wasn't really that hard to fit more steps into my day, particularly considering where I work--5th floor of a building that has 24 steps between all the floors (except between the first and second floors where there's 26). Walk up in the morning, down in the evening, and up the 30 steps to the parking lot in the evening and I've about got it made. Really helped that Saturday we went to see Disney Princesses, too. After the show we decided we didn't want to wait for the elevator, so we walked up the six flights to where we'd parked (117 steps--seemed like more when we did it, though, but then there were only 18 steps between floors). yay me!Now the challenge will be to keep going up the steps now that I don't have a challenge. I shall have to find other tall buildings to climb, I suppose. Maybe the Washingon Monument?

Had a very lazy weekend. Yes, I was supposed to meet up with my friends in VA, but I've been having light-headedness issues and didn't want to drive so far feeling like my head would float away. I left church early on Sunday too, for the same reason. Don't worry, I have a dr appt tonight, we'll see what he says (I'm not seeing my regular doctor, she wanted me to come in ASAP but all her appts were booked). I'm hoping its something simple. Like a vitamin deficiency. (Update: he thinks it's an ear infection of somekind and should go away on its own. To that end he gave me some medicine that should help with the dizzyness, and so far it seems to be working)

Rehearsals are going well (performances are April 9 & 10--yes, the 10th is a Sunday (if I'm remmebering correctly), and it's a matinee, so I'll need to go to another ward in the morning). I'm struggling with my lines, mostly because I'm usually reading for someone who isn't there and they need someone to pinch hit. I don't even have that many lines!! I only have four parts, each with about 3 lines each, average (one only has one line). That's not very many.

Ok, back to your busy lives