Enjoying My Time

I had a wonderful weekend. The only things that set it back were that The Boy had two basketball games this weekend, so staying in BFD and my mentee is still missing. The Boy and I are going shopping next Sunday and hopfully to my Dad's choir concert to make up a little time.

On Saturday I took the bus down to the Urban Craft Uprising at the Seattle Center. I stood in line for 15 minutes with a few hundred other people, then went inside. Everything was very professional looking and very cool--but one of the side effects of not mass producing and getting your supplies in super bulk numbers, it was pretty expensive. I could see buying myself one or two things, or if I saw the perfect gift for someone, I might have spent the money, but I kept my self control and walked back out after seeing all the booths. There were a lot of super cute things in there and maybe someday I will have the extra cash to spend on them.

After that I went to the Metropolitan Market and got some of the very yummy eggnog from Twin Brooks that I have been raving about to anyone who will listen. I think I have converted a few people, too. There were several product reps by the front door giving out samples or coupons and one of them was the Hempler's Ham people. Pause now for some back story:

I had a Hempler's Ham on order for my family dinner Saturday night from Amazon Fresh. It was a preorder--which should mean that they would definitely have one for me, right? Or they would let me know ahead of time they didn't...? Nope, just no ham with the order and when I checked my email--they send out a confirmation some time that morning--it just said "the following items were not included with your delivery, you will not be charged for those items". Awesome! So now I have to go shopping to find something else, which I did, but it wasn't local and natural like the Hempler's would have been. When I emailed my complaint, all Amazon replied with was "we are sorry for the inconvenience". Nothing about trying to not let it happen again or anything. I am going to wait a while before I order again. The physical store doesn't let you down that way. They either have it or they don't.

So I told the Hempler's rep that story and she gave me a free ham! It wasn't big enough to serve to 8 people, but Dr. T, The Boy and I will definitely enjoy it at a later date.

The family dinner was fun. We had snacks, people played Wii, we ate dinner, then played Apples to Apples. The eggnog was loved by all, especially me. Did I mention that I don't usually go in for eggnog? I don't. But this stuff is the bomb! I haven't had homemade yet, but I am guessing this is on par.

Sunday I strategized with Interactive Reader for a webinar we will be on in January. It is for First Tuesdays through the Washington State Library. We will be talking about Reader's Advisory (recommending books) with a few example book talks, resources and tips. We have a dry run coming up this Wednesday Morning. Then we did a little window shopping down Market St.

Two of my friends and coworkers came over later to learn to make bread. I instructed them through the loaves and they seemed to turn out well. I will get full reports on Wednesday when I see them next. We also made some AWESOME ice cream sundays vanilla and chocolate peanutbutter ice cream, crumbled zugats, little peanutbutter cups, bananas, hot fudge sauce and whipped cream. It was wonderful and decadent. We also played some Mario Kart.

It was really nice to have such a fun and relaxing weekend after the Union meeting on Friday. I think it really sapped a lot of our energy. I don't even want to think about it right now, so I might share on a later date, although it would likely be more interesting just to give you an outcome.

Flight, Family and Fuzziness

And of course she ran away again on Sunday. At least I got a chance to talk to her though and really tell her that I am here for her, whether or not she is following the rules. We'll see if she comes around.

****

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Spokane. We had a great family dinner on Thursday, then on Friday went to the Rocket Bakery on Cedar and 1st and had an awesome lunch with Dr. T's brothers and sister in law and two nefews. We also went to the Whitestone tasting room and enjoyed tasting Mr. M's own wine blend, Pieces of Earth.

I had been feeling weird since Wednesday though and when I went to work on Saturday I was pretty much a wreck. I was dizzy and couldn't concentrate. By Sunday I was a lump and didn't do more than watch tv all day. The only change I could think of was the antibiotics I have been taking for a tenacious case of acne, but I didn't think that could be the culprit. Finally I looked at the label to check and low and behold it can cause "dizziness, blurred vision". So I stopped taking it Sunday and called the doctor on Monday morning. I picked up some new, less lumpishness causing antibiotics yesterday.

Yay!

I have so many things to be thankful for these days. A rewarding job that isn't going anywhere (whew), a wonderful family including my pretty good son and my lovely boyfriend, a bike that gets me where I am going and a car that is running well even though she is 17 years old--and gets good gas mileage.

I just got another thing to be thankful for. My mentee is back in the system and seems to be really interested in doing better and staying off the streets. I just talked to her and even though phone conversations can be awkward, I told her point blank that I care about her and what happens to her, and that if things did go wrong again, she can still call me and talk. You have to take these opportunites while you have them (as I learned while she was missing). It sounds like her baby is doing well and she has already had 2 visits and behaved like a parent, interested in being with her child. I am really proud that she is always so level headed with him. We talked about school; she is doing well in her classes so far and is going to join the basketball team. I was also told that while she was gone, despite being surrounded by crack and meth, the only drugs she did were pot and x. She was tested, it is true. To some that might sound like a lot, but it was recreational use (parties) and being around the other and having a history with them, it is really something.

I invited her for a family dinner at my house next Saturday. My Dad's Family* will all be there and we are planning on playing games and having dinner. It will hinge on whether her social worker can swing the permission.

Tomorrow Dr. T and I are heading for Spokane. We are having dinner at my Step Dad's with my Mom's Family*. It will be a whirl wind trip, since I have to work till 8 tonight and in the morning on Saturday, but it will be so nice to see everyone and to visit with my little niece :)

*Dad's Family=Dad, his wife and my siblings on his side, as opposed to my Mom's Family, which is really comprised of my siblings on her side, my step dad and his wife and not my mom at all. Family gets complicated.

Being Sick and Veteran's Day

I am home sick today and I feel regret about it. I got a free day off yesterday, which was wonderful, and now I have another because I feel rotten. I really like going to work lately. I love my branches and what I do, even with the rabble. Well, here's to feeling better tomorrow.

Dr. T has been feeling sick all week. I would like to say that I am a good girlfriend and have been taking care of him, but in reality, I have barely acknowledged his sickness. I just keep doing my thing and in my mind he is fine until I ask him something and his nasally tone comes back to me and makes me realize that I should probably offer him some tea or something. He is pretty self reliant and tends to do those things for himself when he wants them. I know it is nice to be taken care of sometimes though. Like right now. But he is away on call tonight, so I am on my own.

Being off yesterday made me think about all the veterans in my life and there are a few. My dad and step-dad, several uncles and two of my cousins have served. Actually, one of my cousins is still serving. He is stationed in Japan and pilots harrier jets. It is what he has wanted to do since we were small. He has a wife and their two children are growing up abroad and from the look and sound of things are adapting quite well. I envy them their travels--and I know they are loving it.

Another cousin who has served in the reserves got called up twice to go to Iraq. He had some really interesting stories there that I would repeat for you if I could remember them well enough. He has had some recent health trouble that ensures that he won't be going back. He is a brave man and I have always admired him.

I found myself wondering why we are in Afghanistan and what our presence in the Middle East even means anymore. The politics of the situations are lost on me these days while I am worrying about mayoral races (yay McGinn!) and city budget cuts (thanks to the city council for giving an additional $863,000 to the library budget today). Now that those two things have settled and the initiatives and referendums are where they should be, I can read a bit more about foreign policy again.

...

And that is what I get for ranting on the internet. A phone call from my ex telling me that he knows that I think that The Boy isn't getting the care he needs because he isn't living in Seattle. Where the hell did I say that? I know my name is sarcasmgirl, but that name is from history, not my current style of writing. The good thing about it is that he called and we talked about The Boy. I was impressed at how fast he let the initial statement drop once I told him that isn't what I said. He even said once in the conversation "I am not trying to downplay your feelings about [The Boy]'s situation." A totally different man than I knew. We did argue back and forth a bit, and I didn't win the argument, but I wasn't totally unhappy with the outcome either.

And now that I know he could be reading this (but probably won't), I will stop talking about him.

Just so that you know, in case you read my earlier post wrong as well, I wish that The Boy had other type 1 diabetics his age to be around. He goes to camp once a year and the benefits are very noticeable in him. I wish he could have that all the time.

And yes, I often wish that The Boy were closer to me, or lived with me, but I can't spend all my time thinking about that. I work with what I have and try my best.

The Darkness Under the Silver Lining

Had a wonderful weekend with family this weekend. Cousin S got married to a wonderful woman and the ceremony and reception were beautiful and fun. Sister M and Husband stayed at my house and we had a lovely time, attending wedding festivities and shopping with Brother M, Wife and baby and Brother C. It was really nice to see everyone.

This weekend with The Boy was very frustrating, though. Very. I love him so much and the worst thing he can do is harm himself. He skipped checking his blood sugar for both Thursday and Friday and he also skipped a day or two last weekend. The only time he checked it over this weekend was when I asked him to show his meter to me. One of the ones he did check was a 518 (normal range is between 80 and 120). I really found all this out when I sat down to put in his blood sugar levels for the week on a spreadsheet that the hospital sent me on Sunday evening. We just had a talk with the doctor last week about how important it is to test at least 3 times a day.

I feel like there are two major factors to his avoidance: 1, he just wants to avoid thinking about it and maybe it will go away, and 2, he is still embarrassed to be seen as different than other people. There was a brief time when he decided it was "cool" and was even giving himself injections at the table in restaurants, but that time is over. Can't say I liked the "cool" factor, but it was better than whatever is going through his head now.

I wish he could join a support group with other teens with type 1. I just don't see it happening, between his dad's resistance and his sports schedule and living so far out. Sorry, I have to rant a and get this out of my system and make a plan. I know his-step mom will see this, but I already sent the information to their email. I hate being a jailer, but I don't want my kid to die or lose a limb or his eyesight. I am going to check his meter every time from now on, even if he hates it and yells at me. Even if we are out somewhere and he is embarrassed. Even if I am tired and don't want to deal with the flack he gives me. I am going to start filling out the other parts of the form too, where it asks for carbs and units of insulin taken. No more cutting corners and being lenient.

Blue Skies

This morning I went down the the Seattle Municipal Building and went up to the 17th floor. I spent 2 hours stuffing envelopes and chatting with the staff of Department of Neighborhoods, P-Patch. This was the last of my 8 hours (actually puts me at 10) of volunteer time for the P-Patch that we have to put in each year. While I was there, I was able to get them to change the picture on the Ballard P-Patch website so that it was no longer the wrong location--something I had been talking about with the site coordinator for months, but we just couldn't seem to get done. Now I have the right contact so I can also update the blurb. So much can get done when you are in the right room!

Another thing struck me while I was there. Working at Seattle Public Library, I am also a city employee, although it is somewhat different. We have a different bargaining unit, since we have a different union, but many things are the same. I mentioned the library several times in my conversations with the p-patch folks, but never came right out and said that I work there. They all asked which p-patch I belong to, though. It felt weird to be there for 2 hours without telling them that I also work for the city, but it never felt right to come out and say so either.

I met my dad for lunch down at the Pike Place Market after volunteering. We met at the pig and ended up at Cafe Campagne. Dad got the pre fix and I chose the cassoulett. Everything was really good. The cassoulett was a stew of white beans, sausage, pork, duck confit, and lamb; perfect for a cold day. We left there and went in search of a cookie. After only half a block we smelled something delicious and went into Le Panier (I know, a french kick...) and got 2 slices of fruit tart. We took them over to the benches overlooking the waterfront. Starlings begged for crust and we sat chatting about life, love, work and politics. It was a nice day. The sky was blue in the morning and it just started to spit rain as I headed home.

A Furlough is NOT a Vacation

That is what our sign read on Monday as employees gathered in front of the Central Library to inform the citizens of Seattle of the impact of budget cuts on services. Mayor Nickels was there along with our City Librarian, Susan Hildreth and a camera crew. I was a little disappointed with the number of us that turned out--only 30-40 people came. There were speeches, I shook Mayor Nickels hand twice. I for one am sad he is leaving office. I feel he has done a good job getting things done in this city and put priority on services that need it. He has always been an advocate for the library.

I had several people come to the volunteer day I organized after and Dr. T and Sister R came along to help as well. We washed down and scraped old paint off the outside of UDYC, then painted part of the building and the hand rails. It was sunny in the afternoon so it got a little hot out there towards the end. We did a lot of talking about work as we painted. If only we were in charge, everything would be perfect ;)

On Tuesday, Dr. T, my Dad and I went out to the Olympic Peninsula to go hiking. First we stopped at SolDuc hot springs to pick up my bathing suit that I left there two weeks before. I had called ahead and they were saving it for me. I told them I would be coming to pick it up. But of course they didn't have it when I got there and digging through their bins of loaner suits, I found my bottoms. No top. Sigh. I was a little disgruntled and it was anti climatic because I had been sure after I left it there they would never find it. Their organization seems a little lacking. The only thing they said was "who did you talk to?" I don't remember but I am not sure I would say if I did. They seemed more interested in getting someone in trouble than helping me find my bathing suit.

Luckily the hike was about as perfect as it could get. We saw a lot of colorful fungi, the day was just sunny enough to bring out the green in the rain forest and the falls were beautiful. On the way back we picked huckleberries, which we ate in pancakes this morning, yum. We stopped in Port Townsend on the way back and had dinner at Silverwater Cafe. The food was wonderful and a great ending to the day. We took the ferry back to Edmonds and got home at around 10pm. It was a really full day.

Yesterday was spent putting more things away. We got a nice table off Craigslist on Sunday and we had to make room for it. The result is that you can actually get into the kitchen now.

Family that Plays Together...

I started a post last week and realized it was all whiney, so I deleted it. And that's all I have for excuses.

We start our work furlough on Monday. The entire library system is closed from Aug 31-Sept 6, then also closed Monday Sept 7th for labor day. No pay, so I have been working on saving some money up and I think everything will be ok. Except for the speeding ticket I got on my way back from Spokane. And the doctors bills I have from my wellness and hearing check up (it costs a ton to go to the doctor these days, even with insurance!) Oops, there I am whining again.

Last night I went to see Tacocat with my dad's family. We went to the Funhouse which was a weird kind of treat. There is a basketball court in the back, so we played Horse and two on two with the monorail going by in the background and music pumping (do you say pumping in punk speak? Shows I am not a punk...) out the door. I played a lame game of horse, but made it up a bit during the two on two. I am a bit sore today from all that jumping around.

Tacocat was pretty good, but Used Kids did a longer set and weren't as much fun to listen to. The music was mostly a wash, but at least it was only a $5 cover and we had a great time otherwise.

Still Crazy

I have been promising a wedding recap for a week now, but things are still so busy, it will have to be a short one.

The bride was absolutely gorgeous. She was definitely not a bridezilla and everything was so laid back. I can't imagine how stressed I would have been if Sister M had been a task master. This wedding was proof that you don't have to control every little aspect of your wedding and everything will still turn out ok. I actually think that trying to do so will make something go wrong.

We had a great time. The ceremony was short, beautiful, two of my brothers did readings. Kissyfur read "Oh, the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss and Manny read an Irish wedding blessing. Little Bear was a flower girl and she was so cute walking down the aisle with a 4 year old boy from the grooms family, her flowers falling out of her basket on accident. The two girls, Bear and little J, did an impromptu tumbling act on the steps until their mothers took them in hand. After food and the traditional cake cutting, toast and bouquet/garter toss, the dancing began. More tradition, the bride and groom danced, then the bride and her father and the groom and his mother. After that, our side of the family went all in. We danced to the corniest and the funniest and the fastest music. We kept the dance floor alive up till the last minute when the caterers were kicking us out. My feet hurt soooo bad after! It was so much fun!

When I came back to Seattle, it felt really good to be here after a week gone. It was even cool that it was raining, because it made it feel even more like home. I am still super busy until Monday. Dr. T is moving into my apartment and The Boy and I are camping with Dad's Family this weekend. That is getting cut short now because The Boy starts football practice at 8 am on Monday morning.

And now my mentee is AWOL. She went to visit friends in Kent on Monday and never went home. They are putting a run notice on her now. I hope the baby is ok.

Toasting the Bride

Wow, am I tired. What a week. I drove over to Spokane last Sunday and I am still here. The Boy and I will head back to Seattle tomorrow.

I have stayed with my brother and sister in law all week and they have been really nice to put up with both me and The Boy that long. My sister was here too and we had a nice time hanging out, running errands for the wedding, going to Cordelain to play at the beach and going to the various pre-wedding festivities. I have really missed her since she has been in Nevada.

Being the maid of honor, I had to come up with a toast. This was harder than you might think, and I kept going back and forth until someone suggested that I tell a story about her. I came up with a pretty good one and about 30 minutes before the ceremony, decided that I should write some words down and I started crying although I managed to avoid major tears. I was misty all through the ceremony, but luckily the kids distracted me and I made it through. Finally time came to the toast and I said:

"I have known Meagan since she was born. She is my sister, but also my best friend. It hasn't always been that way. When we were younger, she was always sneaking into my room and wondered how I knew. She always left a toy behind. Since then, we have become best friends. We have traveled together and even though she lives far away now, we find time to visit. Since she has been gone, I am always looking around for signs of her. The one saving grace of having her so far away is knowing that she has Troy. Please join me in a toast to Meagan and Troy!"

This worked really well, or would have if I hadn't started crying right after I said "she always left a toy behind." I barely made it through the rest, but I did manage to choke it out and was able to pass on the mic to her dad. It was a really beautiful day. More soon.

Keeping me entertained

I have been a bad post-er and it is starting to show. Facebook has taken over my life. My addictions on the internet don't usually last too long because I end up getting bored or the medium doesn't live up to my standards, but Facebook is ever changing; sometimes for the better and occasionally for the worse. The downside is that I post here less often because my attention span has shrunk to the size of a status update.

I have made notes twice for a blog post, which I don't usually do. It must be my guilt over neglecting my blog. So here I am, getting to it.

The Boy and I went camping after his diabetes camp last week. We went to Sun Lakes and baked in the sun, played cards and explored a bit. It was beautiful, but hot and The Boy was being a teenager part of the time--just wanting to sit around, complain of being bored and listen to music. It was too hot to make him go hiking and he didn't want to swim, even when we found this great place called Steamboat Rock. The water was so beautiful!

We had a raccoon that would visit us at night. I didn't leave any food out, having had the experience of wildlife taking off with it in my early days of camping, but the raccoon seemed very intent on seeing what was in my green tub of supplies. I probably wouldn't have cared, since it was the middle of the night and there was nothing he could hurt, but my neighbor kept flashing his light into my tent and telling me about the bugger, so finally I got up and put the tub in the car. Maybe the noise was bothering my neighbor, but I think it was more concern that Mr. Raccoon was going to get something good out of his rummaging. Anywho...

The next night I had two new neighbors; a small family and a bunch of young kids, probably in college. I warned them both about the raccoon. The Boy and I were still up watching the fire when another group of girls joined the college bunch. They unpacked, then left somewhere. Soon The Boy and I could hear some rustling from their camping area--they had left several food items on their table. The raccoon made off with a bag of hotdog buns and was sitting fairly close to the camp, taking out each one with its little hands and munching on them. We trained the light on him and he didn't care, he just sat there and ate his dinner, then he went off. The girls came back and exclaimed over their loss and put the rest of their food away.

The next morning, the same girls came back from driving somewhere and when they got out of their car, one of them had a hookah. I did a double take and the girl said "oh, it's not a bong!" and laughed. I told her I knew it was a hookah, but in my mind it seemed really weird for an 18 year old girl to bee carrying one around. She and her friends spent the morning taking hits off of it and I could tell it was tobacco from the smell, not maryjane. They got some looks from other neighbors and I could tell they were curious as hell. The Boy and I left fairly early that day, so we didn't get to see any more of their antics. I think they could have had their own reality show ;)

Good Weekend, Ready for the Next One

The bachelorette party was a blast. Neighbors was the perfect cap to our night. The pictures are up on Facebook and that is where they will stay. No reason to draw attention to the incriminating evidence. I was good! Mostly...

The shower also went off very well. We made Sister M fill her mouth with bubble gum and wrapped up Grandma in toilet paper and they both smiled about it. Sister M was inundated with sexy lingerie and kitchen appliances, only the happy couple will know if they use them together. The families got to meet each other and everyone had a grand time.

I got back on the bike yesterday after a week off. I actually don't remember which day I rode last, so it might have been longer. I had so many errands to run last week, I just couldn't swing it. The first ride back was not hard. In fact I felt stronger on the hills than I have in the past. I made it up my goliath without stopping, which I couldn't do for the first couple of weeks I rode.

I am leaving on Friday to pick up The Boy from diabetes camp. I am staying the night in Spokane and picking him up in the morning. Then we will stay in Spokane for the night and go camping for a few days on the way back. I am looking forward to a few days away from work. And a few days with The Boy. This is only the second time I have seen him this summer--busy teenagers...

Plant a Seed

Tonight is the bachelorette party and tomorrow is the shower. I thought I was done with everything, but ended up running a last minute errand on my break today. God I hope this goes well--I feel like I am putting on a program, instead of hoping that people come, I hope they have a good time. That is one nice thing about RSVP's.

I went to see Robin at the University District Farmer's Market today, where she was the chef at the "Ask a Chef" booth. She is on season 6 of Top Chef, so make sure you watch (Bravo)! I am so proud of her. Some of you know that I was a waitress in another life and she was the owner/chef at Crave on Capitol Hill. That was during my unemployment days and she gave me a job when I had never waitressed before. I was going to barista for her--that I have a lot of experience at--but when the restaurant went to open she was down a server and there I was. I was there for about 2 years, waiting tables and adding up payroll. So I stopped in to see her and heard her give great advice on how to cook squash flowers, which makes me want to go home and try the same with my pumpkin flowers since I have so many starts on there. The garden is really chalk full right now--the corn is past my waist, the snap peas are almost over--I think I will replace them with beans that were offered by a neighboring p-patcher--I just planted a few more lettuce seeds for the next harvest and the potatoes and pumpkin plant (grown from a seed from last year's plant) look wonderful! I will post pictures later--I have been a bad picture taker this year.

And life goes on

3 day weekend...thank the gods. I really needed it, with few obligations and lots of down time. The short end of that is that my house has not been cleaned and the garden was not attended to until this morning. As soon as I get my butt out of this chair, I will begin the clean. This is where the 3rd day comes in, you get two to relax and one day to get fed up with your own stink enough to start cleaning!

Two of my sibs in my dad family have birthdays today (yup, twins). We had a bbq at Volunteer Park for my sis yesterday. The weather was actually pretty perfect; the sun kept peaking out and it didn't rain the whole time we were there. I made a peach, strawberry, rhubarb cobbler that was just soooo yummy. Dr. T suggested that I share the left overs with my housemates today and I said "no way! I am eating all that myself!" Then I gave them some rhubarb so they can make their own, 'cause that's how I roll.

I was really on a baking jag this weekend (as you can still see by the state of my kitchen). I made sourdough bread, strawberry scones, scratch waffles from my dad's recipe and the sourdough starter, and the cobbler. I had to make the waffle batter twice because the first time I left it out all night. Dairy and sourdough starter don't like that, although it was an interesting science experiment.

I don't think I mentioned, a friend gave me an italian sourdough starter a few weeks ago. It is really fun to work with and I have made several breads. I have also found that my oven is a little too hot and I keep getting a bit harder crust than I want. When will I learn? Even though I know this, every time I make a new recipe I forget to take that into consideration.

The last few weeks circumstances have made me a little pessimistic about library work. I really love my job and I just needed a reminder. Today has been a good day of reading about what other systems are doing and it gives me hope that we will recover from the changes that are going on. My friend has some interesting info on the NY Library's anti-prom. I love to hear about teens doing such great things. Especially when there is a library involved.

Too much time has passed

Facebook has taken over my online life--or more accurately a game called Mafia Wars. I am just getting over the hump of this addiction, where you can admit you have a problem and start pulling away. Plus the game just isn't as fun as it was a few days ago. Still fun, but not quite as fun. So I am here, making an effort to be away from the other tab open on my browser--I didn't say I was cured. I won't tell you about the game itself, because then you will either think that I am weak for being addicted to such a silly game or you will go play it yourself, get addicted and blame me....

So much has happened in non-online life the last couple of weeks. I rode my bike about 90 miles last month, and hope to continue that. The Boy, Dr. T and I went to Spokane over labor day, spent time with family and did wedding errands--I am sure you saw my shoes. The weather was gorgeous and the only thing I can complain about is not having enough time with my niece. She is so darling, but she doesn't really remember me and gets shy. I was hoping to get reaquainted with her over that weekend, but it turned out to be a little too busy. Sister M and her fiance were there, though and it was wonderful to see them and Papa P, my step dad for most of my childhood.

This weekend, well, I worked Saturday. But it was a good day. I like being at my small branch in the summer. It is really sunny in there, my co-workers rock and there are lots of goodies close by. Molly Moon's Ice Cream, Bella Cosa Foods and now Archie McPhee as of yesterday. I went to Bella Cosa and bought yummy cheese and salumi salami for my bbq/game night the next day. On Sunday I got the whole house sparkley then had family and friends over for a bbq, then later had more friends over for games. It turned out to be another beautiful day and all of my best friends made it--except Sister M, who living in Nevada is given a pass ;) Oh yeah, and it was my birthday.

In libraryland I have been setting up school visits for summer reading and book talks: my older teen list and my tween list; and scheduling Danger: Books! presentations for the fall. Soon, the Summer Reading Program will take over my life. This is the fan badge for the teen program, although they all look pretty much the same:

Get yours here.

Bling!

Shoes to go with the dress:
I bought these today--they are really comfortable, in addition to being cute.

We are in Spokane this weekend visiting family and wedding shopping. We looked at the florist, the new venue and got the bride's makeup done at the MAC counter at Nordstroms. I have my fitting appointment next Friday morning, so hopefully everything will be checked off the to do list soon.

It's Raining It's Pouring

Not sure why this rain is so tenacious. It must have been raining all night. I woke up early this morning, fumbling to the bathroom with all intents to go back to bed (I still might), when I step off the carpet into water. Splash, tepid wetness on my feet, between my toes, waking me up... It wasn't so bad, easily cleaned with a mop and I unclogged the drain outside the door to let the backed up water swirl down. Then I went to the computer to check the weather forecast (rain) and thought I heard water pouring in the storage room, where there should be no water to be poured. By the time I got in there with the flashlight, the sound was gone. There was a lonely puddle of water on the floor, again, not too bad. So I moved a couple boxes out of the way and called the landlords. I think it is coming in some vent pipes and leaking out of the furnace somewhere. I could hear gurgling (much like pouring) when the furnace turned on. That's a lot of rain.

This weekend was both lame and great. Lame because I had to work all weekend with The Boy here. Great because we had my Dad family over for dinner, minus Dad--Sorry! It was a beer tasting party. Dr. T and I made beer from the set up that two of my sibs gave me for xmas. The Dunkel Weissen was pretty tasty. Now we have to decide what to make next. Dinner turned out yummy too, even if it was an hour later than I thought it would be. We split into various entertainments and whiled the time away. Wii was played, others chopped things in the kitchen. I showed my sister's my p-patch and they were soon drawn away to the more interesting things growing in the more established plots. We packed the visit up fairly early as The Boy had school in the morning and Sister U still had studying that night.

Yesterday I went to see my mentee. I brought her some baby clothes and we chatted for a little over an hour. I keep wanting to take her out to do things, but her baby is still pretty young. She looked a lot healthier and happier this time around. The baby was darling. He is starting to fill out a little and he has the straightest, shiniest black hair you have ever seen on anyone.

I think that now I am going back to bed.

No Apologies, Sorry

I have been quite slow on here lately. I would apologize, but I don't really feel that bad about it. I just have less of that "Internet addiction" than I used to--there are many more intriguing things to do than sit in front of the computer lately.

For instance, P-Patch! I prepared and planted last week. This year I am doing all seeds, since I am starting sooner and am really nervous that nothing will come up. My indoor starts are doing fine though and I shouldn't worry so much. I went to an auction recently for a private school and won a neat little wagon with off-road tires that was filled with fun gardening tools, plants, gloves and watering apparatuses that help immensely with the p-patch. And having gone to that auction, I can tell you that some people are not hurting from this recession. It was a little disturbing, really, to watch the amounts of money thrown at frivolous things. I would think it would be cheaper to raise tuition.

Another instance, Wedding! Sister M's wedding is in a few months and we went dress shopping again yesterday. I thought I already knew which dress I was going to get, but I changed my mind yesterday. It is similar to this:

Ignore the underfed model. In fact, I just ordered this one because it was on sale on the website and will get here by May 1st, which is still plenty of time to call and order the other one if it fits badly. It was fun hanging out with the girls yesterday, trying on dress after dress and eating conveyor belt sushi. I also spent money at IKEA and The Rack. Bad me.

It is nice having Sister M visit. Tonight we will have dinner with the Mom Family and Dr. T will get a dose of the drama that invariably happens over there. I will make sure to bring my crocheting so that when things get tense, I can escape a little... or go for a walk. That is good too.

Twitter gone bad

So I had this great idea that I would sign up for Twitter and update along the road during our trip. So I did, and then I set it so that I could text in updates from my phone. I felt very smart, until I got to Portland and realized that I didn't have my phone. Then I felt very dumb.

We had lunch with friend Joanna in Portland. It was great, except that The Boy had forgotten his pen needles for his insulin pen at home, so we spent part of our lunch time trying to get Safeway to tell me what we needed to do to get them. He had already eaten some by that time and his blood sugar was going up. The pharmacy tech was very unhelpful until the end, when she finally told me they didn't even have them and we had to go to another store. I decided to let her off because she had a cold and seemed pretty miserable, but that interaction could have been so much easier.

We drove from there down to Coos Bay and stayed the night, managing not to do any more sight seeing than we could do from our car. We did go to a local restaurant for dinner and it was decent. They have a cute little strip there, but it was totally deserted at 8pm on a Monday. The Boy and I went swimming at the hotel pool--which we picked just for the pool. Nothing fancy, but it was clean and comfortable. It felt strange to just pull up at a hotel and pay full price for a room. It did cross my mind to pull out the computer, go on priceline and see if we could get a cheap rate before going in. But nah, live dangerously, I thought.

The next morning, we packed up and drove on to Nevada. The day was mostly clear and sunny. I wore my sunglasses! There was a sort of border crossing into California where they check you out for illegal fruit. He took one look at my store bought (amazon fresh) oranges and waived us through. It gave me some flashbacks to when I used to go into Canada to visit an ex-boyfriend (not ex then). This was much easier though.

We got to Carson City at 8pm. It is good to see Sister M and her fiance. We got a good nights sleep, slept in til after 10am, and am now taking advantage of the internets and the sunshine pouring in the window. It is so bright here it hurts my Seattle blighted eyes. I thought google was doing an April Fools joke when it said it was snowing in Seattle today, but friends' updates on facebook say otherwise.

So now that I found my phone (or more accurately, Dr. T found my phone) under the car seat, there will be twitter updates.